Question: According to the Wikipedia page for the [Oxford Comma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_comma#Arguments_for_and_against), "Use of the comma is consistent with conventional practice" and "Use of the comma is inconsistent with conventional practice." Did the Oxford Comma come before its omission, or was the Oxford Comma traditionally omitted?

It makes logical sense that every item in a list would be separated in the same way: by a comma. If the Oxford Comma is conventionally correct, when and why did people begin to omit it?

Answer: 
There are situations where use of the [Oxford comma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_comma "(a.k.a. serial comma or series comma)") will make or break a sentence.

**Choose a style and *be consistent*.** When you run into a situation in which your choice suggests a misinterpretation of the sentence, rewrite it in another manner to avoid the confusion.

Consider these two pairs where the Oxford comma makes (1) or breaks (2) the intention:

> 
> **Oxford comma:**
> 
> 
> 1. *We invited the strippers, JFK, and Stalin.* = Strippers and JFK and Stalin.
> 2. *We invited the stripper, JFK, and Stalin.* = JFK (the stripper) and Stalin.
> 
> 
> **No Oxford comma:**
> 
> 
> 1. *We invited the strippers, JFK and Stalin.* = Strippers named JFK and Stalin.
> 2. *We invited the stripper, JFK and Stalin.* = Stripper and JFK and Stalin.
> 
> 
> 

A picture (from [Joe Kessler's blog](http://lesserjoke.tumblr.com/post/17114988391/captainrobocop-politicalprof-the-oxford)) to better illustrate this:

[![The Oxford comma alters the subjects of these sentences](https://i.stack.imgur.com/spQkb.png)](http://lesserjoke.tumblr.com/post/17114988391/captainrobocop-politicalprof-the-oxford)
According to Willam J. Strunk in *The Elements of Style*, Rule 2 states that a comma should be used after each term except the last in lists of three or more items. There is an exception which is in names of businesses, the correct example given is: Brown, Shipley and Company (as opposed to Brown, Shipley, and Company).

See the link for the full online text:

<https://faculty.washington.edu/heagerty/Courses/b572/public/StrunkWhite.pdf>