The Importance of Punctuation

[electricalgwen]

I'm a fan of punctuation. I get antsy about proper comma placement and the use of the Oxford comma. I hate it when people remove semi-colons from my (non-fanfic) writing because they don't understand them.

None of my commas, however, will ever aspire to this level of kerfuffle.

O_o

Comments

[entrenous88.livejournal.com]

Wow! The huge amounts of money at stake in that deal boggles me alone, but the slight tweak of meaning is a whole other matter entirely. There are some lawyers who are pulling their hair out right now.

[entrenous88.livejournal.com]

You know, I'm reading more closely, and it seems to me the issue isn't so much the punctuation as the language. Even with a different comma placement, the contract appears to indicate that the other party can at any time terminate the contract as long as there is a one-year notice. It should have said the contract stands in force for five years. Thereafter,... etc., etc.

[electricalgwen.livejournal.com]

Yes, that definitely would have been clearer. It just amused me that they apparently did get it to hinge on the comma's presence.

Thanks for the gardening kerfuffle heads-up, btw. Your response was stellar.

[entrenous88.livejournal.com]

Sure thing. And thanks! I was so glad Stoney announced it -- sometimes those bigoted messages are in plain view, but sometimes they happen in odd, specialized or focused channels like this one.