Re:Human writers have always used the em dash
by mcv on Monday September 15, 2025 @09:41AM
(#45249653)
Clearly computer have introduced a lot more symbols to the keyboard, but for whatever reason, the em-dash wasn't one of them. Not, at least, as part of the original sets of unmodified and shifted keys. There are more symbols hidden under option and ctrl, but those aren't shown on the keyboard and therefore hard to find and unknown to most people.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Human writers have always used the em dash
by bluGill on Monday September 15, 2025 @12:33PM
(#45251766)
computers often insert them for you when you type a normal dash.
Re:Human writers have always used the em dash
by dragonwriter on Monday September 15, 2025 @01:01PM
(#45252147)
> Clearly computer have introduced a lot more symbols to the keyboard, but for whatever reason, the em-dash wasn't one of them
Forms distinguished by width weren’t added to computer keyboards as separate keys because computer keyboards, like typewriters, solidified when computer displays were monospaced. (And, like other forms like proper opening and closing quotes, limited space on the keyboard was a concern.)