# Punctuating phone numbers in the year 2000 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2000, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741 "2000-07-25T06:12:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gatsby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@Gatsby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatsby)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/1 "2000-07-25T06:12:20Z")
I had someone bitch at me today (well not really bitch, more like snidely comment) about the way I emailed a phone number to them. Normally, I’d tell anyone with such a complaint to file it up their ass, but this was a client. I tend to punctuate phone numbers (at least while typing) as 800.555.1212 There’s no way in hell I’m going to shift to put parentheses around an area code, and I find a dot more convenient than a dash on the number pad. Is anyone else bothered by this, or is this just some curmudgeon who yearns for the days of typewriters and carbon paper? How do you abbreviate phone numbers when you type? ---
**Author:** ![Lexicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ac8455/32.png) [@Lexicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lexicon)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/2 "2000-07-25T06:19:10Z")
I have ALWAYS typed (And written, for that matter) my phone number and any other phone numbers in that manner. It makes more sense, is easy to read, and comes across more clearly. Almost everyone I know writes/types phone numbers like this, and if they don’t, the minute they see the way we have written/typed it, they adopt it. I think that soon, everyone will write/type phone numbers like that. I don’t see why we don’t already, it makes more sense. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stranger\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@The\_Stranger\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stranger_1)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/3 "2000-07-25T06:20:34Z")
Gatsby- ALOT of ppl working in tech related industries use that style for writing phone numbers, myself included. It’s much easier to type and it makes sense… next time tell 'em to dial 1.800.UBITEME Stranger OUT ---
**Author:** ![Zoing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecccb3/32.png) [@Zoing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoing)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/4 "2000-07-25T07:00:21Z")
I also write the date like that sometimes. I think that’s how it is commonly done in Europe. It also makes more sense how they do it with the day first, then the month, then the year. Unfortunately I’ve confused too many people doing it that way, so I switched back to m/d/y. ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/5 "2000-07-25T10:19:40Z")
Actually it makes more sense to write dates (on computers) YYYY-MM-DD thus maintaining alphabetical and chronological order. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/6 "2000-07-25T12:42:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheThill \* > \*\*Actually it makes more sense to write dates (on computers) YYYY-MM-DD thus maintaining alphabetical and chronological order. \*\* Ahh…I see you’re from England. To an American, it doesn’t look right. At least for me, I’m looking for a date, not a year as the most pertinent info, not Alpha-chrono order. **Long live MM/DD/YYYY!!** 😃 -Sam ---
**Author:** ![Erika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/47e85d/32.png) [@Erika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erika)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/7 "2000-07-25T12:47:30Z")
Well, I’m not in a position to do it all that often, but I generally use dashes, rather than periods: 800-555-1212. no parens, they’re annoying. But it certainly doesn’t bother me when people use periods. And my date preference is 25 June 2000, mostly just out of habit. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/8 "2000-07-25T13:05:32Z")
Eh, Gatsby, they’re just inflexible bastards. I too use hyphens and parentheses, but mostly out of habit than preference. I find the way you wrote it more aesthetically pleasing than the “traditional” way. ---
**Author:** ![struuter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@struuter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/struuter)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/9 "2000-07-25T13:14:17Z")
It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that if there are two sets of three digets you are including the area code. I’ve always used simple punctuation with phone numbers. But, I work in a world–and I guess you do too–where what makes sense is often abandoned in favor of someone’s personal preference. _shrugs_ What can you do? FWIW, I’m with you in spirit. struuter ---
**Author:** ![JimmyNipples](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb9ed0/32.png) [@JimmyNipples](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimmyNipples)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/10 "2000-07-25T13:16:00Z")
I think it’s a phase…it’ll all be voice command soon. IMO, our writing skills will drop and our language skills will improve. ---
**Author:** ![Retief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Retief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Retief)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/11 "2000-07-25T13:18:28Z")
I too prefer 2000/07/25 or 2000-07-25 It just makes more sense when you have to sort a database. As for phone numbers, I think the area code brackets are redundant so I seldom use them. Personally I like spaces for punctuation, but don’t mind using - or . ( its all the same to me, if I am initating the post, I will use spaces, if I am replying to some one who I see uses (.)or (-) then I will use that, no big deal ! ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/12 "2000-07-25T13:24:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GaWd \* > > Ahh…I see you’re from England. > > To an American, it doesn’t look right. At least for me, I’m looking for a date, not a year as the most pertinent info, not Alpha-chrono order. > > **Long live MM/DD/YYYY!!** 😃 > -Sam \*\* No, I’m not actually from England, although I’m there at the moment. But the British don’t usually put the year first, either. I just meant it was most practical for computer purposes. The only place I’ve ever been where they do do YYYY-MM-DD, and not for modern computer reasons, but by habit, is Lithuania. ---
**Author:** ![sorrel554](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@sorrel554](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sorrel554)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/13 "2000-07-25T14:28:47Z")
If I’m sure that people know I’m talking about a phone number, I just type 212 555 6789. If it’s questionable, I’ll punctuate (212) 555-6789. As for dates, I write 25 July 2000 on letters and checks and whatnot. I have found that using 25/7/00 tends to confuse people, at least Americans. 2000/7/25 looks totally weird to me, but still understandable. ---
**Author:** ![starfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@starfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starfish)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/14 "2000-07-25T14:36:53Z")
The 800.555.1212 format got popular because it is Web style. I stopped using parentheses long ago. When I read, I tend to stop at periods, so the I prefer dashes in the number. For writing, dots are better since Word does not word wrap at a dot like it does does for a dash. This makes formatting easier since you don’t need to insert a nonbreaking hyphen to keep the number from splitting at the end of a line. ---
**Author:** ![inoci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/50afbb/32.png) [@inoci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inoci)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2000, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuating-phone-numbers-in-the-year-2000/26741/15 "2000-07-25T14:48:17Z")
for over a year now i haven’t used any puntuation at all when typing phone numbers. i just string the digits together. annoying for the person on the other end, but most people i send numbers to cut and paste into a modem string, so it works. this pragmatic, albeit limited approach as simply become habit for me.