Regarding question marks, I'm clear on that. The initial question was meant as a lead-in to the topic of period/comma placement, about which I'm actually also clear. In traditional American styles (for example, Chicago/Turabian), a period or comma always goes within the quotation marks. In British style, placement is "logical," meaning the period/comma is inside the quotes only if it is part of the quoted material. ACS, despite being an American style guide, uses the logical style.

My real question was whether to correct the journal's editor in what I perceived as an error, because at the time, I didn't realize they used ACS style. Heck, I didn't even know there was an ACS style when I started this topic.