IM stuff

[active_apathy]

Because I'm certifiable, I've decided to complete my Trillian's complement of commonly-used instant messaging services with Yahoo!*.‡

Reminiscent of my AIM nick, Y! knows me as 'apathypiratess'. Yay and yarr.

*A question for the fiercely grammatical: Since the name of their company is, in fact, 'Yahoo!', does the exclamation mark count as puncuation in its own right, or is it part of a proper noun - thus calling for an additional stop† should 'Yahoo!' appear at the end of a sentence?
†Which is to say, for those not fiercely punctuated, a character appearing at the end of a sentence - a question mark, exclamation mark or fullstop.
‡Usage confirmed by an actual lexicographer. Wheeee!

Comments

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

That you know the Oxford comma, and that it has its proper place, makes me happy.

[palmer-kun.livejournal.com]

I only use it about half the time... when necessary. If I feel that a list is sufficiently unambiguous without it, I don't normally use it. Otherwise I do, when clarity is needed.

I realize this makes me a style guide heathen, as I should be consistent in my punctuation. However, I've found heathenism, in many aspects of life, to be highly satisfying.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

That, so far as I care, is pretty much completely right - it's good for showing the end of the penultimate list item in cases where it'd be difficult to identify the last, where list items use multiple words, and where it makes sense to briefly pause if you're reading the list aloud.

Conversely, it's just plain silly to use one where the list is clear, concise and unambiguous.

[palmer-kun.livejournal.com]

It is also of great value when list items logically include the word "and", often as part of a proper noun, such as when talking about things like Punch and Judy, Gilbert and Sullivan, and Penn and Teller.