# Really mundane question about date formats (vote in post 12) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 17, 2022, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537 "2022-05-17T08:14:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/41 "2022-05-17T16:24:24Z")
This is an English-language website, so I think it’s reasonable to expect posters on this website to know the names of the months in English. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/42 "2022-05-17T16:29:04Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > Note that using dd MMM yyyy only works well for speakers of your own language - would you easily understand 01 AVR 2022 (French), 01 KBI 2022 (Ukranian), or 01 अप्रैल 2022 (Hindi)? If they can’t read English does it really matter about MMM as they won’t be able to read the posts to begin with (which are in English)? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/43 "2022-05-17T16:29:18Z")
That reminds me of the (reasonably standard) Julian Day, eminently suitable for computer applications: 1. It counts days since 4713 BC, so most/all historical events should have a positive value; 2. No ambiguity, since it is merely a single number. It is not readily interpreted by _humans_ (except astronomers), but your application can easily convert it to/from any user’s preferred format. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/44 "2022-05-17T17:18:03Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > If you are writing out the month name anyway then why not just use the regular US standard of May 17, 2022? I guess because that didn’t even occur to me in a use that’s basically a tag. I would only use that spelled out on a sentence, or in the header of a formal letter. But if you prefer that, please vote “other”. (And everyone is able to change their votes in this system.) ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/45 "2022-05-17T17:38:34Z")
I’ve lost probably about a month of my life dealing with bugs related to date formats, IT people around the world have probably lost cumulative centuries of life, that’s why when I’m king of the world the only format allowed will be yyyymmdd under penalty of death. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/46 "2022-05-17T17:40:09Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > I personally find ccyy-mm-dd annoying, especially with braces (sorry WE?). I prefer dd-mmm-ccyy using the 3 letter abbreviation for the month, like 17-APR-2022 for last month, for example. Yes, let’s do this one. No brackets or dashes. 17Apr2022 or 17 Apr 2022 would be preferable to me. As others have said, year first is really only good for sorting, which is not needed here. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Maybe mm - yy - dd - cc, so today could be 05-22-17-20? Okay, if I don’t get my first wish, I’ll vote for this. > [@Napier](#): > > I like yyyymmdd because I’ve never, ever, seen yyyyddmm. The only time I use this is to sort files of photos on my computer. > [@Frodo](#): > > that’s why when I’m king of the world the only format allowed will be yyyymmdd under penalty of death. Reported for death threat!!! ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/47 "2022-05-17T18:36:55Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > The only time I use this is to sort files of photos on my computer. You use yyyyddmm to sort files? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/48 "2022-05-17T18:43:31Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I’m a recently retired programmer; ccyy-mm-dd is the date format that can be sorted. It is probably un-American to use it. 🙂 I only saw that format at Edwards AFB. (But yeah, data.) ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/49 "2022-05-17T19:38:22Z")
I had to do calculations using dates when I was working, so I used Julian a _ton_. I can’t help but hear the 17-May-2022 date format in my head in a very supercilious British accent, and I find it offputting. But that’s my issue to deal with, and I can adjust if we (i.e America) ever convert out standard date format. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/50 "2022-05-17T19:53:27Z")
For photos, yes. For instance, in my photo file I may have a file that’s named Birds. Inside that will be files separated by years, and inside those will be photos by month. I find it easier to search for a particular photo that way. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/51 "2022-05-17T20:51:22Z")
Yes, but they’re pointing out year - day - month, not year- month - day, which is nice for sorting (and what I have done in file naming since the mid-90s for photos and contracts.) ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/52 "2022-05-17T20:56:08Z")
Oops, read that wrong. Year- month - day is what I use for sorting. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/53 "2022-05-17T21:42:44Z")
ISO 8601, natch. > **[ISO 8601](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > ISO 8601 is an international standard covering the worldwide exchange and communication of date and time-related data. It is maintained by the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and was first published in 1988, with updates in 1991, 2000, 2004, and 2019, and an amendment in 2022. The standard provides a well-defined, unambiguous method of representing calendar dates and times in worldwide communications, especially t... ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/54 "2022-05-17T22:57:32Z")
Like others with an IT background, I tend to use dd MMM (YYYY if there’s any possibility of confusion) in correspondence, yyyymmdd if I’m naming something I suspect I may want to sort. I confess to being somewhat sloppy in Excel and defaulting to mm/dd/yyyy, but since Excel keeps the date as a serial number internally I don’t feel too bad about it. My first job was on an [IBM System/3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_System%2F3), which lacked a DBMS and used flat files instead (and even after converting to a DBMS-based system the file structures remained the same). All dates were defined as six-character fields in mmddyy format; I have no idea whatsoever how they dealt with Y2K. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/55 "2022-05-18T01:58:17Z")
xx month CYxx or CYxx month xx is unambiguous. 5/4 is the most obvious example that can be misconstrued depending on who your are and what country you live in. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/56 "2022-05-18T03:06:23Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > While the majority of our posters live in the US, we get a lot of non-us posters and i don’t want to mess them up. That is very considerate of you [tips hat] Thank you.[/tips hat] But as a antipodean non-merkin my subconscious mind translates everything on the Dope into local speak. Days, times, seasons, weights, lengths, volumes, areas, temperatures, speed, currency, political compass, spelling, nomenclature, societal norms et al. Having something I didn’t need to translate might cause confusion. 🙃 ---
**Author:** ![sishoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@sishoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sishoch)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/57 "2022-05-18T04:19:00Z")
I always thought that slashes implied mm/dd/yy and dashes implied dd-mm-yy. No one ever told me that, I just assumed it. I gave up on both and use dd MMM yyyy. But I am easily confused. I can never remember if noon is 12 AM or 12 PM, so I just use noon. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/58 "2022-05-18T04:24:57Z")
> [@sishoch](#): > > I can never remember if noon is 12 AM or 12 PM, so I just use noon. Yeah, best practice is to write 12 noon and 12 midnight, which is what I do in my contracts to avoid any confusion. Conventionally, since the minute after noon is 12:01 p.m., 12 noon is written out as 12 p.m., so it doesn’t go 12:00 a.m. - 12:01 p.m. - 12:02 p.m. And midnight is 12:00 a.m. Or just use 24 hour time, where 0:00 is midnight and 12:00 is noon. (Or sometimes there is 24:00 for midnight ending the day, usually seen in train/bus schedules and the like. So Monday 0:00 is the midnight from Sunday into Monday, but Monday 24:00 is the midnight from Monday into Tuesday. You wouldn’t see this on clocks, though, as they go to 0:00 after 23:59. I’ve only seen it on schedules or store hours, like 0-24 or 0:00 - 24:00, meaning open 24 hours.) ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/59 "2022-05-18T05:03:58Z")
IT admin sort here. So my work usage is CCyymmdd, with or without dashes depending on my target audience. In personal matters it’s mm/dd/yy. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/60 "2022-05-18T09:21:15Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > ISO 8601, natch. A soul after my own heart! I LOVE that standard! I use the time of day portion, too. Though it also provides a way to mark a duration, and a way to mark an interval, and I do need to look those up when I use them because it’s not so often. Great, great standard. I can’t tell you how many files I have named that way!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537.md?page=4)