Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Allow me to clarify that I like both a first line indentation (1.5em is my default setting) and a small separation.
|
My preference is a small separation (around 1/2 of a line) between the paragraphs with no first-line indent since it clearly indicates what is a paragraph. However, I don't have a problem with the common first-line indent but I dislike it when combined with a separation between the paragraphs. For me, it is one or the other but not both since that is redundant.
I think a reason the first-line indent has been used is to reduce the number of pages in a book. With physical books this is a consideration, as is the number of pages. My understanding is that due to the requirements of printing the number of pages in a book is always some factor of four, so formatting that results in one extra printed page ends up with an additional three blank pages. With e-book the number of pages is not an issue, thus formatting that increases the number of pages isn't a concern.