and I'm not going to do nothing no more today neither ........

or should that be.. I ain't

Yes, after an entire 10 minutes of study on this since yesterday, you've nailed it. I also reviewed some old messages to see what it is I do.

My problem has been starting my emails with 'hi' or 'hello'.. in that case, I tend to put the comma between hi & name.
If starting out 'dear' I wouldn't use the comma before the proper name.

I consider myself something of a comma addict, and I worry about it.

Maybe we should just accept that email and texting have entirely eliminated the need for grammar, spelling and punctuation.

u can just typ like dis & u will B OK m8 its kewl cuz only uptite peeps care about spellng rulz and dat shit

[/doubleplusgood newspeak]

aaaayyyyyyy! my eyes!

I hate that.

oo ur so kewl

Testing, testing. 1-2-3.....
Testing. Testing. 1..2...3.

Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle....

It should be Hello, Kaffy....I'm a nitpicker myself and was an English Lit major for 2 years before delving into science. It may be okay now though in casual writing.

Your boss is correct, Kaffy. He's using a vocative expression, where the name directly indicates who is being addressed. That means that the comma is required in both "Hello, Ray," and "Thanks, Toon." See the section about parenthetical phrases in this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma_(punctuation)#Uses

dunroving is correct about 'dear' being an adjective. Writing "Dear Kaffy" is just like beginning simply with "Kaffy", except that you're also describing her as being dear.

Which, of course, she is.

Which (of course) she is.

Which of course she is!

Ho hum, too much time on my hands (well truth be told, postponing real work).

I don't see the connection with the wiki piece.

I use a filter when confronted with some of these cases, I speak them aloud and see if it sounds right. To pause between "Hello" and "Ray" sounds silly. If I meet Ray in the hallway, I speak the two words without a break, a pause might get me some weird looks.

hear hear!

It sounds silly to me too. I was taught that a comma means a break for breath (generally) or to to make a pause or a needed break in a sentence.

Therefore : Hello Kitty = no comma.

One single phrase. One single sentence. No need to pause. No need to breathe.

I think it depends on the context ... I mean in certain situations, a pause would be most effective, as in "Well, hello, Kitty ...." (think Frankie Howerd, Kenneth Williams, et al.)

You would never write "Dear, Peter" or "Dear, Sir". You would never write "Hi, Peter" or Hello, Sir". There is absolutely NO REASON to inset a comma.

Dear Sir,

This letter is about.....

---------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Pete. This is the email joke I was going to send you.....

-----------------------------------------------------------

or -- Hi Pete, this is the email joke I was going to send you.............

----------------------------------------------------

The OP is correct about it seeming weird to put a comma before the person's name in the salutation. The usage isn't based upon how it sounds-- it's just wrong (or maybe it's something new?) Nine times out of ten the writer who inserts unnecessary punctuation marks isn't certain and, in an attempt to appear correct, overcompensates and uses extra punctuation marks.

Same as the folks who love the apostrophe so much. They're the ones who use an apostrophe to for a plural while the rest of us cringe.

"Well, hello, Kitty ...." (think Frankie Howerd, Kenneth Williams, et al.)

That seems fine. Different meaning, different context.

Could you imagine getting a Dear, John letter? (with the comma) LOL In the US a Dear John letter is what a woman writes to a man when she's breaking up with him. "Dear John, blah blah blah........."

It's NOT a Dear, John letter (with a comma). Dear, John, I am, through with you, I hope I am not, hurting you too much but...." (the comma addicts might like that.) Lose the commas!!! arrrrrrrrrrrrgh.