Absolutely not. I "cherish" most of the American English rules, but that
is one that I have declared war on. Because I have no beef with them, I
don't join threads on topics such as the "corpus callosum". However,
when it comes to quotation marks I adhere to the dictum "Sometimes you
have to flout convention and do what you feel is right.", even under fire.
I feel my reader has the right to know whether or not I have quoted a
complete sentence.
I recognize that strict rule-followers disagree with my usage, and post
this mostly to make clear that I know the accepted usage so they don't
waste their time arguing (or even noting) each case in which I stray from
the rules. I grit my teeth over bad grammar most of the time, and just
try to model the grammar rules that I espouse -- so can you.
Kennita Watson | The bond that links your true family is not one of blood,
kwatson@netcom.com| but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do
| members of the same family grow up under the same roof.
| -- Richard Bach, _Illusions_