Hi Alex, At 2025-09-07T12:22:35+0200, Alejandro Colomar wrote: > I never received a copy of > <https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/groff/2025-08/msg00028.html>. > I guess you only sent it to the list? Or maybe it got lost...
Either is possible.
> Anyway, below goes my updated opinion. See at the bottom.
[...]
> > > I think the behavior with '"' makes more sense than with '\[dq]'.
> > > Maybe some conditional within groff(1) checks for '"' but forgets
> > > to check for the synonymous '\[dq]'?
>
> I have changed my mind. I think the behavior of mandoc(1), and that
> of \[dq], is the one I like.
>
> The '?' within quotation marks does not end the sentence, and is just
> part of the quoted text. The enclosing sentence was missing an
> end-of-sentence punctuator.
Okay. Please review points A and B of the URL cited above.
> I've fixed that with:
>
> $ git show ddb26eb2011a
> commit ddb26eb2011a498ece999aa44e501e0ed7fddb09
> Author: Alejandro Colomar <a...@kernel.org>
> Date: Sun Sep 7 10:06:47 2025 +0200
>
> man/man3/cfree.3: pfix
>
> Signed-off-by: Alejandro Colomar <a...@kernel.org>
>
> diff --git a/man/man3/cfree.3 b/man/man3/cfree.3
> index b117539be..dfa2b5a13 100644
> --- a/man/man3/cfree.3
> +++ b/man/man3/cfree.3
> @@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ .SS 3-arg cfree
> to free memory allocated with
> .BR calloc (3),
> or do I need
> -.BR cfree ()?"
> +.BR cfree ()?\[dq].
> Answer: use
> .BR free (3).
> .P
>
> Which formats as:
>
> $ MANWIDTH=72 diffman-git ddb26eb2011a
> --- ddb26eb2011a^:man/man3/cfree.3
> +++ ddb26eb2011a:man/man3/cfree.3
> @@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ DESCRIPTION
> to your file.
>
> A frequently asked question is "Can I use free(3) to free memory
> - allocated with calloc(3), or do I need cfree()?" Answer: use
> + allocated with calloc(3), or do I need cfree()?". Answer: use
> free(3).
>
> An SCO manual writes: "The cfree routine is provided for compli‐
Your selection of closing quotation character happens to be irrelevant
to the EOS-transparency properties of the `"` ordinary and `dq` special
characters, because of a further change you made.
> -.BR cfree ()?"
> +.BR cfree ()?\[dq].
By also adding a sentence-ending character _afterward_, the
EOS-transparency property of the "quotation" character becomes
irrelevant.
However, I would repeat my counsel to use an idiomatic character to
close a quotation. In this case, that means `\[rq]` (and change the
quotation's opening to use `\[lq]`).
> This is anti-American, I know, but Americans are not reasonable
> regarding quoting.
Some of us are, some of the time. ;-)
My copy of CMoS 18 (2024) says (§6.9)...
The British system (or a variation of it) may be appropriate in
works of textual criticism or in computing coding and other
technical or scientific settings. See also 12.7–8, 12.30–31.
...and (§12.7)...
4. At the end of the quotation, a period or other mark of
punctuation in the original may be omitted or changed to a
period or comma as required by the surrounding text; a question
mark or exclamation point may be retained if it continues to
apply to the word or words as quoted.
...so your preference is, I think, fully licensed by Chicago, and that
frees up your anti-American sentiments to be directed more justly, say
at the sitting President and majority party in the houses of Congress.
(Personally, I'd add a big chunk of the craven, billionaire-captured
minority party in Congress to my negative sentiments.)
✊,
Branden
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