Thelukeeffect

Commas

Hi there. I challenged your edit here but on reflection perhaps there's a rule here I'm not aware of. If you think I'm missing something here and would like to explain more, I'm all ears. Thanks. Popcornfud (talk) 20:11, 27 September 2024 (UTC)

Thank you for your thoughtful response, @Popcornfud. I see your point about Radiohead having only one longtime producer, which might make the comma feel appropriate. However, since Wikipedia aims to be accessible to a general audience who may not know this, the Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Commas section suggests omitting commas when the appositive is necessary to clarify the subject.

For example, the guideline states: “Janet Cooper’s son John Smith is a well-known playwright” (when she has multiple sons). Here, no commas are used because “John Smith” is needed to specify which son is being referred to. In the same way, “Nigel Godrich” clarifies which producer worked with Radiohead on the album, making it a restrictive appositive that doesn’t require commas.

In any event, I certainly have no strong feeling here—the sentence just read as a little stilted to me, just as an Oxford comma might—but it certainly seems to boil down to interpretation. I appreciate your openness to discussion and your willingness to consider different perspectives! Thelukeeffect (talk) 22:06, 27 September 2024 (UTC)