Usage of a comma before 'and' (Guest: Tharabg)

While there are many styles of punctuation in English, I would opt to correct this sentence:

...sales, customer support and quality.

yep hitch. no use for comma before an 'and'.

I would always use a COMMA before AND unless the last 2 items are related. For example, 1, 2, 3 and 4, would suggest 3 and 4 are coupled. 1, 2, 3, and 4 provides an absolute definition suggesting that the 3 and the 4 are seperate entities, which they are!

1 for, 2 against. Chris, what's your take on this?

I'm also troubled when choosing between these sentences:

1. Computer peripherals may include printers, mouse and keyboards, tape and disk drives, and consoles.

2. Computer peripherals may include printers, mouse and keyboards, tape and disk drives and consoles.

I would write it:

Computer peripherals can include printers, mice and keyboards, tape drives, disk drives and consoles.

-I chose 'can' over 'may' but that's just my feeling on it.
-Mouse should be mice
-tape drives, disk drives (to avoid 'ands')

It is a tough sentence!

As Carla pointed out earlier, it's U.S to put a comma after the final

If I want a sentence clear of any doubt then it has to be number 1 in your examples. In your examples you have cleverly chosen items that are linked, e.g. Tape and Disk Drives, along with other references around the same topic. In your second example we see no seperation between "Tape, Disk Drive, and Consoles. Are they all related? If it is highly important to provide seperation between item

Just to further the debate *** ...... Michael Swan in Pratical English Usage says this on the use of commas .... "Commas are used to separate items in series or list, but they are often not used between the last two items.

'i'd like to visit Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Yugoslavia'.

if the last two items are long, we are more likely to use commas.

'I spent

My intention is to list all the peripherals, while putting similar items into groups. "Mice" and keyboards belong to the same input device class. Tape drives and disk drives belong to the same input/output device class. Printers have a separate output class. Consoles belong to another class of output device.

Mainframe - That's a good idea, but the problem is tape drives and disk drives will have to be seperated due to the repetition of 'and' between the drives. Plus they are in different categories anyway, as a tape drive is 'backup storage'.

Computer peripherals can include printers, mice and keyboards, tape drives, disk drives and consoles.

mice and keyboards are