The Song Fight Bulletin Board

1. One space after the period, folks.
2. Unless you're British, periods and commas go inside the quotes, and don't use single quotes unless you're quoting inside a quote.

This Public Service Announcement is brought to you by some guys who's sick of this shit going on in supposedly professional publications that he has to work on.

"
2. Unless you're British, periods and commas go inside the quotes, "

So, wait, what?

"I'm confused," said the girl.

Isn't that what it's meant to be like?

Bjam wrote:"
2. Unless you're British, periods and commas go inside the quotes, "

So, wait, what?

"I'm confused," said the girl.

Isn't that what it's meant to be like?

Yup. But

j$ wrote:The problem is actually with the concept of 'serious discussion'. Generally and specifically here on the songfight forums. And that's a problem I hope we always have.

is only correct cause J$ is posting from England.

My, my, my. It looks like someone got a copy of "Eats Shoots and Leaves" in their Easter basket.

Yeah I pretty much disagree with the whole idea of "period inside the quotes". Grammar exists to make things more clear, and that just doesn't.

If it makes sense in context, then ok, but so often putting punctuation inside the quotes implies that the punctuation is part of what's being quoted rather than part of the sentence doing the quoting. And that's bad, impo.

jb

c hack wrote:This Public Service Announcement is brought to you by some guys who's sick of this shit going on in supposedly professional publications that he has to work on.

So tell them instead of us. This isn't a "supposedly professional publication that you have to work on".

Well, fuck, for the life of me I can't make a post with two spaces after a period.

jb wrote:Yeah I pretty much disagree with the whole idea of "period inside the quotes". Grammar exists to make things more clear, and that just doesn't.

If it makes sense in context, then ok, but so often putting punctuation inside the quotes implies that the punctuation is part of what's being quoted rather than part of the sentence doing the quoting. And that's bad, impo.

jb

Thank You.

Niveous wrote:My, my, my. It looks like someone got a copy of "Eats Shoots and Leaves" in their Easter basket.

Haha, I want that book now.

jb wrote:Yeah I pretty much disagree with the whole idea of "period inside the quotes". Grammar exists to make things more clear, and that just doesn't.

I think it originated from something involving the chance of a period letterform breaking in a printing press, or something like that. But I think it's more readable the American way, anyway. Outside the quotes, it's way off in no man's land.

Anyway, the rule only applies to periods and commas. Other punctuation is generally placed by context.

15-16 puzzle wrote: So tell them instead of us. This isn't a "supposedly professional publication that you have to work on".

Oh, I forgot that everyone in here is a professional musician and no one has day jobs that may or may not involve them writing sentences, and there's no chance that they might benefit from this stuff, and that I was physically forcing all of you to read this.

You seem like a lot of fun.

15-16 puzzle wrote:You seem like a lot of fun.

you should see me after a few beers

man, quit hitting on me

keep going, I almost choked on my tea.....

Two spaces after the period, one after the comma, semi-colon, colon et al.

And in the sentence I have just written, the intrinsic (sp) problem with grammar. After the word 'period' it should be a semi-colon - links the two parts of a sharing-phrase sentence together, but it doesn't look right. Yet, put it in, and it doesn't read right. There should be a double comma icon, for the two-breath pause that is natural in slightly stilted speech.

But as for inside / outside - it's whether it's an indicating quotation, or a natural continuation. i.e. speech = "get down off your grammar high horse," he said, smugly, "you're a bit drunk, and you don't know what you're talking about..." but conversationly ... so if we're talking about "get down off your grammar high horse", then perhaps we should slap j$ repeatedly until he gets a life ....

see? Oh god, I could ramble inaccurately about this all night, and then again tomorrow ....

j$

Just you wait until Sparks starts Writefight. People are gonna be dangling participles here and splitting infinitives there. It's gonna be a regular grammar hullabaloo.

(Begins to hum "Verb, that's what's happening")

Oh Johnny the Grammar Nazi is hanging over that little project like Damocles' sword, only blunter ....

definitely two spaces after a period. i always used to think it was two after a colon as well but i've since discovered this to not be the case. (splitting infinitives is something i'll try to not do any more of for the remainder of this post). furthermore: punctuation ordinarily goes inside quotation marks unless the quotation is contained in a sentence which ends with a different punctuation mark than the quotation -- for example:

Johnny, why would you say "get down off your grammar high horse"?

or if the quotation marks are denoting a word or phrase which is being referred to in an objective sense in the sentence, which i think is what j$ is sort of alluding to above -- for example:

Although I am a big fan of the word "irregardless", I am sadly forced to admit it actually does not exist.

woot.

tviyh wrote:definitely two spaces after a period.

Damn, you guys are arguing this like it's a matter of opinion. Pick up a fucking book, look how many spaces there are after the period.

http://www.google.com/search?client=saf ... ter+period

tviyh wrote:furthermore: punctuation ordinarily goes inside quotation marks unless the quotation is contained in a sentence which ends with a different punctuation mark than the quotation -- for example:

Johnny, why would you say "get down off your grammar high horse"?

Don't forget to capitalize the g
Johnny, why would you say "Get down off your grammar high horse"?

And of course:
Johnny, why would you say "Can you get down off your grammar high horse?"

But also:
Johnny said, "Get down off your grammar high horse."

and:
Johnny kept talking about his stupid "horse."

Unless, of course, you're in England.

It IS 2 spaces after a period. See? Also goes for any punctuation that ends the sentence, like an exclamation point.

c hack wrote:

tviyh wrote:definitely two spaces after a period.

Damn, you guys are arguing this like it's a matter of opinion. Pick up a fucking book, look how many spaces there are after the period.

http://www.google.com/search?client=saf ... ter+period

Ironically enough, in the first link that Google found, Bill Hill wrote:Bill Hill gives his opinion on why you only put one space after a period.

Seriously though, next time I typeset a book, I'll be sure to follow the "one space after end punctuation" rule, as I am gleening that it is industry standard. But most people of a certain age learned the "two spaces after end punctuation rule" in junior high school at a time when computers where still a bit of a novelty, from typing teachers who themselves had learned to type on typewriters. For people on typewriters, the two-space rule was the norm, and it will take a while longer still for the one-space rule to be followed implicitly everywhere at all times by all people regardless of typesetting knowhow.

Does any of this really matter in a musci-oriented message forum? Let's get all snobby about grammar. Big deal. I think it makes more sense to get all snobby about tuning or having harmonically correct music. Let's make everything sterile and follow ALL THE RULES.

yea! yipee!




...wait... did I just pollute a help and how to thread with an off topic conversation...damn, yet another rule broken. AND THREE SPACES.


Seriously. I have about .03 % knowledge on grammar and the like... and I just DON'T CARE. I will however, continue to place three spaces after my periods until I have exhausted my thumb, just because it feels good to break the rules every now and then. IT'S TEH ROCK AND ROLL THING TO DO.


And now that I'm done being a tard, please continue my free education on grammar. (Note, only one space.... but I'll be damned if I understand where teh fuck I'm supposed to put my punctation after this bracket... damn it I'M IN CANADA!!! THING'S ARE DIFFERENT HERE!!! HELP!!!!).

Are you seeing the three spaces show up in your posts?

Now that's punk!!! As long as PeePLE DoN"T Get LiKE cre8TivE TeeNs ON A CEllPHone It'll be FinE.