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I feel like I'm always bristling at Word's suggestions to remove commas. Here's the sentence I'm currently unsure about:

Virtual social events are a good way to meet new people, and hosting a virtual party can keep your social network strong.

Word wants me to remove the comma. But aren't these two independent clauses?

Thanks!

Annie
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    Word is an idiot. – Robusto May 01 '20 at 02:34
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    Yes, they are independent clauses. Accordingly, most style guides would indicate the comma should be there. – Jason Bassford May 01 '20 at 03:06
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    Does this answer your question? Comma before "and" in compound sentences? The comma here, while not mandatory unless you choose a prescriptivist style dictator, is preferable (a) to aid parsing and (b) to aid breathing when reading out aloud. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 08 '20 at 13:28
  • This list is about the English language, not about a software application. – David Jun 08 '20 at 20:07
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    The best editing software-- grammar checkers and the like-- provide at best 60% useful or correct advice. I surveyed (for a university) eight different editing programs, all of which bragged that they could "correct all your errors!", including MS Word. I (we) found that all of them identified perfectly correct expressions as errors, and left unidentified many glaring errors. Grammar checkers should only be used by those who know more than the software; that is, when they can ascertain from their own knowledge when the software is helpful and when it is "an idiot". They're more useful for proo – dmms Jun 08 '20 at 13:01

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I wouldn't bother about what Word suggests in this case. It often wants to insert semicolons where a comma will suffice, and other nonsensical suggestions. I don't really think it makes much difference whether you remove the comma or not. In fact, it looks fine to me as it is.

acme_54
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  • Today, my Word spellchecker failed to detect "rewieved" (reviewed) and "wordwild" (worldwide)... that's how reliable it is.... – acme_54 Feb 12 '21 at 10:54