Talk:Virginia Liston

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Dead external links to Allmusic website – January 2011[edit]

Since Allmusic have changed the syntax of their URLs, 1 link(s) used in the article do not work anymore and can't be migrated automatically. Please use the search option on http://www.allmusic.com to find the new location of the linked Allmusic article(s) and fix the link(s) accordingly, prefereably by using the {{Allmusic}} template. If a new location cannot be found, the link(s) should be removed. This applies to the following external links:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=17:4989437

--CactusBot (talk) 18:40, 1 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Done - Derek R Bullamore (talk) 10:23, 29 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Grammar problems[edit]

"She was working in local theaters in 1909, and by 1910 was performing in Texas". This is ungrammatical. You can't use a comma there if the subject of the independent clause and dependent clause is the same ("She"). Delete the comma and the sentence becomes grammatical. Or change it to "in 1909, and by 1910 she was performing in Texas".
–Vmavanti (talk) 17:19, 6 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Like most grammar rules, this one is not absolute. Sometimes a comma is helpful in such a sentence. Garner's Modern American Usage gives an example: "We like to have wine and ham it up on weekends" (a comma after wine would prevent a miscue). "She was working in local theaters in 1909 and by 1910" scans better with a comma in my opinion. Ewulp (talk) 03:40, 7 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Appositives must be next to the subject they are modifying: They recorded two songs, "Song One" and "Song Two", for Columbia.
–Vmavanti (talk) 17:25, 6 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Like most grammar rules, this one is not absolute, and can be disregarded if no ambiguity results. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language gives as an example, "I met a friend of yours at the party last night—Emma Carlisle." Ewulp (talk) 03:40, 7 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

There is never a good reason not to use the Oxford comma. Use it.
–Vmavanti (talk) 17:27, 6 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I prefer it, but MOS:OXFORD is neutral on the issue, and it seems consistent with MOS:VAR to follow the style established by the article's main editor. Its absence doesn't cause any problem here, does it? Ewulp (talk) 03:40, 7 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

If you removed the word "subsequently" from that sentence, would you lose anything? No. You would only gain.
–Vmavanti (talk) 17:32, 6 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

You'd gain confused readers who would wonder when she started living in DC. Ewulp (talk) 03:40, 7 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Wrong on all counts.
–Vmavanti (talk) 17:50, 7 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Please explain: What do Garner's and Cambridge Grammar really say? Does MOS:OXFORD say the Oxford comma is mandatory? How do you believe readers will misinterpret the phrase "songwriting team of Gray, Liston and Williams"? Ewulp (talk) 19:21, 7 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Linking[edit]

Don't link states, big cities, familiar countries, sections of countries (South, Midwest). This dilutes the links that music articles need, namely links to other musicians, albums, and perhaps record companies. In music articles, other links are less important and can weaken the article. Remove the links from Louisiana, Mississippi, St. Louis, and New Orleans. Don't be Pavlov's dog. Think about what you are doing. Why link this or that? Not "just because". That's not a good enough reason. Thinking is good for linking.
–Vmavanti (talk) 17:23, 6 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]