controversial opinion time* do you use the Oxford comma...for three single or double word listed items? *anyone who does not understand we are playing for fun can get blocked because there isn't a correct answer here it's stylistic - ThreadSky

popelizbet.bsky.social • 30 days ago

controversial opinion time*

do you use the Oxford comma...for three single or double word listed items?

*anyone who does not understand we are playing for fun can get blocked because there isn't a correct answer here it's stylistic

Comments

molicioushat.bsky.social•30 days ago

For my own personal use, I prefer using it always. For work, engineers get funny about it, so only if needs clarification because it's ambiguous.

molicioushat.bsky.social•30 days ago

No I don't know why they're funny about it, but it irks me

gregoe86.bsky.social•7 days ago

Major necrothread here, but just got this from my kid's 2nd-grade class and I'm so very happy .

gregoe86.bsky.social•30 days ago

I use an obscene number of en dashes when I write, and/but I Oxford every time.

volcommie.bsky.social•30 days ago

Always Oxford comma all the times. Drives me bonkers when I don’t see it

alephnaught2tog.bsky.social•30 days ago

Always, unless something calls for semicolons instead of commas (but I don't think that would apply with single- or double-word listed items bc that's inherently when each item gets complex)

knit1write2.bsky.social•30 days ago

Oxford comma always.

cjlemire.com•30 days ago

My junior high English teacher was a former journalist who ate, drank and breathed AP Style... so no.

madamehardy.bsky.social•30 days ago

Oxford comma for all things including strawberries, because the inconsistency makes my eye twitch.

dragnflite.bsky.social•30 days ago

Love me the Oxford comma. It's definitely for clarity.

hwrdhdsn.bsky.social•30 days ago

I always aim to do so. The distinction is easy to grasp with sentences like, “I love Museums! You can learn about hippopotamuses, Washington and Rembrandt in one place.”
I’m not sure if they only have hippo material but the hippos are named Washington and Rembrandt.

starshadw.bsky.social•30 days ago

I always use the Oxford comma. I break out into hives otherwise. ;)

shoulderdevil.bsky.social•30 days ago

Always Oxford comma.

I'm like 90% sure it's purely an academic holdover that's now ingrained.

courtneymilan.com•30 days ago

I always use the Oxford comma because Alex Kozinski hated it.

nora-hakase.bsky.social•30 days ago

MORALLY CORRECT

popelizbet.bsky.social•30 days ago

ill_allow_it.gif

amwclark.bsky.social•30 days ago

popelizbet.bsky.social•30 days ago

sparkly! Will you alt text

amwclark.bsky.social•30 days ago

Normally, but this time I want Courtney's post to be the star.

popelizbet.bsky.social•30 days ago

fair!

rikibeth.bsky.social•30 days ago

SPITE COMMA, love it

I am very protective of my old-fashioned hyphens.

millennial.swifties.social•30 days ago

Yes, I do, why not?

museofire.bsky.social•30 days ago

I always use the serial comma (as I learned from E.B. White dammit) because it’s clear. No ifs, ands, or buts.

closemindedjerk.bsky.social•30 days ago

Me, myself, and I all use the Oxford comma. Well…unless me, myself & I don't.

sesmith.bsky.social•30 days ago

Enthusiast! I like clarity in communication

writernatswift.bsky.social•30 days ago

Yes, yes, and yes.

blopeep.bsky.social•30 days ago

YES

marketdoctor.bsky.social•30 days ago

I use it; for me it feels like I'm giving my writing structure.

cpgorski.bsky.social•30 days ago

Yes. Always unless it introduces ambiguity

mitchellmebane.bsky.social•30 days ago

Yes, of course, always.

jpesq.bsky.social•30 days ago

I'm getting more stoned by the minute and idk how to describe it, but sometimes?

Like, sometimes it makes sense and sometimes it doesn't, and I just know what sounds/looks correct to me

matthewhvoss.bsky.social•30 days ago

I do.

megshensley.bsky.social•30 days ago

Always. I add it back when the work required AI removes it.

theremina.bsky.social•30 days ago

Oxford comma for the win, and for increased legibility.

polerin.bsky.social•30 days ago

Absolutely use it all the time. Not using it feels like a coding syntax error.

nora-hakase.bsky.social•30 days ago

Yes. It is the One True (Serial) Comma lol. You mention serial semicolon elsewhere—that can be particularly good for lists the members of which are phrases.

nashbrian.bsky.social•30 days ago

Yes to both.

dimestorehalo.bsky.social•30 days ago

Always Oxford comma, and I teach it too.

pixelfish.bsky.social•30 days ago

I use as many commas as I can get away with. I only remove them when I really have to bc I ran up against character count limits.

The Oxford comma! The comma to set off nouns of address! The comma between city and state! The comma to keep the and from feeling lonely! The breathing comma!

danielmote.bsky.social•30 days ago

Every day and twice on Sunday!

