Does anyone have an opinion on Oxford (serial) commas?

[SundownKid]

I personally always use the Oxford comma, omitting it seems grammatically incorrect.

[Hazel-Bun]

I tend to never use them. Not really a personal preference, just the way I learned to write. But again do what you feel is best and most clear, unless your submitting something to be published, etc. Then get a good editor and listen to their guidance haha

[Caveat Lector]

Yes. Use it. I have strong "feels" for this. Use it. It saves lives. It prevents you from seeing that which cannot be unseen.

(Granted, there is a way to get around the awkwardness of "We invited the strippers, JFK and Stalin", but still)

[SinSisters]

Does anyone not have an opinion on the Oxford comma? XD

I always use it. In elementary school the teachers often omitted it, which always seemed peculiar to me. Our brains are good at recognizing concepts and images that make the most sense (in context), so it's safer to include it than to not include it. Just my input.

EDIT: I also think that the semi-colon deserves an honourable mention here. If I'm making a list within a list, then you can use semi-colons to separate them. For example: I invited the strippers, Stalin and Hitler; the bouncers, John F Kennedy and Teddy Roosevelt; and Granny Marge.

-Nat

[breadslam]

I get inconsistent with Oxford commas, to be honest. That's a big flaw with my technical skill as a writer, but it's a tough habit to break. I blame my back-and-forth schooling in both America and Britain to cover up the immense guilt.

[Caveat Lector]

@breadslam

Oh yeah, I remember hearing from a teacher once in high school that Oxford comma's (or, as they called them, "the third comma") was "American". I was like, "Nah, screw it, I like the Oxford comma." (though I didn't know that's what it was called back then). Were you taught the opposite in America (that Oxford commas were "British"), or was it the same?

[breadslam]

@breadslam

Oh yeah, I remember hearing from a teacher once in high school that Oxford comma's (or, as they called them, "the third comma") was "American". I was like, "Nah, screw it, I like the Oxford comma." (though I didn't know that's what it was called back then). Were you taught the opposite in America (that Oxford commas were "British"), or was it the same?

Yeah, I was pretty much given two conflicting origins for the Oxford comma growing up. :\ No one wanted to take credit for the poor little serial comma.

I also got a spiel on how use of the Oxford comma was "literary style" and not using it was "journalistic style," so I honestly have no clue at this point.

[RotGtIE]

Strange that we should have a special name for doing something in the correct fashion.

Next we'll be hearing that catching a ball with your hands rather than bouncing it off of your head is performing an Oxford Catch.