# Date format options **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 20, 2002, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089 "2002-10-20T11:36:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@Ell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ell)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/1 "2002-10-20T11:36:27Z")
Is it at all possible to give users the option of changing the date format they view the board in? I’d love to be able to view the board in DD/MM/YYYY. It may be a small request but I’m sure it would make quite a few people happy. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/2 "2002-10-20T12:21:57Z")
That’s be cool. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/3 "2002-10-20T12:23:44Z")
And that’s be my pirate typo. Arrrrr. ---
**Author:** ![Ell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@Ell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ell)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/4 "2002-10-20T12:27:30Z")
Arrrr. Me hearties, we’ll take over this board! ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/5 "2011-05-28T21:03:17Z")
I’d like to second this request, as I can’t find any way of doing it. Having all the day and month the wrong way around is quite irritating… in fact, I’d vastly prefer following the international standard of YYYY-MM-DD so that I no longer have to guess which number is which. [Apparently user-specific date settings are possible in recent versions of vBulletin](http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/options_dateandtime); is the SDMB running an older version or is this setting simply disabled for some reason? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/6 "2011-05-28T23:00:41Z")
I would also support having this option. I find the current date system very confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/7 "2011-05-29T00:10:13Z")
I agree. This option would be bery useful. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/8 "2011-05-29T01:59:35Z")
Joining the DD/MM/YYYY fan club. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/9 "2011-05-29T02:45:20Z")
I too would like this option. I’ve just noticed that this is a 9 year old zombie thread, and am confused as to how it came to be revived. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/10 "2011-05-29T02:51:31Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > I too would like this option. I’ve just noticed that this is a 9 year old zombie thread, and am confused as to how it came to be revived. How can you tell it’s nine years old? Are you really _sure_ about the date? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/11 "2011-05-29T08:03:02Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > I too would like this option. I’ve just noticed that this is a 9 year old zombie thread, and am confused as to how it came to be revived. I revived it because in nine years the option to change the date format hasn’t been added. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/12 "2011-05-29T09:18:59Z")
I, too, would like to have the option to have it dd/mm/yyyy. My little brain still struggles with mm/dd even after all these years. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/13 "2011-05-29T11:09:57Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > I’d like to second this request, as I can’t find any way of doing it. Having all the day and month the wrong way around is quite irritating… in fact, I’d vastly prefer following the international standard of YYYY-MM-DD so that I no longer have to guess which number is which. > > [Apparently user-specific date settings are possible in recent versions of vBulletin](http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/options_dateandtime); is the SDMB running an older version or is this setting simply disabled for some reason? While 3.7.3 has a nearly identical [manual page](http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html?manualversion=30703601) on the subject, I don’t think it says what you think it says. When it says “user-settings”, it is apparently referring to site-wide settings by the board administrators, not per-user settings. Look at the [other settings](http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html?manualversion=30703601) in the same category. I doubt an indivual user can turn the board off, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/14 "2011-05-29T11:47:58Z")
Since all the post-resurrection posts say either “Today” or “Yesterday” I don’t think it’s all that important. I’m pretty sure that “Today” and “Yesterday” are the same in either format. And they are always in the same time order. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/15 "2011-05-29T11:52:48Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Since all the post-resurrection posts say either “Today” or “Yesterday” I don’t think it’s all that important. No they don’t. They say “Today” or “Yesterday” only for posts made today or yesterday. For posts prior to that, the date is displayed in MM-DD-YYYY format. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/16 "2011-05-29T11:55:11Z")
Yeah. They would be the posts from 2002. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/17 "2011-05-29T12:16:36Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Yeah. They would be the posts from 2002. Our concerns about the format of the dates is not restricted to the posts in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/18 "2011-05-29T22:30:09Z")
Later versions of vBulletin may support more than one date/time option but this one makes you choose one and only one. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/19 "2011-05-31T13:50:00Z")
Thanks for letting us know, **TubaDiva**. ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089/20 "2011-05-31T18:26:25Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > Later versions of vBulletin may support more than one date/time option but this one makes you choose one and only one. Sorry. If you have to pick one and only one, IMO it should be the ISO standard format of YYYY-MM-DD. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/date-format-options/133089.md?page=2)