Quote:
Originally Posted by JWBear
Every writing class I have ever taken taught that it is proper usage to include it. The practice of omitting it was started by newspapers in order to save space.
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Here's a good presentation of the
argument against, one that is accepted by many English speaking countries and the majority of American non-academic styleguides (which, as you suggest, are primarily newspapers and magazines).
Personally, I use the serial comma, but I agree with the con argument that 90%+ of the time it serves no functional purpose and so to the extent that a rule is needed it should be simply that the comma is mandatory only when its use eliminates ambiguity.