• Microsoft Word will begin flagging two spaces after a period as an error.
  • A long-running debate over whether there should be one or two spaces has been met with both excitement and criticism.
  • The company recently started testing the change on the desktop version of Word.
  • Those who prefer typing two spaces instead of one will be able to adjust Word’s preferences accordingly.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Microsoft is putting its foot down in the age-old debate about whether it’s correct to put one or two spaces after a period.

Microsoft Word’s editor function is getting a new feature that flags two spaces after a period as an error, according to The Verge. Some Twitter users have noticed in recent days that the company recently started testing the change in the desktop version of Word.

The debate over whether to use one space or two has been raging on for years, probably for about as long as we’ve been typing on modern computers. A study from Skidmore College in 2018 even sought to answer the question. Its results found that two spaces were in fact better.

As you might expect, the change from Microsoft Word created quite the stir on Twitter. Some found the update frustrating, while others viewed it as much-needed validation.

https://twitter.com/TylerConn14/status/1253178601584971778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfwhttps://twitter.com/stuart_goosey/status/1253000212001497090?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

If you're still advocating for two spaces instead of one, you'll be able to change this setting, Lifehacker said. There's a "Writing Style" in Microsoft Word's grammar settings that enables you to tell the program not to check for spaces after periods at all or set it to "two space."