Comma after "i.e." and "e.g."

The abbreviations i.e. (which means “that is” or “in other words”, from Latin id est) and e.g. (which means “for example”, from Latin exempli gratia) are always preceded by a punctuation mark, usually a comma or a bracket, as in

The question is: Should a comma also follow the abbreviation? It depends on whether you want to follow the American style or the British style.

In British English, “i.e.” and “e.g.” are not followed by a comma, so the first example above would be:

Virtually all American style guides recommend to follow both “i.e.” and “e.g.” with a comma (in the same way as if “that is” and “for example” were used), so the very same sentence in American English would become:

Nevertheless, many American authors and bloggers are unaware of this recommendation, so you are more likely to read a text with no commas after “i.e.” and “e.g.” written by an American than a text written by a British author with the commas included.

A few more examples of correct usage in the American style: