The Oxford Comma: Thoughts from the Copy Desk

There's been a lot of discussion about the comma style we use in our copy. For those not aware of the different styles, there's the AP comma and the Oxford comma. Homedepot.com prefers the former.

The latter is used successfully in scientific discourse, academic papers, corporate white papers and government. The AP comma is deployed in news articles, marketing material and most Web writing.

AP & New York Times:

source: homedepot.com

Oxford, Harvard, and the US Government:

source: US Government Printing Office Style Manual

How does this affect homedepot.com? After all, it's just a little comma, a tiny little symbol that makes a slight pause in a sentence. To several folks in creative, in category management, in editorial, and all over the world, it's a funny joke to laugh at. It IS FUN to debate, but it has implications for our readers.

Consider this sentence. LET'S EAT, GRANDMA. vs LET'S EAT GRANDMA.

There is a place for the Oxford comma. Embrace it, and use it where it's relevant, applicable and effective. It evolved into use because of complex sentence structures associated with lengthy discourse. It's the smart people's comma.

We use the AP comma on homedepot.com for several reasons:

1) The customer is not studying for a test, they are scanning for information. We want as little distractions on the page as possible. This includes letters, words and punctuation. Let's speed up customer's decision making process, and get them to the PIP quicker.

2) It is the industry standard for marketing copy. All over the web, customers get used to a specific style of writing. Let's not interrupt their experience, even with a little , .

3) According to The Home Depot Editorial Style Guide, we use AP as a standard. It's what I was told to do when I got here, and for good reason.

Of course, use the Oxford when the sentence gets complicated! These are guidelines, not rules.