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Spaces can also cause problems if you want to generate a URL for a username (requires inserting '%20') or if you want to generate an e-mail address for them.

Also, spaces (like dashes and underscores) make it easier to create similarly confusing usernames (i.e. "maryjane" and "mary jane")

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The second argument does not hold: maryjane and mаryjаne are similar but are different sequences of bytes.

The other issue with spaces is that you cannot easily tell how many there are. For example: "Johnny Appleseed" vs "Johnny Appleseed".

BTW, are there any languages/cultures in which the name structure dictates spaces before/after the name or the number of spaces between words in the name?

Humans don't parse things byte by byte, his argument is perfectly valid. Yuo cna stlil raed tihs cnat yuo?

The second argument does not hold: maryjane and mаryjаne are similar but are different sequences of bytes.

You're nit-picking with that attempt at an argument. If I'm a moderator of a large forum and my user name is "MaryJane", is the community made better when a "Mary Jane" joins? Obviously not - there would be confusion as to who the mod is (regardless of icons/colors/other text used to display the true mod). In marketing speak, "It dilutes the brand".

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