Broken Whitespace

Definition:

Broken Whitespace is the presence of unwanted spaces, tabs, etc. or the lack thereof in a place it is desired. Broken Whitespace can also be whitespace of one type such as space bar presses being used where tab key presses are desired. A WikiWord is composed of the word 'Wiki', a Broken Whitespace, and the word 'Word'. Word? As used in Wikis the word broken follows the JargonFile meaning almost exactly and could be considered a franken jargon word. I would classify this as FrankenJargon.

-- R.B.Young

Whitespace, being invisible, frequently gets bumped into, stepped on, and generally roughed up. This wouldn't be so bad if whitespace weren't so insecure. So instead of just moving on in a sensible fashion, whitespace takes it personally and lets this kind of stuff get it down.

So, the next time you see (or not) some broken whitespace, take some time to listen and give a cheery word. It'll pay unexpected dividends (or not).

-- BobBockholt

Um, pardon me for seeming stupid, but just what the hell IS "Broken Whitespace"? Sorry, but is there a WikiAggravation? topic for those who get frustrated with the manner in which links are created that appear to point to something meaningful, perhaps ('zounds!) a HelpfulDefinition?, but only point to the pointless?

I don't know what Bob had in mind, but there are some infamous issues on the subject, like with make, which goes nuts if you indent rule actions with space instead of tab.

In some wikis, including this one, people (or their editors) occasionally replace tabs with spaces, breaking lists or quotation blocks. This is referred to generally as BrokenWhitespace, and I assume that's what's referred to here, especially since the WikiGnome page points here.

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