Advantage on an Offside Offense

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How long can you remember?

In 2003 the USSF "changed its mind" as Jim Allen (who hosted their Ask the Ref webpage) told me at the time (from the "traditional" view to where the GK could handle the ball outside the PA if the ball was "in" the PA (extrapolating from ball in and out of play *).

In 2009 Keith Hackett's "You are the ref" strip was maintaining the traditional understanding. By 2011 he too had changed his mind - though at the time I couldn't get a definitive answer from the FA, but IFAB did change the diagram in the laws for the AR to be in line with the edge of the PA to check that the GK did not use his hands outside the PA.

2009 (Q2): https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/mar/06/you-are-the-ref-robbie-savage#_

2011 (Q2): https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/oct/13/trevillion-hackett-steve-bruce-sunderland

Your scenario had never been a problem - some anomaly is inevitable, e.g. if a GK could handle the ball "outside the PA" because the ball was "in the area" but an outfield defender handling the ball in the same position wouldn't be penalised with a penalty. The phraseology was always that handling the ball was an offence but "this does not apply to the goalkeeper within his own penalty area". And if you want to go further back to when the GK could handle the ball anywhere within his own half, "within" was the operative word.

* It's been interesting to see how "in the corner area" got a similar treatment with corners taken with the base of the ball outside the arc - at least until the World Cup this year when we were back to at least having the ball touching within the arc.

Thanks for the history. None of which proves it was USSF who 'created' this traditional view. While they do have history of making their own rules that are at odds with the laws, they also documented/formulised other things that IFAB expected but never put in laws. I do believed the 'traditional view' is of the latter and not the former.
I understand what the law says. But as you say "some anomaly is inevitable", while you would like to apply it my scenario, the traditional view applied it goalkeeper handling the ball when the ball was in the PA.

IFAB does from time to time come up with these ideas that they expect from referees but never put them in law, maybe because the idea doesn't completely align with the rest of the laws. The most recent one discussed here is goalkeeper carrying the ball out out of PA can't be DOGSO (definitively). And sometimes they do put in law even with their inherent problems, like applying advantage from a restart that didn't follow correct process. A few years ago they put some conditions in for handball which they had to backtrack from. I am hoping a similar scenario for incorrect restart advantage.