title: JQUERY AJAX, Issues with spaces being sent to the server, Why?
body: <p>I'm using the following code to post to the server which is then sent to a MYSQL query to find matches via search.</p>
  
  <pre><code>$.ajax({
  url: '/search/spotlight/',
  data: "q=" + $(this).val(),
  success: function(data) {
  }
  });
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>When Q's val has spaces in it, it's creating problems. I'm wondering if I'm handling this correctly? Do I need to encode the value in the AJAX call? Or is this a problem on my backend, which is ColdFusion</p>
  
  <p>Right now JQUERY is posting the following to the server:
  /search/spotlight/?q=FirstName%20LastName</p>
  
  <p>is this right?</p>