TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
>...and the foreign American ("foreign American"??) will know a new
>color! Ahh, what a service we provide!
>BTW, any comments on my placing the puncuation _outside_ the
>quotes when it follows a PHRASE, as in the paragraph above?
>I just can't see putting them _inside_ the quotes except when
>writing dialog. I'd LOVE to hear others' opinions on this!
I've kind of thought the difference, inside or outside, was American
English (at least for commas and periods) versus English English. I
could be wrong; such things tend to be muddled in my brain, which is
mildly allergic to grammar and is further confused by being Can-Am. (Is
it focussed or focused? Hmm....)
Personal preference, without consulting a reference: punctuation
_outside_ unless it goes with the quoted text. Otherwise there's
possible confusion in phrases like:
At the DOS prompt, type "C:".
If the period is inside the quotation marks, the user might type "C:."
Trivial example, I suppose, and perhaps better solved with devices other
than quotation marks, but you get the idea.
