I don’t know about programming but even in the 80s—and probably at least the 60s when the Selectric entered the game—tabs in typing and typesetting were format control signifiers without a predefinition; set by document, style declaration, or even a single line. They had no set spacing or even justification. These are all valid tabs and part of why I think tabs have no business in code.

[one tab]Text…
           [one tab]Text…
          [one tab]Longer…
                             [one tab]Text…
                      [one tab]Longer text…
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