In my job people ask me questions about an account ‘…since the 3rd of May 2007.’
I tell them starting from the 4th of May. I think this is grammatically correct. I just get the feeling sometimes that many people think ‘…since the 3rd of May 2007.’ means including the 3rd. I could ask but it is either treating the customer like they are a child or…I do not know.
For me “there has been no activity on that account since the 3rd of May”
would mean the last order or whatever was placed on the 3rd of May. This would be equivalent to “There has been no activity on that account from the 4th of May onwards.”
But if the question were, “Has there been any activity since the 3rd of May,” I would understand that the 3rd of May be inclusive to the inquiry.
Since you ask, I interpret that as 3 May onward(s). Dictionary.com looks like it has the same interpretation, as does Wikipedia: “This article has been tagged since May 2007.” And the SD started fighting ignorance in 1973, yes?
But in “In 1973 I was a dilettante. Since then I’ve taken life less seriously.” the “since then” seems to be a conjunction (is that the correct term?) for “subsequent to that time span”. The customer is always right, no?, and I’d ask them for more info, whatever their age. (Some I’d also ask for their phone number.)
I would take that to mean starting with May 3rd. But because it is one of those things that can mean something different to others, you really should ask for clarification.
“Would you like that information to include May 3rd?”
If you asked me that, I would understand that your experience has shown you that some people think May 3 would be included, some would not. I would not feel you were treating my like a child. I would think you wanted to make sure you gave me the exact information I was seeking, and I would appreciate it.
(Then I would wonder all day how many people would use “since” thinking it would not include May 3rd, and come home and post a question on the Dope out of curiousity.)
Since it’s been brought up, and written text where’s there’s a possibility of ambiguity, you’ll often see the words “inclusive” and “exclusive” used, the former rather more used than the latter in my experience.