# It starts today - but when's today? (2/28/2012)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-starts-today-but-whens-today-2-28-2012/614259
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [February 28, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-starts-today-but-whens-today-2-28-2012/614259 "2012-02-28T16:13:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-starts-today-but-whens-today-2-28-2012/614259/1 "2012-02-28T16:13:24Z")
There are a number of threads - usually in CS but I’ve also seen them elsewhere - that talk about a show or movie or event happening “today” (or “tomorrow” or “right now”).
That might be helpful if you notice them as soon as they’re posted, but gets really annoying if you don’t and they’ve been around for a week when you finally open them up. And with the plague of zombies, this is only going to get worse.
There’s been a lot of success in getting people to date threads for discussion of episodes on ongoing tv series. Could we get at least a sticky to remind people that a “today” needs to be followed by a date? Including the year - zombies are timeless.
And while I hate to overburden the mods - I know how much time it must take to pull up those jackboots - they could help out by modifying titles to add in dates whenever they notice this. And we could help by notifying them to do so.
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### Author:  [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-starts-today-but-whens-today-2-28-2012/614259/2 "2012-02-28T16:34:42Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#):
>
> And while I hate to overburden the mods - I know how much time it must take to pull up those jackboots - they could help out by modifying titles to add in dates whenever they notice this. And we could help by notifying them to do so.
This sounds reasonable, especially the last part.
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-starts-today-but-whens-today-2-28-2012/614259/3 "2012-02-28T17:09:50Z")
😕 I don’t understand the problem. Every post automatically has date and time of posting automatically displayed at the upper left. (Well, it may say “today” or “yesterday”, but when it does, it actually means today or yesterday. After that it changes to the date.)
Now if we could get posters to say which country they live in, when that is relevant, or give us some clue as to their sex, so that one does not have to refer to them as “he/she,” or with a generic plural, that would actually be useful.
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-starts-today-but-whens-today-2-28-2012/614259/4 "2012-02-28T17:13:12Z")
Posts are date stamped, but thread titles as listed on the forum page are not, so someone perusing the forum as a whole don’t see them. So, yeah, agree, “today” is definitely suboptimal.
I know I’ve changed some of these thread titles in the past, and have no objections to doing so in the future. (Today, though … ) Flag 'em when you see 'em, and we can fix.
**twickster** , Cafe Society moderator
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### Author:  [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)
#### Post date: [February 29, 2012, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-starts-today-but-whens-today-2-28-2012/614259/5 "2012-02-29T12:38:10Z")
Can you change my birthdate so I am younger?
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### Author:  [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)
#### Post date: [February 29, 2012, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-starts-today-but-whens-today-2-28-2012/614259/6 "2012-02-29T12:58:27Z")
> [@Cicero](#):
>
> Can you change my birthdate so I am younger?
Sure. We’ll do it today.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [February 29, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-starts-today-but-whens-today-2-28-2012/614259/7 "2012-02-29T18:23:18Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I don’t understand the problem. Every post automatically has date and time of posting automatically displayed at the upper left. (Well, it may say “today” or “yesterday”, but when it does, it actually means today or yesterday. After that it changes to the date.)
The OP means thread titles like “New season of Firefly starts today” (not an actual thread title, alas). Someone looking at the forum page on the day that thread is posted will (correctly) think “Aw, cool, that’s today? I’ll have to remember to watch”. Then discussion carries on in the thread about the new season, and it’s still active a month later. At which point someone looking at the forum page will (incorrectly) think “Aw, cool, that’s today? I’ll have to remember to watch”. You can’t see the datestamp when the thread was started until you actually open the thread, and even then, you might not notice.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [February 29, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-starts-today-but-whens-today-2-28-2012/614259/8 "2012-02-29T18:33:18Z")
Right. It’s even worse for threads about some special programming that people wouldn’t have been watching out for.
And hilarious for threads like the two-year-old and still going “I don’t quite get today’s “Questionable Content” strip” although I get why people keep posting there.
Not a huge problem - and I’d love people to give better locations, too - but it’s not something I remember being discussed before.
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### Author:  [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-starts-today-but-whens-today-2-28-2012/614259/9 "2012-03-01T13:54:28Z")
Can we change this thread’s title to “It starts 2/28/2012 - but when’s 2/28/2012? (today)”