One or two spaces after a sentence?

Two spaces after a sentence is a holdover from the days before computers and desktop publishing. Typewriters used mono-spaced fonts where every letter had an equal amount of horizontal space. Adding two spaces after a sentence made mono-spaced lines easier to read. However most every font on a PC or Mac uses proportional typesetting so typing two spaces after a sentence are no longer needed yet old typewriter habits still continue. In proportional typesetting skinny letters are given less space than wide ones, white space between letters takes on a balanced appearance. Without the extra white space characteristic in mono-spaced type, breaks between sentences stand out in proportional typesetting without the need for two spaces after a line. Here are some articles with more information on the issue of one or two spaces after a sentence:

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/space_invaders.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_spacing
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/how-many-spaces-after-a-period
http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/typespacing/a/onetwospaces.htm
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/spaces-period-end-of-sentence.aspx

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