P. U. P. by Krahn
Punctuation seems to be the last frontier in the study of the writing process. Many people, sometimes even teachers of writing, give punctuation short shrift. Handbooks of writing are prone to consider punctuation as about as important as an oil change and list it under "mechanics." Those who ignore punctuation or treat it with contempt may simply not understand its importance in the production of meaning in writing.
The purpose of this site is to promote the study of punctuation with a view toward understanding it better. To avoid confusion, however, the site is devoted to punctuation in American English particularly.
Past Paradigms and Silly Analogies
Over the years, writers of handbooks and books on punctuation have attempted to understand what makes punctuation work. Unfortunately, most of them have been looking in the wrong place and comparing punctuation to interesting but irrelevant concepts.
Hot links for help
Although there is not much information available about the theory and principles of punctuation, there are some sites that will provide immediate help for answers to specific questions. The sites listed here are not necessarily being endorsed, but they may provide reasonably accurate help when you need it. Generally, there are no sites for theoretical discussions of punctuation. (See the address for the mailing list, however.) But if you need a quick answer for a particular punctuation problem, try one of the following.
The Purdue OWL, for example, provides some sensible answers to specific punctuation questions. Generally, they avoid confusing terminology.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/index.html
The Capitol Community College site offers mostly well-reasoned advice.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/marks.htm
NASA has an interesting site with plenty of advice.
http://stipo.larc.nasa.gov/sp7084/sp7084cont.html
NYU has a page on copyediting with a lot of examples, but they never explain what they mean by "necessary" in regard to open punctuation.
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/copyXediting/Punctuation.html
If you are a scholar, the Punctuation Project Home Page has good bibliographies.
http://www.partnership.mmu.ac.uk/punctuation/punctuation.html
A new paradigm for understanding punctuation
If you are having trouble understanding punctuation as it is presented in the usual handbooks and manuals, maybe this view of punctuation will help.
Frequently Asked Questions
One goal of this site is to provide a forum for an on-going discussion of punctuation. Perhaps, in time, a longer list of frequently asked questions could be made available. Or explanations for pervasive punctuation problems could be provided. For example, the problem of its and it's might be a candidate for a FAQ. Also, perhaps a Punctuation Conundrum test could be a feature. One nomination might be the problems sown by confused writers who use the apostrophe for plurals. The following curiosity, for example, seems to be spreading: here are the do's and dont's or sometimes do's and don'ts.
A mailing list devoted to punctuation has been in existence since May of 1996. People who are interested in a collaborative discussion of punctuation are encouraged to subscribe and participate. To join the list, go to http://interversity.org/lists/punct-l/ or send an email to majordomo@interversity.org, and in the body of the message say only subscribe punct-l followed by your online identification and address (for example, smithj@everyisp.com). Don't include a subject line or a signature.
If you have comments or suggestions, please send email to krahn@[thedomainlistedatthetop]. For example, if you discover a site that discusses punctuation in some interesting way or have some suggestions for the FAQ, we'd like to know about it.
09/25/06