Comma Usage in Salutation

[nq:1]I always thought the correct punctuation for this salutation should be as follows: Hi, John,[/nq]
You were misinformed. Hi and cognates
(Hello etc.) are not standard greetings for
letters: and where there are no standards
there can be no correct or incorrect punctuation.

Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada)

[nq:1]In browsing earlier posts, I came across the "Hi John" posting. Thevarious combinations offered are as follows: 1. Hi John 2. Hi, John I always thought the correct punctuation for this salutation should be as follows: Hi, John, Am I right or wrong?[/nq]
I write:
Hi John
I also write:
Dear sir
Yours faithfully
and so on, all comma-less. This is as a result of a typing

A person's name, or pet name, should be set off by commas when it is used to address that person in dialogue. "Hi, John." "Have you seen Dave, John, in the last half-hour?" Certain words can become part of the address: "Darling Mary, what have you done?"
The salutation of a letter is written "Dear (name)" and should end with a comma when the letter is personal, with a colon when the letter is

[nq:1]In browsing earlier posts, I came across the "Hi John" posting. The various combinations offered are as follows: 1. Hi ... the correct punctuation for this salutation should be as follows: Hi, John, Am I right or wrong? Many thanks, Dan[/nq]
Good morning Dan Shea, hi Don Phillipson, top of the morning to you Chris McCabe, hello Adrian Bailey, greetings Cece, I see no reason for a comma a

[nq:1]various[/nq]
[nq:2]I write: Hi John I also write: Dear sir Yours ... to hit the carriage return at least twice anyway? Adrian[/nq]
[nq:1]A person's name, or pet name, should be set off by commas when it is used to address that person ... in novels. And I've added this missing comma (between "hey" and "John") to my ever-growing list of pet peeves. Cece[/nq]
I was told our friend t

[nq:1]I was told our friend the comma tells us when we can breathe. "Hi, John," - imo - has one too many places to breathe in it. I may start to hyperventilate even before I get to the more important body of a message.[/nq]
Unfortunately, this well-meaning advice is dead wrong. Punctuation has everything to do with structure and nothing to do with respiration.
An example:
"The Hall of

[nq:1] As for the original point, I endorse every word written by the engagingly-named Cece. Now we can have a debate about whether my last hyphen is necessary. This is an issue that appears to divide the community of commentators on usage.[/nq]
In this example the hyphen performs no function; its presence doesn't aid readability, and no ambiguity would arise in its absence. Are there other ar

[nq:1]I was told our friend the comma tells us when we can breathe. "Hi, John," - imo - has one too many places to breathe in it. I may start to hyperventilate even before I get to the more important body of a message.[/nq]
Unfortunately you were misinformed. The main purpose of modern punctuation is to clarify the grammatical structure of what is written. This in turn guides the delivery of t

[nq:2]I was told our friend the comma tells us when ... I get to the more important body of a message.[/nq]
[nq:1]Unfortunately, this well-meaning advice is dead wrong. Punctuation has everything to do with structure and nothing to do with respiration. ... each one would be most unwise. As for the original point, I endorse every word written by the engagingly-named Cece.[/nq]
Even "complim

[nq:2]I was told our friend the comma tells us when ... I get to the more important body of a message.[/nq]
[nq:1]Unfortunately, this well-meaning advice is dead wrong. Punctuation has everything to do with structure and nothing to do with respiration.[/nq]
But the 'respiration' and 'pause' gadgets are the easiest ways of teaching certain aspects of it.
Unfortunately, when people are t