my problem with the emdash

[nibot]

I think the mdash — which I am ilustrating right here — should be offset with spaces.

Convention is that the emdash—which is just a hyphenated parenthetical interjection—is not.

Comments

Re: Ack!

[fanlain.livejournal.com]

And the endash can be used (http://www.typography-1st.com/typo/typset.htm) like an emdash in type though I agree it's not the most common usage:

"For strictly aesthetic considerations, it can also be used as a substitute for a hyphen in type set all-caps if the hyphen looks too small. Similarly, some typographers recommend using the en dash and thin spaces when using condensed or small x-height fonts instead of the em dash."

And, technically, we were also taught that the "AM" and "PM" should be a point size smaller than the time before it and sent in small caps which does look aesthetically much better though you won't see it being done by designers all that much (I do because I like it and think the way it reads that the numeric time should be given slightly more weight than the AM or PM designation).

I was a design major and English minor. It's interesting how the aesthetics v. legibility v. readability differs between the disciplines.