User:Szyslak/Comma convention


 * This is a work in progress, like virtually everything else in my userspace

Common arguments in favor of applying "City, State" with no exceptions
"All U.S. city names are inherently ambiguous." The United States is a very big country, so it's inevitable there will be some repetition in names.

If I tell someone I'm going to L.A., what are the odds that person will wonder why I'm going to Chile?

The comma convention improves consistency and stability. There's a difference between consistency and consonance. Yes, one could argue that it's "inconsistent" that Seattle doesn't follow "City, State" while Phoenix, Arizona does. But isn't it also inconsistent that the article Queen (band) is disambiguated, while our Beatles article isn't at "The Beatles (band)"?

Conventions work best when they are followed. This argument boils down to, "Those are the rules because those are the rules". Yes, conventions work best when they're followed, but they work even better when they make sense.