And even as I look at this post, I see that it has automatically inserted the single space...aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!

Laughing...really...I am...!

Yikes I always thought it was ONE. BUTI like your justification for two. I'll mull it over.. mulling is good for whatever ails you.

Yeah, 2 spaces for me. Boo for new fangled software that disrespects my school learnin'!

"Any thoughts?"

Most formal style guides call for two spaces after a period. Newspaper columns are sometimes so narrow that two spaces results in a jagged gutter, so they use one space (we used two spaces at our newspaper and the jagged gutter wasn't really a problem).

Informally, people do whatever the hell they want. Of course, informally, "ur" is an abbreviation and not an ancient city.

In days gone-by, when type was set in metal, I'm sure one space was correct. I spent quite a few years setting metal type by hand and poring over typography books when I was a teenager! Most book typesetting still seems to adhere to this, although if the type is justified the space can appear bigger. When I did a course in touch typing it was rap over the knuckles if two spaces weren't put in... so where does that leave us? Right back where we started!

Yours truly, a punctuation fan

I believe two spaces was in usage for mono space fonts, such as old fashioned typewriters that always used the same amount of space for each letter. old fashioned print technology, such as the old Dyno label makers, highway signs, and those office door signs still use mono fonts (er, but don't usually use periods or sentences). But even the Dyno label makers have been updated to use the alternative: variable space fonts. on your computer, you can still find some mono space fonts, such as certain cuts of Courier.

variable space fonts fit together better--such as a lowecase f does not take up the same width space as a capital M. the flow of a sentence typed in variable space fonts alleviates the need for two spaces after a period. since the letters flow together better in variable space fonts, reading a paragraph hardly requires the eye the relief of the two spaces. variable space fonts are extremely prevalent in most type we see in ads, publications, signage and even on screens (like phones, tvs, computers).

technology has changed the standards that were developed with older technologies. i.e. times change. the need (rest for the eye) has been solved with variable space fonts, so we don't use the old solution (two spaces after period).

Personally, I prefer two spaces. However, both the Chicago Manual of Style and APA Style Manual have a one-space-after-the-period rule. I'm so glad we live in free country where we are free to choose our personal preferences.

when i was married i thought a whole week after a period was long time.

Put two spaces after any endmark: period, question mark or exclamation mark.

i wish i knew where i read it but one space is sufficient. there's some archaic reasoning behind the double space. considering the period is so small it allows for the illusion of two spaces when there is really only one. double space just looks awkward to me ever since i read that.