I've noticed that a lot of people on menewsha tend to put many commas in sentences that DO NOT NEED THEM.

and example is this "i like your shoes, and hat"

this happens a lot on here... is it just lack of understanding of the mystical comma or just wanting that extra .03 gold or whatever for a character bonus on the post?

As far as I know, you do not get gold for punctuation marks. I think I heard this somewhere, but I'm not sure. I use commas to show pause, as if I would be taking a breath there should I speak the sentence rather than type it.

EDIT:
I just edited my post with one single addition, a comma. I did not receive any more gold from it.

commas don't signify breaths, they indicate an addition to a sentence. a very large sentence could not require any commas whatsoever, but putting the commas in there creates the pause for a breath.

I know they don't mean a breath, but that is what I use them for. They're also to separate ideas.

Using the comma before the 'and' like that is known as the Oxford comma, and it is in fact, correct in most casual writing settings. If I were to submit something to be published, however, some editors would probably remove it.

I, however, like it a lot because you can use it to manipulate the control and flow of what you are saying more. It's a way to manipulate the reader into noticing certain things a little more.
At least, that's my theory and I'm sticking to it. ;)

I, think, that, making, a, thread, about, other, people's, supposed, overuse, of, commas, is, pretty, dang, anal, not, to, mention, based, on, an, unproveable, observation.

Perhaps, the, original, poster, should, strengthen, his, grasp, on, capitalisation, before, he, moves, on, to, more, advanced, levels, of, grammar.

Originally Posted by Lorika

I, think, that, making, a, thread, about, other, people's, supposed, overuse, of, commas, is, pretty, dang, anal, not, to, mention, based, on, an, unproveable, observation.

Perhaps, the, original, poster, should, strengthen, his, grasp, on, capitalisation, before, he, moves, on, to, more, advanced, levels, of, grammar.

This is amazing, and I concur.

I'm not comma crazy; I'm ellipsis crazy...see what I mean? My thoughts don't really start or stop...but flow along...and I look for a way to show that. I've been cutting back here because I thought we did get gold for punctuation and I didn't want to get in trouble for spamming. I do love a great semicolon though!

@monstahh, yeah i think in formal english the comma before and/but is required. Casual you can pick, but i always put it there XD correct me if i'm wrong

@Lorika, considering all the shit in the GD, i think this is alright ;) and there are more anal people out there for worse things...
and you totally proved the abuse of the comma ;D

I'm the opposite, I'm scared of commas. I always feel like my words don't flow correctly or I have a run on sentence, but I'm not sure so I don't want to put a comma in. ):

Comma usage rules are changing just because the use of them is changing.

At least they're trying to use punctuation. I know quite a few people who couldn't care less.

Little things like that don't normally bother me.

There are plenty of people who have much worse grammar problems than commas, after all...

I was just taught that commas were used to seperate ideas, such as a list, a pause, and you could use it before the 'and' or not. And when addressing someone.
EXAMPLE (possibly the most common example on the INTARWEBZ):
Let's eat Grandpa!
Let's eat, Grandpa!

not everyones comma happy it's just mayb someone has to list alot of things i don't know...

I thought that people put commas in sentences at the places where, when reading them, one would pause to take a breath. It's an impulse seen a lot online since we type in a less formal way than we would in an essay or something like that.