Timeline for Should "So", "Therefore", "Hence", and "Thus" be followed by commas?

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Mar 14, 2017 at 14:14	comment	added	John Lawler		There are some answers to that in some formal registers, and these correspond to some rules for comma usage, for some people. But in the last analysis, writing does not capture all (or even most) of language, and no punctuation rules solve that problem. You have to hear the intonation, as I said in the answer.
Mar 8, 2017 at 10:27	comment	added	Quantum7		This theory of commas is not particularly helpful, as it simply converts the question into "Should introductory words be spoken with a comma-like intonation?" There are answers to that in formal registers, and these correspond to rules for comma usage.
Jul 31, 2016 at 22:12	history	edited	John Lawler	CC BY-SA 3.0	added 2 characters in body
Feb 23, 2012 at 20:19	comment	added	FumbleFingers		Haha - it'll be a lifetime's work, I think! But I certainly think your point about "Generally in short sentences you wouldn't" covers many situations. Conversely, I find it hard to imagine anyone saying, for example, "It's raining, so, here's an umbrella".
Feb 23, 2012 at 18:28	comment	added	John Lawler		That's certainly one recognizable usage. There are lots of others, along with myriads of individual styles, not all useful. As I said, a work in progress.
Feb 23, 2012 at 16:56	comment	added	FumbleFingers		I think in OP's context, including the comma reflects a certain degree of "hesitant attention-grabbing" - often typical of some people's conversational style within a group. It causes the "So" to linger longer before the "follow-up" conclusion - implicitly there's a pause there that means something like (please start listening to me now because I'm about to say something relevant to what's just been said)
Feb 23, 2012 at 15:24	history	answered	John Lawler	CC BY-SA 3.0