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John Posada <JPosada -at- book -dot- com> wrote:
>
>Can I ask a heretical question?
>
>Does it make sense to adhere to styles defined in 1918?
John,
Heretical Question Answerers 'R' Us.
Strunk & White is about clear writing, which never goes out of fashion. The serial comma (Oxford comma) has been a matter of preference since at least the late nineteenth century--maybe earlier. (Oxonians use it; Cantabridgians don't; deal with it.) So the general advice is to pick a style and stick with it.
However, in technical writing (as opposed to the broader bailiwick Strunk & White addressed), most editors and style guide constructors like to use the Oxford comma. The reason, I believe, is that in technical writing we often encounter multi-word bits of jargon that could become ambiguous were it not for the consistent use of the Oxford comma.
As others have pointed out, you need to follow the style guide that applies in your situation. If you are writing a news release, you had best follow the AP style guide (no Oxford comma). If you are writing user doc in a company that has its own style guide, you should follow the rule specified in that guide or have a damn good reason for violating it.
But getting back to the question you asked, one of the reasons for the general conservatism of most editors is the desire to have things we write today be intelligible to people who might read them a few years hence. Part of the reason for writing things down is to aid in the longitudinal transmission of culture, so slowing the pace of linguistic change (to the limited extent that is possible) can be seen as a good thing.
Nineteen eighteen wasn't all that long ago. It's two years before my father was born, and he and I can still communicate in both written and spoken English. In fact, at my mother's funeral last week, I spoke with several people who were born prior to 1918, and they were perfectly intelligible as well.
Dick
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