Always use it.
If I'm listing this, that, and the other, the commas are just a horizontal series of bullet points, so there should be a comma for each item in the list.
Nobody would go:
- This
- That
The other
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Also a fan of the serial comma, but I don't think a bulleted list works for your example:
This
• That
• The other
I think the point is more that without the serial comma, the last two items in the list aren't separated like the others, which (imo) feels like omitting the last bullet point in a list.
EDIT: Fixed a typo.
That helps me understand what the other person was saying in response to my comment now, thanks!
Seeeeee....we all get confused without it!
Why would you not bullet the first word in that bulleted list?
They're sometimes necessary for disambiguation. I use them all the time because it's easier than remembering to use them when they're necessary.
Yeah exact same opinion. I've trained myself to use them by default. Not having one when necessary is a lot worse than having them where it's not absolutely needed. Just totally cuts out any chance of ambiguity.
I always use it. Writing is about communication, so it’s your duty to make sure a reader understands how to interpret what you wrote. That said, when I speak to someone, I NEVER use the Oxford comma.
That said, when I speak to someone, I NEVER use the Oxford comma
That's very Wodehouse-esque. Happen to be a Psmith fan?
Well, now that I know about him, I plan to be. 👍
I use it because it feels like otherwise you are lumping two things together. In your example it would be butter and tax.
Another example could be talking about people:
I'm having Jim, Frank, Ian and Susan over for dinner.
Without the comma I feel like that implies Ian and Susan are in some kind of relationship.
With food:
I had pickles, bacon, ham and cheese for lunch.
That seems to me like someone had a ham and cheese sandwich versus ham and cheese separately.
It makes more logical sense to use the serial comma in this example. Bread, butter, and tax evasion are three separate things. If you leave the comma off, it becomes "bread, butter and tax evasion" suggesting that the butter and tax evasion go together with each other. Give me some butter on my tax evasion, please.
Haha, this is gold. I'd like to think I fall more into the pedant category (except when something actually matters; then I lean towards moron).
I was taught in school (UK in the '90s) that putting a comma in that spot is outright wrong. As an adult I realised it is much clearer and always use it.
I'm not a native speaker, but I do prefer using it yeah. In my opinion it reads nicer and less ambiguous. In your example the "butter and tax evasion" otherwise kinda reads like it's one thing. You need to finish reading the following words before you can be sure that it's the "terminal and" and not some in-between "and". But ", and" directly communicates that it's the terminating "and", making reading easier.
I'm a technical writer (aircraft maintenance and flight operations manuals, mostly) and eliminating ambiguity is key to clear, effective communication.
Leaving out that comma takes a sentence with only one possible interpretation and gives it several options instead.
I want to be able to communicate both ideas:
https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/017/771/the-oxford-comma_52c855ed979ed_w1500.jpg
The latter isn't even a proper use a comma, no? To introduce a list you should use a colon.
Without the Oxford Comma, it's not a list but an appositive phrase. In that context, it's correct usage.
I use it. It’s nice.
I was always taught to never use it (UK) - but will use it where there might otherwise be the risk of ambiguity
Inclusion is non negotiable.
Yes. Things feel out-of-balance without it to me. However, if the meaning is unclear (something something stripping Hitler and Stalin), I will work around it and/or use other punctuation. I think I have a bit of a weird synesthesia thing going on for written text (English or written code (in the programming sense); I don't have it as much in the other languages I read/write, but it isn't absent there, either).
yall are lucky when I can be arsed to use any punctuation at all
You, laz.y ba'stard;
AP style guide when i was in school suggested NOT putting a comma in, but also said it doesnt really matter. I err on the side of no comma
I use it, since I like it.
I'm not a native speaker and was taught not to use it in middle school.
You should sue them.
Eh, in casual situations like this, it depends on if the , registers or not. I'm not wasting attention to go back and add one.
But otherwise, as useful. It helps clarify the difference between ands. Some ands are used to connect two things in the entire list as a unit, so when that is a factor, it helps.
I don't use it because I enjoy the chaos.
Yes.
I use it.
Only way to avoid travesties like the famous "I want to thank my parents, Margaret Thatcher and God."
I tend to use it, but also Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma? (or more seriously) So I don't really care or usually even notice if others do, since in 99% of cases you can understand from context what someone means, and if you still don't, you can ask (and have a little chuckle together at a possibly absurd result to the omission)..