And were back

[Fenton]

An interesting,little,group!, the oxford comma: though personally I dont' believe in their;political views'.

[FierceKitty]

Since elements of this thread have wandered into a discussion on punctation, may I ask what the assembled ladies, gentlemen, and Fentons of the Forum think of the Oxford comma?   

Should be universally employed; it clarifies things and makes distinctions possible which are a real benefit to the language.

AND I'm a Cambridge man reluctantly saying it!

[Ithoriel]

Since FierceKitty is in favour it may come as no surprise that I find the Oxford, or Harvard, comma an irritating and pretentious irrelevance. Never found an instance where it made a sentence any clearer to me.

FK and I clearly have differing views on grammar and usage.

However, the complexity, richness and options for nuance are what make English such a wonderful language, IMHO.

[Techno]

Phew, was getting worried you were okay Phil.Good luck this weekend.

Just bloomin' 'orrible over here Will....No worse than that.

I know how you feel with the septic tank - had to clear out a blocked sewage pipe with my hands (in gloves obviously) once due to idiots trying to flush paper towels  :-&Hope things are calming down now Phil.Makes the 4 inches of water on half my garden look very minor. 

.....It never rains (HAH !!) etc.

Had to get a nice man round to empty the cesspit this morning....Before it DID get out of hand.....And eff about with the M-I-Laws 'mini tank' when the alarm went off again....shrieking away !
"Can't you hear the alarm going off, Mum ?"
"No.....I'm not deaf though."

Hmmm.....

Under control (At the moment !)

And....FSN.....No comments about 'mini-tanks'.

Cheers - Mr Exhausted. (But I have actually HAVE got some work done !)

[fsn]

There are things, dear Techno,  that even I won't joke about. Septic tanks are one of them, but you must name it "Goliath". Hope everything gets sorted out for you.

[fsn]

Since FierceKitty is in favour it may come as no surprise that I find the Oxford, or Harvard, comma an irritating and pretentious irrelevance. Never found an instance where it made a sentence any clearer to me.

"We studied William and Mary, Sage and Onion, Purple, Salt and Pepper"
"We studied William and Mary, Sage and Onion, Purple, Salt, and Pepper"

[Ithoriel]

My point exactly fsn.

Makes no difference, you're still studying the same things.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

It's too elitist! I prefer the Lancaster semi-colon!

[FierceKitty]

"We studied William and Mary, Sage and Onion, Purple, Salt and Pepper"
"We studied William and Mary, Sage and Onion, Purple, Salt, and Pepper"

There is one who gets your point. Be of good cheer.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

nSFW but kind of sums it up!  

[nikharwood]

[cameronian]

There is one who gets your point. Be of good cheer.

Actually makes no difference here, does he mean 'Purple salt, and pepper' ?

[fsn]

Did one study "salt", and then study "pepper", or did one study "salt and pepper"?

[Fenton]

Its all a load of b*****ks really

[cameronian]

No, s'not.