"Matt Young" wrote in message
ink.net...
According to my grammar handbook and any style guides available online,
periods always go inside closing quotation marks.

"Any style guides available online"? Really? You've read every single one?

Interesting. In any case, a) you are referring only to the American
"standard" usage, and b) it's based on out-dated typographical needs (to
protect delicate periods and commas from wear and tear during the printing
process). You didn't even bother to ask whether I learned English in the
US, or elsewhere where a different standard is used.

Many people, in the US and including myself, find the logical British
convention more compelling and use that instead. This is the way of the
future, and I choose to be there earlier than the laggards.

Pete