# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/61 "2022-05-18T18:36:20Z")
Our bird lab instituted a dd-MON-yyyy policy to be written down on all datasheets after the Patuxent Bird Lab got back to us that some banded birds we were reporting didn’t jive with their biology (i.e., they were at a place during a time of the year that they shouldn’t have been). A little investigation showed that our european post-docs were using a different date formula and it didn’t translate well on the datasheets sent to the national lab. Whoopsie! ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/62 "2022-05-18T18:42:18Z")
I feel that the date format vote was premature. We first need a date format Constitution. I mean, is a simple majority sufficient to overturn the current standard, or do the 17-May-2022 heretics require some kind of supermajority? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/63 "2022-05-18T18:51:27Z")
The vote is a non-binding referendum for fact-finding only. We will then spend 12 Million Clams on a 7 year study before reaching a conclusion that too much time was spent worrying about this. ---
**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 18, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/64 "2022-05-18T19:09:56Z")
The chaotic mods may each pick a different standard, too, so it might depend on who tags the thread. Bwah ha ha ha ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/65 "2022-05-18T19:11:25Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > when I’m king of the world the only format allowed will be yyyymmdd under penalty of death. > [@mordecaiB](#): > > Reported for death threat!!! I didn’t vote for him. ---
**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 18, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/66 "2022-05-18T19:16:56Z")
Duh, nobody votes for a king… unless it’s an elective monarchy like Poland used to be… but the historical precedent is not good, not good at all (see Poland, partitionS of)… I’ll get back to you. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/67 "2022-05-18T19:19:14Z")
How’d you get to be king, eh? By exploiting the workers! ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/68 "2022-05-18T19:23:23Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Bwah ha ha ha 5/17/22, a date format which will live in infamy. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/69 "2022-05-18T20:12:51Z")
A friend of mine set his retirement date for 02-02-02. Unfortunately, they held him back for a couple months, so it became 02-04-02. For official Quebec forms you must use yyyy-mm-dd and it does make sense since we write numbers in the form most-significant-digit … least significant digit. It sorts easily and is hard to misinterpret since nobody uses yyyy-dd-mm, AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/70 "2022-05-18T20:22:38Z")
German here. I use dd.mm.yyyy (e.g. 18.05.2022) or dd. MMM yyyy (e.g. 18. Mai 2022) for German language communication (in German the dot marks the day of the month as ordinal) dd MMM yyyy (e.g. 18 May 2022) for English language communication, yyyy-mm-dd (e.g. 2022-05-18) for code comments. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/71 "2022-05-18T20:33:06Z")
I prefer ISO for my own use, especially at work, but I voted for 17-May-2022 because I find it more comfortable for casual reading. With spaces is also okay, but not all glommed together, please. 18.May.2022 ---
**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 18, 2022, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/72 "2022-05-18T21:08:50Z")
Keep it up and I’ll show the violence inherent in the system! ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/73 "2022-05-18T22:23:44Z")
I keep logs of my online writing, and I date them YYMMDD1 so they’re always sequential. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/74 "2022-05-18T22:51:38Z")
The very mention of “yyyy” in any of these formats is ambiguous, as it refers to the number of a Year Of Our Lord, which varies depending on which Lord you believe to be yours. One could use the once-common format of presenting the year in Roman numerals (often seen in older Copyright dates), indicating a number, e.g, In The Year MMXXII of Zeus. (They did this in France for a few years of the French Revolution.) There are no absolute years. Oh wait a ~~minute~~ eon, there is one we could use: In The Year Of The Universe 13,787,000,000. This requires 11-decimal-digit fields for the year (better to us 12 or even 16 lest we run out, Y2K style, again). For a more anthro approach, we could number the years In The Year Of The Pleistocene or Anthropocene. Some would suggest Year Of The Holocene. Taking up a suggestion I’ve seen elsewhere, we could declare a Year Of The [Pyrocene](https://www.dictionary.com/e/tech-science/pyrocene/). ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2022, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/75 "2022-05-19T07:39:44Z")
Ever get the feeling you wish you’d never asked? ---
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/76 "2022-07-08T12:02:27Z")
> [@Breaking: Former Japanese PM Abe assassination attempt (2022-07-07) Update: Abe has died (2022-07-08)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-former-japanese-pm-abe-assassination-attempt-7-7-2022-update-abe-has-died-7-8-2022/967596): > > A male attacker has been apprehended after shooting Shinzo Abe just minutes ago while he was giving a speech in the city of Nara. Abe was apparently hit in the chest, is unconscious, and may be near death. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-08/former-japan-pm-abe-collapses-after-shots-heard-man-in-custody](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-08/former-japan-pm-abe-collapses-after-shots-heard-man-in-custody) Just a note, the mod that changed this has reverted to M/D/YYYY, the worst of all formats. Too petty to bring up in that particular thread, but please stick to the NN-LLL-YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD formats when adding dates. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2022, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/77 "2022-07-08T12:38:05Z")
Looks like someone has fixed it. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/78 "2022-07-08T12:49:33Z")
I just made sure the Titles of any thread tagged [Breaking News](https://boards.straightdope.com/tag/breaking-news) has a readable date format. Some had none, some had mm-dd-yy or yyyy. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/79 "2022-07-08T16:38:35Z")
My only requirement is using leading zero. 20221006 is the perfect format for computers yyyymmdd. I still use 10-06-2022 in email. Missing leading zeroes in dates hurts my eyes. It looks so wrong. 2022-10-06 yyyymmdd makes sense in thread titles. That’s standard throughout the computer and data processing world. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2022, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537/80 "2022-07-09T06:54:05Z")
M/D/YYYY is the second worst of the formats. The worst one is M/D/YY, with a two-digit year. At my work they still print dates with a two-digit year. Why? Why? I once had a horrible time logging receipts with dates like “01/02/03” … Is that Jan 2nd, 2003 or Feb 3rd, 2001 or Feb 1st, 2003? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-mundane-question-about-date-formats-vote-in-post-12/964537.md?page=3)