Also, there are some people who take it too far and use the Oxford comma in lists of two. Gross.
I believe that both camps on the serial comma debate can agree that this is an abomination and must be stomped into the ground, cut into tiny pieces[,] and hurled into the sun.
I always prefer the serial comma, and I'll reword a sentence to avoid ambiguity, rather than omit the serial comma. Really it boils down to whether the writer is consistent. I'll twitch a tiny bit when I see a serial comma missing, but I'll be content as long as the writer is consistent.
One thing that bugs me is that a friend of mind writes the possessive
its with an apostrophe. No, it's not where you think. This is
its with the apostrophe at the end. I found this when reviewing her blog entry. I pointed out the typo, and she said that it was correct. Okay, twitch time. I care enough to bring it up, but I also don't want to press the issue and alienate her. I do not recall any style manual that says
its' is acceptable. I'm pretty sure that is also an abomination.