python adds an extra half space when reading from a string or list

[Joshua Landau]

On 3 July 2013 02:21,  <rurpy at yahoo.com> wrote:
> On 07/02/2013 05:18 PM, Joshua Landau wrote:
>> On 2 July 2013 23:34, Ben Finney <ben+python at benfinney.id.au> wrote:
>>[...]
>>> Needless to say, I disagree with your position. There is no place for
>>> baseless insults in this community; but when the behaviour of someone in
>>> this community is harmful, then it is entirely appropriate to use clear
>>> terms (e.g. “incompetent”, “inconsiderate”) to describe their behaviour.
>>
>> Firstly, describing someone's behaviour and describing someone's
>> character are two completely different things. The second is far more
>> judgemental and unhelpful than the first. Antoon is describing
>> people's character. You are talking about describing their actions.
>
> In practice there is often little difference.  "You are acting
> like an asshole" could be defended as describing a behavior
> and "you are rude" as describing a character (rude by nature).

"You are acting like an asshole" *is* describing someone's behaviour.
"You are an asshole" is the equivalent describing their character.
In turn, "You are rude" *is* describing their character.

However, I said the "second is far more judgemental and unhelpful than
the first". I stand by that, but don't take that to mean that comments
on people's behaviour cannot be insulting of derogatory, nor that
comments on character have to be insulting. Calling someone rude may
be worse than saying that they are acting rude, but it is not unjust
if they have been rude, for example.

> The reality is that few of the people at whom such statements
> are aimed will make such fine distinction.  If you use negatively
> judgemental statements against other posters, a significant
> number of them will respond to you in kind.

I think most people will take "you are stupid" and "what you've done
is stupid" to have very different levels of hostility, even though the
same thing to be said has been expressed. That does not mean people
will not take offense at the second, but they will take less. I
believe that this does generalise.

Note that I am not advocating calling people's actions stupid, as it
is still just a harsher way of saying "you've made a mistake".