To Indent Or Not To Indent

  I asked someone recently if they indented their paragraphs on emails and message boards. As it turns out I have been doing it for a long time. I still remember my English teacher drilling it into us that we MUST indent or we would fail her class. I guess email and message boards have different rules.
 
 Is this out the door ? Like turn signals? It seems as if some folks only use a turn signal in order to pass their drivers test, after that they forget they have one entirely. So is letter form out the door too? Maybe I'll need to change my ways with the times. Not that I always get my punctuation correct, but I try.
 
 Wait ten more years when texting  makes it into mainstream writing. 
 
 Class here is your assignment-
 
 "U are my BFF when U going 2 B here i can B here for U if U hurry I will wait until i C U  B4 I go K"
 
 

.. deleted duplicate post ..
 

As far as I can tell there are no universal rules for indentation. You just follow the style manual/requirements for the work you are doing. And the style requirements for a manuscript do not need to follow the style that the ultimate publication uses. The general principle, if there is one, seems to be that you need to do something to indicate that a new paragraph has begun. So separating block (not indented) paragraphs from each other by spaces seems to be very common in published work. The block style is by far the most common in business letters, and as more stuff is turned out by computers it seems to be taking over from indenting on almost everything produced as a one off.
 
Manuscripts (really typescripts now) usually are done to a style that requires double spacing, so it is much more common to find indentation required there since an extra space is ambiguous as a paragraph separator. This is also true of a lot of academic writing (theses, reports) where the extra spaces can be used for comments by the editor or teacher. When those are eventually published, often they will be block style.
 
In any event, the consumer of your writing may have very specific requirements that may or may not be what you learned in English class. If he has his own style manual get it, or if he requires you to follow one of the general style manuals find out which one and follow that.
 

Sorry slartabartfast, I must have posted before your post went through.
 
No doubt word processors and then computers changed how things were done, at least I'm guessing that they did.
 
When a person wrote by hand (which is becoming more and more obsolete) it was likely a way to save paper by simply indenting and not spacing.
 
Indenting seems easier than spacing on a computer, at least for me,the keys are easier to reach with the way I type. In terms of copy from a computer I can see why spacing takes precedence over indent, but probably wastes more paper.
 
Certainly easier to read something that isn't all crammed together. Never heard the idea that spaces are for critique in some cases. Interesting.
 
 
 
 

The important thing to remember is that whatever stylistic rules you follow in your posting, you are morally obligated to ridicule and degrade everyone whose writing does not follow your rules.  This is the Internet, after all.  If a question regarding independent authoritative sources comes up and you find yourself without emperical evidence, you should immediately abandon all pretense of a reasonable argument and launch into a series of inane insults.  If, after the course of one or two brief paragraphs, you've completely exhausted your lexicon of insults, restate them in capital letters.  That makes your argument appear much smarter.  Make sure to use sweeping and general nonsensical statements.  Every time your opponent pauses to ask, "What?" you've won.  Assume that silence means that no one can stand before your vast and intimidating intellect.
 
For those who don't agree, I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that you are, in fact, a Derp.  (I don't know.  One of my kids says that all the time.)
 
You're welcome.

What?

I indent on paper.  I use block format on e-mails and the forum.  I don't have confidence in how a message will look to the person receiving it when there are indentations.  I'm sure it is fine these days.  It's just a habit that persists. 

I came sooooo close to posting that exact image here.  Good to see someone else did.

SteveStrummerUK
...

• One doesn't indent if paragraphs are separated by a space (approximately two required returns on a typewriter, or the equivalent paragraph formatting on a word processor) - examples would be in correspondence/letter writing.
• One does indent if paragraphs are not separated by a space - as in a book, or newspaper.

...

That means ... ohh wait ...
 
     That means that I indent if it is a new paragraph, since a SPACE is not an indication that the paragraph/though is finished, and would suggest that the newspaper has different rules than a book, which is the original problem. It was newspapers that killed the indent because they needed the space, and started ignoring grammar!
 
     So let's see! (Space) I would not indent here, because it is the same paragraph/sentence.
    
     So let's try this again! (Space)
 
     I would indent here because Strummy said so!
 
Oh wait ... if I'm doing email, indenting is for educated people that don't post here? And the rules make no sense, and in essence say exactly the same thing?
 
I hate English sometimes. The grammar, specially in America is so bad, it's ridiculous! 
 
 
 
 
 

jamesg1213
You forgot 'Hi'.

    Hi.