I had emailed this out to the YC community over the weekend. I got word from a journalist it was about to leak, and I couldn't get in touch with the person that runs the YC blog (I don't yet know how to post on the new one, but I'm sure going to figure it out now). I didn't want to wait, so I just posted it where I could.
Also I happen to think documents are easier to read with double spaces after sentences. Surely there is something more important to complain about than that.
Sam, it's meant with the love of the art. I was going to make the same complaint. For those of us who work in a particular field, certain things just stick out and it feels very natural to point that out and make the world perfect in a way we are confident it can be perfect if some things are changed (I review grants, I convert double-spaces to single-spaces so much that I can spot one from a mile away and change it right away... sadly, I don't have access to change your writings :)).
Exactly, typography is a subject that is very dear to my heart.
And while I agree that it may be a personal preference, there is a side effect to using double spaces: layout engines consider single spaces the default for their line breaking algorithm, and sometimes, when using double spacing, new sentences start at a new line with a space before the first letter which, in this very case, looks weird and therefore hinders readability.
Hm. Wonder how it could've leaked. I have to imagine that this incident impacts the likelihood of you sharing something like this with the YC network in the future. I would support rooting this person out and giving a stern warning.
Other possibilities, besides someone being untrustworthy, is that the journalist was bluffing. Or perhaps someone's account was hacked.
Agreed that it's not an important part of the post, but as someone currently reforming my ways from double spaces to single, I have to admit they are right. Double spaces after periods are a vestige of the past.
Lol. I once worked with a guy who, when asked for his input on critical emails, would meticulously comb through and delete second spaces after periods. "What did you think? Did you make any changes?" "I removed all of the double spaces after periods." :)
Oh and a remark on the letter's typography: the double spaces after periods should be single spaces.