Post APR0Y77qhK53cHT3om by BryceWrayTX@fosstodon.org
 (DIR) More posts by BryceWrayTX@fosstodon.org
 (DIR) Post #APR0Y2uEO0oKWt482K by BryceWrayTX@fosstodon.org
       2022-11-06T10:14:34Z
       
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       #introduction (pinned/edited from an earlier effort) ...Retired in 2021 after 40+ years of work, including over 30 as a marketing/tech professional.Website is https://www.brycewray.com (RSS and JSON feeds, hint hint).Nerdy advocate for static websites and the tools that build them. Inveterate supporter of the Oxford comma.Husband, father, grandfather, son, brother. Native Texan but opinions are atypical for an Old White Guy from Texas.I keep some odd hours.
       
 (DIR) Post #APR0Y6igCtwoMDgxaS by JonChevreau@mstdn.ca
       2022-11-09T17:29:14Z
       
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       @BryceWrayTX I fear to ask: what IS the Oxford comma?
       
 (DIR) Post #APR0Y77qhK53cHT3om by BryceWrayTX@fosstodon.org
       2022-11-09T17:31:52Z
       
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       @JonChevreau It’s also called the “serial comma.”Example:“I am going to Atlanta, Boston, and Cincinnati on my trip.”The Associated Press style says not to use the last comma (which is the aforementioned Oxford or serial comma):“I am going to Atlanta, Boston and Cincinnati on my trip.”While that example isn’t so confusing, the problem comes in more complex pairings... 1/2
       
 (DIR) Post #APR0Y7Xj96mSuXZj9c by JonChevreau@mstdn.ca
       2022-11-09T17:39:24Z
       
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       @BryceWrayTX and you prefer the Oxford comma? I lean to one fewer keystroke when possible
       
 (DIR) Post #APR0Y7yJYG32F00xay by BryceWrayTX@fosstodon.org
       2022-11-09T17:43:58Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @JonChevreau Oh, yes; it maximizes clarity.Besides, the reason **why** AP style prohibits the Oxford comma is from long ago, when newspapers were the only mass media about which the AP cared. It was based only on saving ink by not printing the extra character.
       
 (DIR) Post #APR0Y8meX6JWl7ZA3c by BryceWrayTX@fosstodon.org
       2022-11-09T17:34:49Z
       
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       @JonChevreau ...such as:“Today I will be backing up files, checking my emails, and sorting through and reviewing some old cassette tapes.” That’s perfectly fine with the serial comma, but without it, things get awkward. And, believe me, in what you generally see in business writing or complicated news stories (all adhering to AP style), I mean **really** awkward.2/2
       
 (DIR) Post #APR0nSwPs0b5cVRNAW by AIaYYAle4i1uKmKpqy.gme@bofh.social
       2022-11-09T17:51:02.143231Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       Confirm. I come from a family of printers. (Real printers. Offset. Lithography. Not the LaserJets or InkJets!)The amount of ink in a single comma, spread across multiple stories, in a 48 page newspaper, printed 150,000 times, seven days a week, is hundreds of gallons of ink. For one comma.That shit adds up!