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If, for example I have this sentence:

He started a website, SaveSandy.org, however this website is currently “Under maintenance”.

Does the period go on the outside, or the inside of the quotation marks? I've seen various newspaper and web articles with it on the inside, and on the outside.

Which one is it? And if possible, preferably give me a source, to verify your claim? Also, I'm talking about American English, not British. Thanks.

Dan Bron
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Rubydesic
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    This is a matter of style; adhere to the guidance provided by your editor, your organization, or your preferred style guide. The traditional American convention, at least in the 20th century, was to place periods and commas inside the quotation marks. This is still the most common practice in print journalism and publishing, but less common in technical contexts. – choster Sep 28 '15 at 21:37
  • That quote goes before the period; the period belongs to the sentence containing the quote, not the quote itself. If you quote a whole sentence, the quote goes outside the period. Same principle for all other sentence punctuation. – John Lawler Sep 28 '15 at 21:41
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    It always, always bugged me to include anything in quotes which was not literally verbatim or clearly marked as an editorial insertion. If the source didn't have the marks, they should not be inside the quotes. Also, I like my sentences proper (the things outside quotes) to end in a clear punctuation mark; if inside quotes, it's not clear whether the source is ending his sentence, or I'm ending mine. – Dan Bron Sep 28 '15 at 21:42
  • @DanBron: there is no ambiguity on who is ending the sentence normally, because a sentence-ending period before a quotation mark is changed to a comma if the enclosing sentence is not finished. – herisson Sep 28 '15 at 23:05
  • @sumelic New ambiguity: did the source's sentence end there, or was a period converted to a comma for the convenience of the enclosing sentence? – Dan Bron Sep 28 '15 at 23:23

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