(I probably use too many commas in general. I like to use them to indicate a pause.)

alastoravasarala.bsky.social•30 days ago

I doooo like to use the Oxford comma. It just feels more precise and the Au of my AuDHD likes that. But I still get lazy sometimes (the ADHD side). 😅

snargleplax.bsky.social•28 days ago

I know what happens to those who scoff at it

https://bsky.app/profile/snargleplax.bsky.social/post/3lhadindjc22g

popelizbet.bsky.social•30 days ago

thank you for understanding the assignment who's next https://bsky.app/profile/volcommie.bsky.social/post/3lh34yagbec2l

popelizbet.bsky.social•30 days ago

you're not lazy, you just have AuDHD, thank you! next? https://bsky.app/profile/alastoravasarala.bsky.social/post/3lh3534f76s26

popelizbet.bsky.social•30 days ago

to clarify double word lists for this use case (the way I write them unless there's reason to pause after the second one) are "brown chickens, white cats or red wheelbarrows" https://bsky.app/profile/jessicahuynh.bsky.social/post/3lh354vkxwc26

popelizbet.bsky.social•30 days ago

I'm surprised by all the alwayses because of the serial semicolon thsnk you! https://bsky.app/profile/dimestorehalo.bsky.social/post/3lh356e6lek2n

rjbell.bsky.social•30 days ago

I use the serial semicolon only in cases in which items have commas, which then cause confusion. I personally am all Oxford but I respect folks are not and a lot of style guides are not.

rjbell.bsky.social•30 days ago

Urgh. I am not fully awake. I'd also use the semicolon if there are and/or phrases within the list. In your example, if the cats and wheelbarrows were subchoices, having 3 wouldn't work as a serial and I'd want the joining word before the final set. So much depends on the actual sentence involved.

popelizbet.bsky.social•30 days ago

I'm an Oxford particularist as a poet – whsts the name of the song? https://bsky.app/profile/sirobin.com/post/3lh35cn47bs2l

popelizbet.bsky.social•30 days ago

I use it more at work than anywhere, thank you! https://bsky.app/profile/sirobin.com/post/3lh35cn47bs2l

sirobin.com•30 days ago

(I was making a bad, random, and probably unfunny joke haha)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_i1xk07o4g

ellyzoe.bsky.social•30 days ago

Oh I only use serial semicolon when there are commas within the list items. I always use Oxford comma in 3-item-plus lists. They are more immediately parsable to me that way!

marshviper.bsky.social•30 days ago

It just feels wrong and uncomfy to me to not have it there. Like you want a sturdy guard rail to be at the roofs edge even if you are standing in the middle kind of feeling.

jessicahuynh.bsky.social•30 days ago

Oh I misread as number of items in the list! I would use an Oxford comma in all cases then

rikibeth.bsky.social•30 days ago

Oxford Comma 5ever! I am also a dedicated user of semicolons.

careymediation.bsky.social•30 days ago

Oxford comma in all circumstances. It’s a simple rule that costs nothing and avoids confusion. If you want to take it out in service of prose or poetry a case can be made. For clearly communicating meaning, I’ve never seen a convincing argument for anarchic commacide.

pscmars.bsky.social•30 days ago

Absolutely

amwclark.bsky.social•30 days ago

I am forever an English major, it often avoids ambiguity, & Courtney says Kozinski hated it.

Can you tell my answer?

tsundokupuzzle.bsky.social•30 days ago

I love Oxford commas. They just feel... right. And I read fast, the less ambiguous the punctuation, the lower the cognitive burden on the reader. I feel that it is the writer's obligation to be as clear as possible, unless ambiguity is a feature of the form (e.g. some poetry)

danielsand.bsky.social•30 days ago

I use the Oxford comma at home and not at work (it’s a rule).

I am conflicted, separated, and sometimes confused.

theowlhaslanded.bsky.social•30 days ago

Yes! I use the Oxford comma for clarity, stubbornness, and spite.

feralequestrian.bsky.social•30 days ago

Yes, but I call it a serial comma. 🙂

muninandhugin.bsky.social•30 days ago

100%, always the Oxford comma

evilmagnus.bsky.social•30 days ago

When writing lists of three, like sausage‽ ham ‽and eggs‽ I use the interrobang, as God intended.

spaceweft.bsky.social•30 days ago

Oxford comma all the way! Sometimes I'll even make a sentence extra Oxford-y just to add more commas! ;)

ceilican.bsky.social•30 days ago

I do not use an Oxford comma. I have a corporate job, and the time saved by not including an unnecessary comma really builds up over time.

teaberryblue.net•30 days ago

Oxford commas are great for dyslexia so I prefer them!

ellyzoe.bsky.social•30 days ago

Yes! I am dyslexic (tho I read very fast) and they help me parse more accurately. Fewer reading mistakes!

karidru.bsky.social•30 days ago

I am an always Oxford comma person. In addition, I put commas wherever else the hell I want. I find they often add clarity and rarely remove it.

madamehardy.bsky.social•30 days ago

Commas for breathing are *very* important.

vedraven.bsky.social•30 days ago

I use it prodigiously, I can't help it.

sewingdeadgirl.bsky.social•30 days ago

I'm not a purist with either situation. It depends on the sentence. If it doesn't need the extra clarity, I don't bother with the Oxford.

I get to annoy EVERYONE!

dailyclassicalmusicpost.com•30 days ago

Oxford comma all the way!

3leggedcat70.bsky.social•30 days ago

Yes. Especially for work docs. You can't really take enough precautions when you don't know who's going to be reading your work.

3leggedcat70.bsky.social•30 days ago

There are some things on work documents I can't fix because they're related to legislation.

I wince a lot.

sirobin.com•30 days ago

Unlike Vampire Weekend, I do give a fuck about an Oxford comma.

jessicahuynh.bsky.social•30 days ago

I use it for three word lists but not two, just looks better to me 😅

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