Path: utzoo!hoptoad!uunet!tektronix!zeus!tekla!dant
From: dant@tekla.TEK.COM (Dan Tilque;1893;92-789;LP=A;60aC)
Newsgroups: alt.flame
Subject: Re: Theological Debates
Summary: the Real [tm] Answer
Keywords: Comma
Message-ID: <2967@zeus.TEK.COM>
Date: 13 Jan 88 02:52:23 GMT
Sender: news@zeus.TEK.COM
Reply-To: dant@tekla.UUCP (Dan Tilque)
Organization: Church of Christ, Secular Humanist
Lines: 26

All this theological debate over the proper use of commas has lead me to go
to the Ultimate [tm] Bible and get the Real[tm] answer; to wit:

	"A pair of expressions separated by a comma is evaluated
	left-to-right and the value of the left expression is discarded."

				B. Kernighan and D. Ritchie --
						_The C Programming Language_

Now applying this to the original use of the comma:

>     Maybe, I ought to clarify myself...

indicates that the "Maybe" is evaluated and its result discarded.  Then "I
ought to clarify myself" is evaluated.  Thus, the value of the statement is
that the speaker should clarify himself.  The word clarify has several
meanings but the one that seems to apply best is "to free of confusion."

I agree completely.

---
Dan Tilque
dant@tekla.tek.com  or dant@tekla.UUCP

The above address will go away on Jan 17.  I don't know where or when I'll
regain net access.