What!? (that should be understood as an interrobang).
Long-term, or even observent, readers will know that I have a soft spot for the Oxford, or serial, comma.
When I’ve been questioned on such usage in the past I’ve simply appealed to the authority of Oxford. But now. It seems. Oxford isn’t so into the Oxford comma, this from a style guide for marketing the university:
“As a general rule, do not use the serial/Oxford comma: so write ‘a, b and c’ not ‘a, b, and c’. But when a comma would assist in the meaning of the sentence or helps to resolve ambiguity, it can be used – especially where one of the items in the list is already joined by ‘and’”
Talk about going off message – the brand guardians of the Oxford comma have lost the plot.
Via Kottke.