Never underestimate the power of a comma

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/03/17/us/ap-us-odd-lack-of-comma-lawsuit.html

 

I saw that last week: The Oxford Comma: Great For Listing, Pontificating, And Winning Court Cases

My employer uses it and it drives me nuts, although the misuse of "which" for "that" bothers me more. For me, it's not that my employer uses it, it's that so many misuse it. I can come to terms with having to write "red, white, and blue" but so many here extend the comma's use to "red, and white."

You have a stylebook, you go by that. Per the NPR story, here's Maine's https://www1.maine.gov/legis/ros/manual/Draftman2009.pdf

"Section 2. Commas Commas are probably the most misused and misunderstood punctuation marks in legal drafting and, perhaps, the English language. Use them thoughtfully and sparingly.
A. Series. Although authorities on punctuation may differ, when drafting Maine law or rules, don’t use a comma between the penultimate and the last item of a series.

 

We were talking about this on Facebook, because the author was once on my old staff.

I honestly have no remembrance of the Oxford comma ever being an issue. And that's not to suggest that it isn't; it simply never entered my universe. Since my earliest days, I never considered any option other than the AP preference of losing the comma before the final item in a list.

 

If you use a serial comma, you're not a good writer or a good person. it's just that simple.

 

I'll even give them the Oxford comma. It's when people stick those other commas in, like KJIM said, that I get my old copy-editor twitches.

 

Here's one I came across this week that bugged me...

Senior post player, John Smith, scored Podunk’s first four points of the game

No! No! NO!

 

I have seen so many SIDs insist on that comma after "player," with absolutely no basis to think that's correct.

 

It would make more sense if the two things were switched around.

John Smith, a senior post player, scored......

But as is? No way. I was glad to see it didn't make it into print.

 

Not a big fan of post player. Why not just say senior forward?

 

Oh, another SID pet peeve -- the idea that you have to put the class of every single friggin' player mentioned in a story. Ridiculousessness.

 

That's annoying to me because including the class of the player can be an important detail. If a guy went off for 45 points, telling the reader he's a freshman says something. If a guy scored nine points and grabbed three rebounds, it's not all that important to know he's a redshirt junior. I think it's something SID's and reporters have picked up while listening to play-by-play announcers and just think it's something you do.

 

I actually agree. Just copied it as it was written.

Depends on the situation. Not every player needs it, but I think it's fine on occasion.