[REBOL] English Syntax Re:
From: joel:neely:fedex at: 16-Aug-2000 8:11
[jelinem1--nationwide--com] wrote:
...[snip]
> IMO the "period inside the quotes" rule will change, based on popular
> usage. I think the only people who write according to the current rule are
> authors, editors, and english professors.
>
Actually, I understand from People Who Should Know that European usage
(in the "officially sanctioned" sense) has already started swinging
toward the more rational rule of:
inside the quotes == text and punctuation being replicated
outside the quotes == text and punctuation not being replicated
The archaic "punctuation inside quotes" rule has NEVER made sense to me,
and makes even less after a few decades of being a geek. Consider the
difference in the sentences:
The Unix/Linux command for removing a file is "rm,"
which corresponds to the MS-DOS command "erase."
The Unix/Linux command for removing a file is "rm",
which corresponds to the MS-DOS command "erase".
Unfortunately, I've had to read technical books edited by tradition
fiends who forced the use of the first style above. The result was,
of course, to render the text nearly useless to anyone who didn't
already know the subject well.
Maybe the Chicago Manual of Style will enter the 21st century soon.
-jn-
