: Em dash: space or no space between words On the use of em dashes. Is it better to omit the spaces between the words and the dash, or is it preferable to separate them with spaces instead?

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No spaces is the best usage of the mutton.

1.The dog ran outside—and promptly shat in the yard.

vs.

2.The dog ran outside -- and promptly shat in the yard.

vs.

3.The dog ran outside — and promptly shat in the yard.

All are correct.

The -- was for "back in tha day" when computers could not
render — properly. We have modern browsers and JavaScript
so editors need to chill. Using — is ok.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dash

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As always, the golden rules: be consistent; do what your style guide tells you to do.

For example, Chicago Style dictates that you must not have spaces before and after the em dash, while AP Style dictates that you should have spaces before and after, except when used to introduce items in a vertical list. (See this article for more information.)

If you are not using a style guide, my advice would be for the spaces. By not putting in spaces, it almost makes the two words on either sides joined, like they're hyphenated, which can be disconcerting. I find the extra spaces to improve readability, but I don't have any proof to support that, just my personal preference.

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