# Dates in titles {Should be in the CYMD format like 2023-05-11} **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 5, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637 "2023-11-05T16:56:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/1 "2023-11-05T16:56:45Z")
Just a small thing this but any chance we could stick to using more descriptive dates in titles? This caught my eye just now and it confused me at first as I thought it referred to today! > [@How can Trump get away with defaming Carroll as a liar today {2023-05-11}?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-trump-get-away-with-defaming-carroll-as-a-liar-today-5-11-2023/983888): > > I’ve asked this question before, in the “DJT v. EJC” thread, but maybe it’s too much of a hijack there, so: 'splain me why DJT isn’t risking certain damages in a second (or third?) defamation trial by repeating that which he got found liable of committing defamation in the first trial? I was expecting him to be slippery, to ALMOST repeat his previous defamations, or to go into “You can probably guess what I think of her” mode, but he appears to me (a non-lawyer) to be taunting her to sue him a… Back in 2010 there was a guideline on this, but it’s probably passed from memory. > [@New guidelines on dates in thread titles (Cafe Society)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-guidelines-on-dates-in-thread-titles-cafe-society/525639): > > After scifisam2009 [raised the issue](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=548430) in ATMB, and discussed amongst the Mods, Dex has updated the [“please use descriptive thread titles”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6769973&postcount=6) section of the Cafe Society rules and guidelines. Since Yanks and Brits use different conventions in all-numeral date designations (month first for Yanks, date first for Brits), confusion can arise when using an all-numeral date in a thread title. Going forward, please make an effort to spell out the name of the month, or use a letter abbreviation for the mont… As I say not a biggie but thought I’d mention it… ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/2 "2023-11-05T16:58:24Z")
Dates should be in the CYMD format, so that example will now be 2023-05-11 instead of 05/11/2023 to indicate May 11 of 2023. ---
**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:** [November 5, 2023, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/3 "2023-11-05T17:27:36Z")
Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/4 "2023-11-05T17:30:43Z")
Thanks for changing it and clarifying the rule. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/5 "2023-11-05T17:32:06Z")
On that note, I updated your title. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/6 "2023-11-05T17:33:47Z")
Thanks and now the preview has been updated so it looks like I’m complaining about nothing! 🤡 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/7 "2023-11-05T17:37:04Z")
But it is all explained in the thread at least. Also as **11May2023** is clear, that is also an acceptable format. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/8 "2023-11-05T19:40:46Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Dates should be in the CYMD format, so that example will now be 2023-05-11 instead of 05/11/2023 to indicate May 11 of 2023. Does that clarify it? Don’t we have people on the board who are used to the month and day being in reverse? And, because I know that, I’m never sure what’s meant by such dates when they’re used here. I’d really recommend using a letter abbreviation for the month. As WE? says, 11May 2023 is clear; so is May11 2023, or any other such permutation. And I don’t have to keep looking at what to me is an unfamiliar formulation (I’m used to DD/MM/YYYY, not YYYY/MM/DD) and trying to remember which way around the month and day are in that version. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/9 "2023-11-05T20:06:47Z")
The default date style should be either YYYYMMDD or the month in its 3 letter form with year a full 4 digits as the 11May2023 example. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/10 "2023-11-05T20:26:42Z")
ISO 8601 should be our friend YYYY-MM-DD If everyone followed it, life dealing with time based data would be so much easier. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/11 "2023-11-05T20:29:16Z")
Correct, [we had this discussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-propose-adding-the-date-to-breaking-news-thread-titles-2022-04-28/963636/22) just ~~a few~~ 18 months ago. So YYYY-MM-DD or something fully clear like 4 digit year, and 3 character Month. Today is 2023-11-05 or 05NOV2023 or 2023NOV05. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/12 "2023-11-05T21:21:21Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > and 3 character Month Is there an international standard for 3-character month names? Because month names are not the same in all languages ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/13 "2023-11-05T21:26:00Z")
American based board and English is the language so the standards here are: ## JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Other languages don’t come into play at all in this case. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/14 "2023-11-05T21:38:47Z")
> [@Precambrianmollusc](#): > > YYYY-MM-DD > If everyone followed it, life dealing with time based data would be so much easier. Yeah, well, but they don’t. I have to fill in my birthdate on a shitload of things, and the date on a batch of other things, and the format is almost always DD-MM-YYYY. When it isn’t, at least they tell me. If the Dope is going to consistently use something else, I suppose I’ll eventually learn that the Dope consistently uses something else, and if the year gets all four digits I may eventually even learn which of the other two variations the Dope uses. But it would be a hell of a lot easier if people in places where others are used to various conventions would just use a couple of letters for the month. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/15 "2023-11-05T22:28:41Z")
Yeah , people don’t but it would make dealing with time based data way easier if forms etc standardized on iso, but that’s a battle I don’t see being won any time soon. For sure using the 3 letter month code is much more readable. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/16 "2023-11-06T01:59:37Z")
Yeah, definitely always use a 4-digit year. The header that sometimes says things like “May 14” (of the current year) and sometimes “May ’14” (that is, May of 2014, or possibly any other century) is a particularly bad design in threads that can last years because the apostrophe is easily lost against the background. “14 MAY 2023” is an acceptable alternative to “14-05-2023” in an environment where you know there will be no other languages than English. But ISO8601 is the best alternative. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/17 "2023-11-06T02:03:09Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > [@What\_Exit](#): > > > > Dates should be in the CYMD format, so that example will now be 2023-05-11 instead of 05/11/2023 to indicate May 11 of 2023. > > Does that clarify it? Don’t we have people on the board who are used to the month and day being in reverse? YYYY-MM-DD is the only format that puts the year first. It’s unambiguous; there is no format YYYY-DD-MM. So you always know what order the month and day are in. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/18 "2023-11-06T02:05:10Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > YYYY-MM-DD is the only format that puts the year first. It’s unambiguous; there is no format YYYY-DD-MM. So you always know what order the month and day are in. Thanks for info. I did not know that. I still say it’s clearer to use letters for the month. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/19 "2023-11-06T05:38:48Z")
For fun our finance team recently released a new project economics evaluation spreadsheet . They like the Q1 ‘01, Q2 ‘01 format for quarter 1 year 1 , quarter 2 year 1 etc. elsewhere in the many tabs they switch to using Q1 ‘24 , Q2 ‘24 with the 24 being 2024, so on some tabs you have no idea when you put in a start of expenditure if it is supposed to be entered in the period or the year. They are now annoyed that none of the project economic calculations are rolling up correctly, but the project economics either look great because we won’t spend any money until 24 years after it starts, or it sucks because we spent money 24 years ago with no revenue . It has become apparent to everyone else why they take so long to close month end. Muppets ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2023, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637/20 "2023-11-06T06:03:29Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I still say it’s clearer to use letters for the month. Me too. To me, 11May2023 is a lot clearer than 2023-05-11. Or is that 2023-11-05? Hell, might as well be MMXXIII-V-XI. Or XI-V-MMXXIII. Or something. Point is, that this is an English-speaking board, so nobody, from anywhere in the English-speaking world should be confused if we use the three-letter English month abbreviations spelled out in Latin letters. And while we do have a few posters from places where English is not the native language, and is a second (or third, or fourth, or fifth) language to them, their skill with the language is apparent in their posts. They will have no problems understanding 5Nov2023, or November 5, 2023, or similar. Latin letter month abbreviations eliminate ambiguity over whether it’s MM-DD or DD-MM, especially when the Ds are under 13. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dates-in-titles-should-be-in-the-cymd-format-like-2023-05-11/992637.md?page=2)