: Is it acceptable to put the period after the quotation mark? As a programmer, it always bothered me when the period was inside the quotation marks, like so: His nickname was "Quincy."

@Shelley992

Posted in: #Fiction #Grammar #Publishing

As a programmer, it always bothered me when the period was inside the quotation marks, like so:
His nickname was "Quincy."

I'd much prefer to do it this way:
His nickname was "Quincy".

This way, the quotation ends before the sentence does, meaning that the symbols are all in correct order, especially when compared to the "code" version of it:
his.nickname = "Quincy";

However, it doesn't bother me when the period is inside the quotation marks when the quote actually contains a period:
The note said, "The sky is blue."

If I want to publish a fiction book, is it acceptable to put the period outside the quotation marks if the quote normally wouldn't contain a period?

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@Radia543

@Radia543

Periods and other punctuation marks being placed inside of quotation marks is a typographical convention. "Full stop." If you do it differently, it will stand out, and not in a good way.
If you want your writing to be published, follow the conventions and style rules of the publisher, institution or organization.
This is not about programming syntax, or "logical" rules. You are not writing code. You are not writing in languages other than English -- which have their own conventions for punctuation marks (including different quotation marks).
In a direct quotation, there are some rare cases where punctuation would go outside the quotes. One example is asking a question about a direct quote that is not a question:
Did Abraham Lincoln say, "Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it."?
"Official English department 'rules'" is not a thing, by the way. There are official anthropology department rules, official biology department rules, official Associated Press rules, official Chicago Manual of Style rules, official American Medical Association rules, official Modern Language Association rules, and on and on. Point being, there are STYLE GUIDES for this stuff, and just as a programmer needs to know C# syntax, or Python syntax, you need to know that there are publication styles guides that spell out the "syntax rules" -- and you should know about and consult at least one of them.

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