Hi, my testy copy editor friends. I submit to you this sentence:
If you add or replace keys; add or replace remote transmitters; or replace components for the vehicle's anti-theft system; you must re-register the system.
This was written by someone else, who asked me whether the punctuation used above is correct. I told him no, the semicolons should be commas. I then had to explain why. I'm now looking at a final draft (which I can only mark up, not edit) and praying that he merely forgot to change the punctuation.
PLEASE tell me I'm right, that above usage is not acceptable?
And, if I am, can you tell if the misuse is because of confusion with some other rule? (He said something about how he was "taught in school" that you can use the semicolon this way.)
Thanks, A Testy Technical Proofreader
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