Items in a Series and Comma Use

["Kirk Turner" <royj -at- alltel -dot- net>]

I'm not a newbie, but I realize that this is a newbie question.  For thirty
years, I've used commas after each item in a series (except, of course, the
last) as is traditional. I was wondering about the current practice of
omitting the comma after the second-to-last item in a series. Is this
convention a fad that might revert back to the old style or an established
grammar rule? How many of you use this convention? For example,

A. Document submittal requirements are identified and defined in the
following flow chart, checklist and guidelines.

B. Document submittal requirements are identified and defined in the
following flow chart, checklist, and guidelines.

I am editing a manual that should last for years, and I don't want to fall
victim to topical comma use, but if Example A is to be the norm, I don't
want to be incorrect either. I've used convention in Exampled "A" in the
manual so far, but I'm having doubts. 

Best regards,
Kirk


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