Quote:
Originally Posted by Jellby
It's probably related to manual typesetting, and the "rule" is that low punctuation (comma, period) go before high punctuation (quote marks). I don't know the exact reason for this rule, is it just aesthetic? something practical about the handling of lead types?
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IMHO--and this really is complete opinion, no data--it's aesthetic. I think it looks better to the eye, a smoother...flow, or transition, for lack of a better word. I mean, compare these: (hey, if people can post questions about html and css
utterly unrelated to Sigil, I can post typographic
stufferooni, too.)
"...and I thought she said," he continued
"...and I thought she said", he continued.
To me, the eye continues more naturally, from the lower case letters in "
said" to the comma, then to the quotation marks, in an upward-curve, than it does when the eye goes from the lower-case to the quotation marks to the comma, then on to the lower-case letters in "he."
BUT...that's just my $.02. I
vaguely recall something from my student-journalism days (yes, we were still using quill pens then, ha!) about setting lead, but...I can't bring it to the grey-matter now.
Hitch