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I think clear communication is important, and I initially tried to avoid digging into grammar until they doubled down on a weird use of a comma. There are two

I think clear communication is important, and I initially tried to avoid digging into grammar until they doubled down on a weird use of a comma. There are two verbs in your example, so it’s simply not a relevant example since the second verb is forming a separate sentence. It’s just connected with a comma in order to inform the reader that it is reusing the context of the previous sentence. In this specific example, that really makes it a broken sentence fragment, but it is often acceptable if it is being done poetically, which it arguably is there. I phrased my previous comment carefully. The verb is never isolated from the rest of the sentence by a comma. “Posts” is the complete sentence; it just has an implicit subject and object. It’s possible there are nuanced counterexamples somewhere that I’m somehow overlooking, but none of them are relevant to whether putting a comma between “laptop” and “returns” would make the title clearer. But, if you’d like to try again with only a single verb…

lwhi 4y ago
> I think clear communication is important, and I initially tried to avoid digging into grammar until they doubled down on a weird use of a comma. You're going to upset people if you don't consider their opinions.
lwhi 4y ago
You're also incorrect. -- "Rule of thumb: a comma indicates a pause in speech." [1] [1] https://site.uit.no/english/punctuation/rules-for-comma-usage/ https://site.uit.no/english/punctuation/rules-for-comma-usag...
- coder543 4y ago
  That rule of thumb doesn’t really contradict anything I’ve said, and a rule of thumb is not to be relied upon anyways. If we want to consider the rule of thumb, just extend the sentence. If the pause would be there, then it would also be there even if the sentence were longer. “System76 AMD-Only Laptop Returns to Market”. I certainly wouldn’t pause between “laptop” and “returns”. But again, a rule of thumb is a general guideline, and it will be wrong in many cases. The real, specific rules that are listed after also don’t contradict anything I’ve said, as far as I can see. Can you please point to the specific rule on that page that says a comma would be useful here? A comma does not fix this title. I’m not claiming to be the single best person in the world at English grammar, but I have tried my best to learn a thing or two about it over the years. I have also tried to clearly explain the relevant grammar to the best of my ability. I have apparently failed to explain it well enough, so I’m done here, since trying more won’t make a difference for such an irrelevant diversion from the main topic.
  - lwhi 4y ago
    First: Read the original title out loud. Next: Read the original title (including the additional comma) out loud, pausing slightly in place of the comma. -- Which makes _more_ sense?
    - coder543 4y ago
      The one without the comma, absolutely.
      - lwhi 4y ago
        You're only lying to yourself.
Y_Y 4y ago
But you said "never"! Too nuanced and pedantic, understood.

lwhi 4y ago

> I think clear communication is important, and I initially tried to avoid digging into grammar until they doubled down on a weird use of a comma. You're going to upset people if you don't consider their opinions.

lwhi 4y ago

You're also incorrect. -- "Rule of thumb: a comma indicates a pause in speech." [1] [1] https://site.uit.no/english/punctuation/rules-for-comma-usage/ https://site.uit.no/english/punctuation/rules-for-comma-usag...

coder543 4y ago
That rule of thumb doesn’t really contradict anything I’ve said, and a rule of thumb is not to be relied upon anyways. If we want to consider the rule of thumb, just extend the sentence. If the pause would be there, then it would also be there even if the sentence were longer. “System76 AMD-Only Laptop Returns to Market”. I certainly wouldn’t pause between “laptop” and “returns”. But again, a rule of thumb is a general guideline, and it will be wrong in many cases. The real, specific rules that are listed after also don’t contradict anything I’ve said, as far as I can see. Can you please point to the specific rule on that page that says a comma would be useful here? A comma does not fix this title. I’m not claiming to be the single best person in the world at English grammar, but I have tried my best to learn a thing or two about it over the years. I have also tried to clearly explain the relevant grammar to the best of my ability. I have apparently failed to explain it well enough, so I’m done here, since trying more won’t make a difference for such an irrelevant diversion from the main topic.
- lwhi 4y ago
  First: Read the original title out loud. Next: Read the original title (including the additional comma) out loud, pausing slightly in place of the comma. -- Which makes _more_ sense?
  - coder543 4y ago
    The one without the comma, absolutely.
    - lwhi 4y ago
      You're only lying to yourself.

Y_Y 4y ago

But you said "never"! Too nuanced and pedantic, understood.