Re: WG last call: Coex draft spelling check

On Sun, 29 Dec 2002, Tom Petch wrote:

> s1) There should not be a comma before the words "and", "or" in a list
> of items (I was taught).  Thus the style of this document is to say
> "The choice is between SNMPv1, SNMPv2, or SNMPv3 coupled with SMIv1,
> SMIv2, and SMIng".
> which I would change to
> "The choice is between SNMPv1, SNMPv2 or SNMPv3 coupled with SMIv1,
> SMIv2 and SMIng".
> ", and" occurs 89 times and ", or" 15. I have not flagged these
> separately except where I believe the comma is appropriate (which it
> is when it follows a subordinate clause).

I guess this depends on where one was taught, and possibly when :).

In the late 1960s my high school relied on Strunk and White's _The
Elements of Style_, and the second item in the chapter "Elementary
Rules of Usage" says this:

   In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction,
   use a comma after each term except the last.

   Thus write

      red, white, and blue
      gold, silver, or copper
      [ ... ]

This is quoted from the 1979 edition.

Having said that, I note that many respected publications today
(such as the Wall Street Journal) use the style that you suggest.
But no matter how many times I see it, it still looks wrong to me.
I guess all that drilling so long ago succeeeded in engraving the
Strunk & While style into my head.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled progrmming.

//cmh