Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers/Archive 50

message: I’m certain that a non-breaking space is required between the number value and the unit if the unit is abbreviated, but is it required when the unit is not abbreviated?  For example, is the   in 50 centimetres necessary? --HeteroZellous 19:37, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: If the number is written as a numeral ("50") then there should be a non-breaking space so it is not left hanging at the end of a sentence. If the number is written out as a word ("fifty") then there need not be a non-breaking space. -- Centrx 00:14, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text:  These should be handled by the software, not written in manually... — Omegatron 00:29, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text:  I agree that the software should handle this but I have just fixed a problem of the word "million" falling to the start of the next line leaving "£7" hanging precariously at the end of the preceding line. I had to use   to prevent a premature devaluation. -- Alias Flood 02:07, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text:  I agree too that it should be handled by the software (or, anyway, in a single point of maintenance). As a general remark (meta-guideline?), I would advise against complex guidelines such as "if it's abbreviated do this, if it's spelled out do this instead". In my experience on wikipedia they highly increase the error rate from both newcomers and expert editors, and consequently the amount of article fixes and edit history noise, for a very little gain. —Gennaro Prota•Talk 16:17, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

text: Re Centrix: That's not the impression I get, and it's not the way that the wiki code is currently (full disclosure—it was inconsistent a few weeks ago, and I changed it to its current state).  Either way though, not a big deal; if that's the way people want it, let's make it more clear on the actual page. --Spangineer[es] (háblame) 12:27, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: There are many formatting policies not implemented or enforced in the wiki code, that doesn't mean they aren't part of the recommended style. By the premise of the initial question, the nbsp in an abbreviated unit is not in the wiki code either. In software, this would be implemented by having a list of unit names, which could not be exhaustive? -- Centrx 17:29, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: One would hope that the WP:MoS would at least be the one thing that complies with the WP:MoS.  If you click the section edit link at WP:DATE#Units of measurement, you'll see things like "the Moon is 380,000 kilometres (240,000 mi) from Earth".  If policy is truly that   always follows numbers, that should be explicitly stated and the examples here be fixed. --Spangineer[es] (háblame) 13:13, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

text: This applies to the abbreviated units too? Also, does the standard simply ignore it, or does it explicitly state that there should be a regular space? -- Centrx 17:29, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

text: Uh? Has it ever been standard? —Gennaro Prota•Talk 00:55, 5 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Good point.  It is a proprietory Netscape tag.  It is no longer necessary.  The two modern solutions are   and .... — Gulliver ✉ 12:59, 7 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Non-breaking space before non-abbreviated unit