i assume they're in coma.

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LOOPTHELOOP

Does anybody still use an Oxford Comma as a matter of standard? I'd always assumed that it was still a British thing, because I don't see it very often in American English. Usually just amongst grammar snobs. And I spend a lot of time paying attention to grammar so that I don't get stumped the next time somebody asks me about something that isn't in the book. For better or for worse, what's in the book is less accurate than what native speakers are using.

As far as di-transitives go, you're restating the same thing. As a rule it's correct, but if the sentence is malformed or more colloquial you run the risk of losing a comma that you actually need.

EDIT: FYI, English doesn't have the vocative case and we're severely limited on object cases as well.

I still always use an oxford comma. It just makes sense to me.

Comma Fuckers... (comma whores, comma sluts) I really like the usage, but it wouldn't make much sense over here.

Yes, I do. I'm not a grammar snob (or Comma Fucker). In fact, far from it--I've always had trouble with proper grammar. Hence, the reason for my question. You see, early on I was brainwashed in elementary school to always use a comma after a list of 3 or more with the use of "and" or "or". Since then, I have been conflicted at how this rule is apparently not really much of a rule. (I have even been "corrected" by others who believe you never add any Oxford commas.)

Similarly, I have also been conflicted on recently finding out that one should only use ONE space between a period and the first word of the next sentence rather than TWO spaces, another concept drilled into me a long time ago.

I think for people that struggle with punctuation and grammar, it's probably easier to just use the Oxford comma and then not worry about it.

As far as the number of spaces, if you're handwriting, you should put roughly two in there. If you're typing, the computer should be putting the second one in for you. That's the main reason why the rule has gotten confusing. The rule always was to put a second space there, but with computers they may or may not put an additional one in for you.

The thing to keep in mind is that the descriptivists have largely won at this point. Prescriptivism worked better before the internet and everybody was typing all the time. Even relatively agreed upon things like capitalization seem to have fallen by the wayside.

Also, a lot of the "grammar guides" people use are actually style guides and aren't at all universal. Depending upon which grammar book you look at you can get different rules to follow. As long as your language is clear and understood, the grammar is probably not a problem.

Wrong words though, are an abomination. As Mark Twain noted, the difference between the right word and almost the right word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.

Of course the brainwashing into it instead of learning why/when to use it isn't good, but I would say in my experience that is definitely a less frequent case than people using it or even being aware of its use. I don't think the people "correcting you" actually know what they're talking about, really.
That's not usually what I see. Usually what I see is people who struggle with puncation and grammar never use it and don't even consider using it or if they do use it don't have any idea behind using it other than "umm, I dunno where the F to put commas." Most people I know who use the oxford comma are pretty damn literate/intelligent, imo.

I always found prescriptivism to be very strange, myself. Linguists will on one hand endlessly research the gradual evolution of a language into one or more dialects or into another language entirely, and on the other hand set out precise rules that should never be deviated from ON PAIN OF DEATH. The goal of language is communication, and if communication is being achieved do the old rules actually matter? Thees thys and thous are long gone unless you're a Quaker or lazy game dev, and it didn't hurt us one bit.

AYYY LMAO

Well, that speaks to a different problem.

Commas are inherently tricky, there's the formal place to put them and then there's the informal place to put them. And trying to keep that straight is really hard. It's a bit like the use of the word "whom." In simple sentences or following prepositions, it's clear when to use it. In more complicated sentences it's impossible to get it right without diagramming the sentence. If you pay attention to me when I'm writing, you'll notice that I alway use whom as the OOP and almost never when I'm writing complex-compound sentences. It's just not worth my time to diagram them for a forum post.

But back the the commas, I'm guessing that in order to come across an Oxford Comma any more you pretty much have to be a grammarian. I wasn't shown it at all when I was learning to write and I first encountered it at about the same time that I learned the word for it.
It's not at all strange. Prescriptivism arose during the 19th century at about the same time that the dictionary arose. They're both about class and what we call "linguistic profiling." The rules of spelling and the rules of grammar include a lot of things in there that exist solely to confuse the uneducated. And in both cases the rules are broken regularly.

The gold standard for proper grammar has always been clarity and appropriateness of register. The grammar police tend to be people with OCD, OCPD and ASD. The corrections are frequently not based upon any legitimate comprehension issue, that's usually the result of incorrect word choice, it's usually about a pet peeve.

http://www.upworthy.com/stephen-fry-takes-a-firm-stance-on-grammar-he-doesnt-go-the-way-youd-think-2

There is one particular rule that I intentionally ignore; the rule that, when quoting, you put the end-of-sentence punctuation inside the quote. I dislike the rule because it makes it appear as if the punctuation mark is part of the quote.

Example:
She said, "Hello."

That's the technically correct way of doing it, but I would prefer:
She said, "Hello".

Then, if the hello was a question, I can distinguish it like this:
She said, "Hello?".

In other words, the whole sentence is a statement, but the quote is of a question.

Another rule I ignore is the "don't end sentence with a proposition" rule, as following it makes certain sentences more awkward.