# phone number formatting **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 11, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009 "2005-07-11T16:23:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/1 "2005-07-11T16:23:46Z")
some hump at head office just implemented a company-wide policy that phone numbers in our email signatures have to be universal, which is fine. but they’ve chosen the format using decimals to seperate the numbers. this strikes me as slightly retarded. what’s your preferrred phone # format? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/2 "2005-07-11T16:24:39Z")
(123) 123-4567 or 123-123-4567 ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/3 "2005-07-11T16:39:49Z")
> [@fubbleskag](#): > > … they’ve chosen the format using decimals to seperate the numbers. Do you mean: 800155521234 would be (800)555-1234? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/4 "2005-07-11T16:54:04Z")
I go with decimals. 800.555.1212 I just like the clean look. What’s retarded about it? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![wasson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4da419/32.png) [@wasson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wasson)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/5 "2005-07-11T16:54:04Z")
I think they mean 800.555.1234 That’s my preferred way of doing it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/6 "2005-07-11T16:57:50Z")
you’re both heathens! ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/7 "2005-07-11T16:59:33Z")
I’m with **Mr. Blue Sky**. Though I have no aesthetic objection to the decimal method, I’m all about the dashes. In fact, I’m too lazy for the parentheses at this point, espeically since I live in a ten-digit-dialing area, anyhow. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/8 "2005-07-11T17:27:12Z")
You mean 212.555.1212 ? Using decimals in phone numbers is something I started to see about 15 years ago. Early adopters seemed to be mostly design-related companies; I first saw numbers formatted with decimals on the letterhead of architecture and graphic design firms. From there, it spread. Why use them as a standard? I can’t think of a good reason, except that a parenthesis for the area code seems to imply that dialing it is optional, when in fact it’s required in areas with ten digit dialing. The use of decimal places instead of dashes? It looks clean and stylish, in some way. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/9 "2005-07-11T17:42:26Z")
I’d rather there just be a space: 800 555 1212. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/10 "2005-07-11T18:14:47Z")
The nice thing about (xxx)yyy-zzzz is that it clearly and immediately identifies the number as a phone number. Sometimes there’s no ambiguity, but sometimes there might be, and this phone-number-specific formatting removes that possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/11 "2005-07-11T18:16:40Z")
I don’t really see decimals as _retarded_, but I prefer dashes. The main reasons for me are [ul] [li] Dashes look neater to me.[/li][li] When printing, decimals often get lost in the text.[/li][li] The little dash sign on the number keypad is somehow more convenient to me than the decimal.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/12 "2005-07-11T18:19:39Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > The nice thing about (xxx)yyy-zzzz is that it clearly and immediately identifies the number as a phone number. Of course, so does putting phone: or some other suitable identifier in front of it. I prefer the parentheses/dashes, but wouldn’t object to decimals. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/13 "2005-07-11T18:39:19Z")
It’s a global thing. They have been doing it that way in Europe (at least Belguim, where my people are from) for a long time. I think it looks cleaner too. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/14 "2005-07-11T18:47:42Z")
> [@brownie55](#): > > It’s a global thing. They have been doing it that way in Europe (at least Belguim, where my people are from) for a long time. I think it looks cleaner too. If it’s a global thing, then you need to use: +1-123-123-4567 since, globally speaking, not all telephone numbers are in zone 1. ---
**Author:** ![taxi78cab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@taxi78cab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taxi78cab)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/15 "2005-07-11T20:09:51Z")
My company went to the decimal format as our standard about a year ago. It’s not my preferred format, but I don’t mind it that much, especially since I don’t usually have to type it. My signature just automatically appears at the end of every email so it gets included without me having to think about it. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/16 "2005-07-11T21:01:39Z")
Ugh…I work for a global company, and they occasionally try and force that one down our throats as well. I think it’s a geek chic thing. As in: “Oooo! 123.456.7890 makes it kinda look like an IP address! K-rad!” Eff that…If they want me to start using decimals on it, they’ll have to pry the dash key off my keyboard. …and even then, I’ll just use the ASCII code… ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/17 "2005-07-11T21:23:14Z")
> [@Hal Briston](#): > > “Oooo! 123.456.7890 makes it kinda look like an IP address! K-rad!” Which is exactly the reason NOT to use decimals for phone numbers. (800)555-1212 is immediately recognized, and unmistakably a U.S. (or Canada) phone number. You don’t even need to preface it with “Phone:” if you don’t want to. That recognition is powerful and should be taken advantage of. It doesn’t need to look cool. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/18 "2005-07-11T21:33:28Z")
> [@brownie55](#): > > It’s a global thing. They have been doing it that way in Europe (at least Belguim, where my people are from) for a long time. I think it looks cleaner too. It’s not universal. The UK is closer to the US format, although always spaces and never hyphens. I’ve never ever seen a decimal format outside of mainland Europe. An international listing would look like +44 (0)161 123 4567 or (44) 0161 123 4567. A national one would be 01473 123456, or 020 8123 4567. The spaces are important, because the geographic designation is often clear (the last example is London, which would be recognised by most people). ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/19 "2005-07-11T21:49:10Z")
> [@fubbleskag](#): > > some hump at head office just implemented a company-wide policy that phone numbers in our email signatures have to be universal, which is fine. but they’ve chosen the format using decimals to seperate the numbers. > > this strikes me as slightly retarded. > > what’s your preferrred phone # format? How many contact management software programs even support this? Unless there’s an option I can’t find, MS Outlook converts anything I type to (xxx) yyy-zzzz. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009/20 "2005-07-11T21:52:48Z")
We tend to use spaces here too. Australian numbers are eight digits, with two digit area codes, so domestically you’d see: (02) 9876 5432 Internationally you’d see: 61 2 9876 5432 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phone-number-formatting/312009.md?page=2)