> but it's not actually valid ruby.

You are correct that it is invalid for 1.8.6. The code runs just fine in 1.9, though. I take advantage of many things that don't work in 1.8.6, so I'm not particularly concerned with my method chaining breaking compatibility.

I prefer the more-than-2-spaces indentation because, by the shape of the code, it is clearer to me that this is a method chain and not a change in control structure. That is also obvious by actually reading the code, though, so I'm fine putting that down to personal preference.