# No more avatars and no pics in signatures **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 9, 2016, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630 "2016-01-09T21:28:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/21 "2016-01-10T14:32:09Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Just so you know, people will mock you for punctuation more than content. Posts with atrocious punctuation rarely have any content worth mocking. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/22 "2016-01-11T21:19:44Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Top posting sucks! Also, down with AOL!!! Don’t make me Compuserve your ass 🙂 Also, I got an old .edu account I can whip out. AND a mil.gov.area51 account I’ll use if I have to. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/23 "2016-01-12T03:10:57Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Just so you know, people will mock you for punctuation more than content. Which is quite true. And quite funny. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/24 "2016-01-12T17:13:50Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Which is quite true. And quite funny. You shouldn’t have used a period after “true.” That second part isn’t a complete sentence. Neener neener! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/25 "2016-01-16T04:19:23Z")
Periods come _outside_ quotation marks. Sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/26 "2016-01-16T11:59:34Z")
Even if the words being quoted are a fragmented sentence? For example, were I quoting President Clinton, I might wish to make use his ever-popular phrase, " I did not have sex with that woman." What if I wished to use only part of the phrase? Could it not properly read, " I did not have sex ". ? ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/27 "2016-01-16T12:47:00Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Even if the words being quoted are a fragmented sentence? > > For example, were I quoting President Clinton, I might wish to make use his ever-popular phrase, " I did not have sex with that woman." > > What if I wished to use only part of the phrase? Could it not properly read, " I did not have sex ". > > ? That would be a fragment of one particular sentence, but it wouldn’t be a sentence fragment in the grammatical sense; it’s an independent clause (has both a subject and verb). /probablybeingwhooshed ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/28 "2016-01-16T12:48:01Z")
Nope. I was being completely serious. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/29 "2016-01-16T14:20:31Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Periods come _outside_ quotation marks. Sheesh! Depends. [British or American?](http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/how-to-use-quotation-marks) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/30 "2016-01-16T17:44:54Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Nope. I was being completely serious. As **Musicat** notes, the convention differs between British and American usage. The period is inside the quotes in American usage, outside in British. The partial quote you suggest would not be appropriate because it changes the meaning of the original. However, for the more general case where a partial quote ends a sentence the period would simply go inside the quote (American) or outside (British). It would be possible to end the quote with an ellipsis, but that is normally not done (ellipses generally only being used within a quote except in special cases). ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/31 "2016-01-16T23:11:26Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Periods come _outside_ quotation marks. Sheesh! From the link provided: > [@](#): > > Compositors―people who layout printed material with type―made the original rule that placed periods and commas inside quotation marks to protect the small metal pieces of type from breaking off the end of the sentence. The quotation marks protected the commas and periods. In the early 1900s, it appears that the Fowler brothers (who wrote a famous British style guide called The King’s English) began lobbying to make the rules more about logic and less about the mechanics of typesetting. They won the British battle, but Americans didn’t adopt the change. That’s why we have different styles. Because of this, I feel the British style is more sensible, and therefore I prefer that style. The punctuation goes inside the quotes when it is part of the quote, it goes outside the quotes when it is not part of the quote. ---
**Author:** ![ArnieCunningham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@ArnieCunningham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArnieCunningham)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/32 "2016-01-16T23:37:08Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > From the link provided: > > Because of this, I feel the British style is more sensible, and therefore I prefer that style. The punctuation goes inside the quotes when it is part of the quote, it goes outside the quotes when it is not part of the quote. Very true indeed. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/33 "2016-01-16T23:54:18Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Because of this, I feel the British style is more sensible, and therefore I prefer that style. The punctuation goes inside the quotes when it is part of the quote, it goes outside the quotes when it is not part of the quote. That’s how I do it, too, even though I’m (mostly) American-taught. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/34 "2016-01-17T01:24:27Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Because of this, I feel the British style is more sensible, and therefore I prefer that style. The punctuation goes inside the quotes when it is part of the quote, it goes outside the quotes when it is not part of the quote. As the original (non)offender, I tend to agree and usually put the punctuation outside the quotes. But being well aware of Gaudere’s Law, I made damn sure I followed the correct rule in my post (for an American board). ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/35 "2016-01-17T19:53:10Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > What if I wished to use only part of the phrase? Could it not properly read, " I did not have sex ". > > ? No, because no one would ever believe that the Horndog-in-Chief would ever say that. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/36 "2016-01-18T01:31:38Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Never had 'em, never will (hopefully). How will artistic souls express themselves? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/37 "2016-01-18T01:38:59Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > How will artistic souls express themselves? Interpretive dance, as always. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/38 "2016-01-18T01:56:32Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Interpretive dance, as always. But videos can not be posted on SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/39 "2016-01-18T02:23:53Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > But videos can not be posted on SDMB. The potential audience here at the SDMB will survive somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630/40 "2016-01-19T02:28:16Z")
Interesting bit about the periods-before-close-quotes thing. Thanks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-more-avatars-and-no-pics-in-signatures/742630.md?page=3)