
The case for and against the Oxford comma - rfugger
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/warren-clements/the-case-for-and-against-the-oxford-comma/article2090120/
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saulrh
Every time I see a grammatical argument like this, my first thought is that
parentheses, or another way to precisely denote grouping and logical
association, would instantly obviate the practice being discussed.

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bonaldi
Whenever I see a thought like that _my_ first thought is that English is a
human language, for the transmission of meaning.

Rendering it devoid of all ambiguity and shade in such a fashion would make it
easier for computers to parse, but the expense would be losing most poetry and
literature.

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JeremyBanks
There's a large gap between removing _all_ ambiguity and adding an explicit
grouping syntax. Nevermind computers, plenty of English is far more difficult
than it should be for humans to parse.

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alan-crowe
A real life example

<http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/012652.html>

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tomjen3
Sometimes I really wonder if they don't have something more important to
discuss than this.

Then I remember that no, somebody properly has their ego invested in the "one
correct way to put commas in a list".

Then I piss of that person by using semicolons.

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jberryman
Ahem, if Hacker News will allow it, I present for your consideration...

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_i1xk07o4g>

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goblin89
> Now insert the Oxford comma: She invited her father, a tuba player, and
> several ballerinas. Suddenly the father has become a tuba player.

Following this logic, without the comma the father becomes both a tuba player
_and_ several ballerinas at once...

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bartmcpherson
So many little thing in life cause so much unnecessary stress. Oxford comma,
one or two spaces after a period, and three or four space indentation in code.

~~~
cperciva
8-column tab!

Seriously, if you find that 8-column tabs make you run out of horizontal
space, your code needs to be refactored anyway.

~~~
jamesbritt
It's not the lack of space, but the eye-scanning distance, that's annoying.

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RexRollman
I have to admit to preferring the oxford comma. I just think it looks better.

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rradu
I'm a big fan of clarity and non-ambiguous statements. If using a serial comma
is what it takes to maintain that clarity, then so it shall be.

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malkia
That's terrible. First it was the News of The World, and now the Oxford comma?
What's next? We are doomed!

