Emdash fans!

[literalgrill@sakurajima.moe]

@mcc My editor and I have different preferences in em dash use. This doesn't hurt my soul at all.

[wyatt_h_knott@vermont.masto.host]

@mcc and on char limited posts I may use an en-dash as an em-dash-declining auto-replacement, yes I know, annoying paperclip bot-and expect you to parse the grammar anyhow. The o'erweening curse of pedantry aside, and the grace bestowed by dashed communication obviating all else, we might celebrate all forms of dashery, be they em, en or haber, lest we dash an opportunity to impugn AI.

[cuddle_puddle@mastodon.catgirl.cloud]

@mcc@mastodon.social space on right if it's an interruption and the dialogue continues with the same person; no spaces otherwise. I voted no spaces.

examples:

• "I was talking to my fr— look out!"
• "I was talking to my fr—" ¶"Look out!" she screamed.
• Peaches are nice—when they're in season—but not as nice as mangos.

[furrybeta@shark.community]

@mcc I’m not a big emdash fan and generally don’t use them much (usually it’s the editor that converts my plain old dash to emdash), but spaces before and after

[lj@zirk.us]

@mcc it actually depends on if the emdashes are for print or ebook. For print, no spaces. For ebook spaces on both sides.

[annethewriter1@universeodon.com]

@mcc

I only put the space after it, because if there is a space before it, the M-dash can awkwardly begin a line by itself, depending on text flow. Without the space, the M-dash stays with the previous word and guarantees correct line breakage.

[cstamp@mastodon.social]

@mcc Depends on how many characters are left in the post. 😁

[gustodon@mas.to]

@mcc Everything outside of the third answer is an incomprehensible circus of the insane.

[stevebrady@mastodon.social]

@mcc
I'm US and follow Chicago, but my story was published in Canada and they made my m-dashes into hyphens with spaces on both sides. So I think the norms vary by country and language?

[cthos@mastodon.cthos.dev]

@xgranade @mcc Just chiming in with "team spaces on both sides always".

[wifwolf@packmates.org]

@mcc

I usually only use it to indicate a sudden break of thought when spea—

It is a jovial stylistic quible with my friend who is an adherent of Chicago Standard

[kagan@wandering.shop]

@xgranade @mcc This is me, too: voted "spaces on both sides" without even thinking about it, but you reminded me that I do snuggle the em dash up against the stuff before it if and only if it signals an interruption.

Also, I use a non-breaking space on the left side. That way, the em dash is always kept with the word before it; there can never be a line-break before the dash. Only after. The dash can be the last thing on a line, but never the first.

[billd@universeodon.com]

@mcc I feel like the zero-width space (​ or U+200B) needs to be part of this discussion.

[kagan@wandering.shop]

@AnneTheWriter1 @mcc I use non-breaking spaces before the dash for exactly this reason. I *hate* when the dash comes at the beginning of a line.

[bucknam@mastodon.social]

@mcc Robert Bringhurst would like to have a word with everyone who answered this poll — except those who use spaces on both sides of an em dash.

[minego@pdx.social]

@mcc I'm so relieved that the majority of responses aren't from monsters.

[disorderlyf@todon.eu]

@mcc I almost never use them, but I typically don't use spaces when I do. I don't know if it'd say I'm "not a fan" because that implies malice where my actual feelings are apathy. I just personally reach for commas or semicolons before I typically reach for an em dash.

[thezorse@hear-me.social]

@mcc

Yes, but I usually just use a hyphen. It takes a couple of steps to do an em dash on a computer.

[ronjeffries@mastodon.social]

@mcc sometimes both sides for emphasis, but believe that no spaces is "correct".

[slotos@toot.community]

@mcc

Ukrainian — spaces around em dash always. Leading space is skipped when em dash starts the sentence on a new line of the dialogue.

English… no spaces around em dashes that surround parenthetical clauses, but in sentences like the first one, my Ukrainian habits win.