Do you use an Oxford comma?

Yes, no, or maybe?

Yes.

Depends on the client.

What sort of groups would you elect not to use an Oxford comma on?

I assume garamet does any kind of spec work according to whichever style guide her clients prefer.

Yep, proofing and copy editing.

I use the Oxford comma happily, correctly and consistently!

As Sean said, it's the stuff I do for my Day Job...proofing/copy editing mostly post-grad papers and journal submissions.

Some clients don't care which reference style you use, as long as its consistent; others have very specific needs (particularly if the journal has its own style sheet).

So, Oxford, APA, AMA, MLA, "for Submission Guidelines for the Journal of Obscure Subject Matter That Nobody Really Reads, click here..."

The one that drives me stark, raving bonkers, is when a client requests "Harvard style" because there is, in fact, no such thing. It's code for "Whatever style my university/professor demands, and it's gonna cost me a grade if I don't get it right. Oh, did I neglect to mention what university I attend? Am I currently not answering my phone/email, even though the deadline is midnight tonight?"

Huh. And here I just wrote my own damn uni papers

Yes. Yes, I do.

Skin uses the Laredo comma.

Yes, but I don't see it as a defect if someone else doesn't.

Assuming that's the proper term for NOT using the comma before "and..." at the end of a list, yes, that's what my boss (who was a proofreader/QA person by profession) prefers.

Yes.

This is an Oxford comma:
"I like dogs, cats, and monkeys."

This is not an Oxford comma:
"Beef, chicken and pork are three types of meat."

I thought it was obligatory. You better believe my ESL students are using it.

Always use it.

No. It just isn't required for proper grammar.

Ah. Then, no.

Not sure it's every time but I do regularly use an Oxford comma.

Never realized it had a name, but I use the Oxford. IMO the comma should be used to mimic speech. In other words, wherever you would naturally slow down while speaking whatever you wrote, you should use it.

I have seen experts stating that the "and" substitutes for the comma, but I disagree. Without that comma before the "and" it seems like you're rushing to finish your thought.

Go Oxford Comma!

I'll, put, my, fucking, commas, wherever, the, goddamned, hell, I, fucking, feel, like, putting, them.

I typically use an Oxford Comma. The important thing is that comma usage in a document is consistent and that it mimics the speech pattern desired.

Well I for one am just glad that people are aware of (and use) any comma! It seems that whenever I read comments about a news article all I see is:

MAN U no when i saw that dam robber wit that truck rather then a car I almost laughed my head of and my moms was their to and she said can you believe this shit? so yes their R some dumbies out on the street around hear that is right!

I figured garamet, Paladin, and the rest of y'all would call it the Harvard comma.

BTW who was Confederate Son previously?

Second sentence especially.

And that's why all the grammar-checking software in the world will never replace a flesh-and-blood proofer.

Oerdin / Wordin from TK.

Figures...