L2/02-349

Date/Time:    Tue Oct 22 15:55:38 EDT 2002
Contact:      donald.figge@usa.xerox.com
Report Type:  Technical Report or Tech Note issues

Regarding the en-dash and em-dash, I don't see why they need to connect
or should connect. They are not forms characters or rules. Neither are
they like underbars (a.k.a. lowbars or underscores), which should indeed
connect. Unlike dashes, those are what I would call "technical characters."
Dashes are "typographical characters." Xerox typographic design standards
call for dashes not to be connected, and I know of at least one other
major company in this business whose design standards also call for dashes
not to be connected. During my 26 years in digital typography (and
additional years in analog typography), I don't recall seeing dashes
as connecting characters. It has happened only in rare instances where
they were custom designed for specific customers to fill certain needs.
But those were anomalies.

If the goal is to be able to make a continuous line at dash level, then
that really calls for [a] unique character[s]. It would be unfortunate
to compromise the essence of a character just to make it multifunctional.
That would be like unifying numeral zero and uppercase O, or numeral one
and lowercase l. That was done of necessity in old typewriters.
That necessity no longer exists.

Just my nickel's worth.

Don
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