Community Chat

[handygal2]

Most of us don't give much thought to the use of commas. When listing 3 or more items, some people use a comma between the last two, and others don't. For example, "milk, eggs, and bread" vs. "milk, eggs and bread." It's called the Oxford comma. 

In this particular instance, a contract between a Maine milk company and its  delivery drivers left out that comma, and it made all the difference in the world. The workers won a lawsuit re: overtime pay based on the lack of that comma.

Here's the link to an interesting article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/us/oxford-comma-lawsuit.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytco...

[faeriemoon]

Interesting read coming from someone who does not use the comma.  We were always taught it was optional, but common practice was to not use it as the "and" takes its place (in most circumstances.)  There are exceptions of course.

[Trix]

This sounds like another example of society relying to much on the electronic to be correct instead of the user employing (pardon the pun) learned knowledge for proofing and editing.  A diligent manual edit of the directive to drivers may have prevented this costly misinterpretation, because it probably would have been interpreted by the proofreader same as the drivers did, and the change would have been suggested. 

[haddon9]

Interesting.  When I was in school I learned that one should leave the comma out when listing in a series near the end right before "and". I learned something new.  It's called "The Oxford comma".

[SaRina]

I guess it pays to mind your p's, q's, and Oxford commas.

[2blonde]

When I went to school in the fifties and sixties, normal practice was to use the "Oxford" comma, so that's how I was taught.  I still use it today because I've always felt it was necessary for clarification in many instances.  Now I feel pleased, relieved, and vindicated!  

[Bri36]

Commas are so important.  Many people misuse commas - either putting in too many or not using them appropriately.

I do use the Oxford comma!

[noodleann]

This branding of a serial comma as Oxford seems to be a new development, at least to me, but serial commas are an old stylistic issue. The NYT themselves dropped serial commas at some point, and some of their stories suffered because of logic and flow problems. 

I'm a Chicago gal myself, and so I come down on the side of the serial comma. If you're an AP fan, you won't.

The matter in question, IMO, will be won by the truckers because as written, "packing" applies to "shipping or distribution," and "distribution" is not separated properly as an activity exempted from the overtime laws, but relates specifically to "packing" activities. 

There, my work is done here.

[tdog]

There is a great little book called "Eats, shoots, and leaves" about the importance of placing the comma correctly. It's a fun read.

[VanSleepy]

Like the two spaces after a period, this must be another way to tell the age of the writer.  When I  used to sometimes proofread the kids' homework, I was told you don't need that comma :-) 

I did get a chuckle out of the example in the article:  "I'd like to thank my parents, Mother Theresa and the Pope."