when i use CSS to set my letter spacing to, say, 2px, it always takes three <br>'s to get just one empty line between two paragraphs. can anyone explain why and perhaps come up with a remedy to the problem? i mean, i can continue to use three <br> but it gets a little stupid.

Because <br> is for line breaks. It just causes the text to go down the line directly beneath. Try using <p> instead ^^

i see what you're saying [and i will try using <p>] but the logic doesn't seem right. each <BR> starts a new line, right? so when i do <br><BR>
then it should be something like this:

i like dogs.

they're furry.

but when i've got the 'letter-spacing: 2px' bit in there, when i use two <br> it gives me this:

i like dogs.
they're furry.

see what i mean? it takes me one additional break to get the extra line in there. and... i guess i just want to know why.

I believe the <br> problem with letter spacing is only with IE. It's been a while since I've used the code, but I'm pretty sure that it works perfectly fine in Netscape (2 <br>s making a space between lines). The only way around it would be to use the <p> tag.

Another reason why IE is horrible :P

Try adding some line-height to your CSS in the area where you're applying the letter-spacing. If you're using 11px, 12px, or 13px font I recommend line-height: 18px; as your best choice. You may need to edit that though.

And use the <p> tags. They are there for a reason.