Why use different date formats on an international forum?

  • Thread starter Greg Bernhardt
  • Start date
In summary, the Nexus skin will be removed tonight. Many features are missing and it hasn't been updated for nearly a year.
  • #1
19,412
9,961
Just giving a heads up that we will be removing PF Nexus as a skin option tonight. It hasn't been updated for nearly a year and many features are missing from it.
 
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  • #2
WHAT?

:cry: Looks like I better get used to "prime"

edit... How do I collapse the forums on the main page that I do not wish to view?
 
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  • #3
mattmns said:
WHAT?

:cry: Looks like I better get used to "prime"

edit... How do I collapse the forums on the main page that I do not wish to view?

I'll look into adding that feature.
 
  • #4
"skin deprecation" ...sounds like a medical condition.

Is it possible to get the on the homepage the times of latest posts (as seen in Nexus),
rather than merely "Today" or "Yesterday"?
 
  • #5
robphy said:
"skin deprecation" ...sounds like a medical condition.

Is it possible to get the on the homepage the times of latest posts (as seen in Nexus),
rather than merely "Today" or "Yesterday"?

The timestamps take up too much space I'm afraid
 
  • #6
Greg Bernhardt said:
The timestamps take up too much space I'm afraid

How about... a time "hh:mm" if it is today [with no need to write to "Today"],
otherwise... "Yesterday" or a past date [with no need to write a time]?
 
  • #7
mattmns said:
WHAT?

:cry: Looks like I better get used to "prime"

edit... How do I collapse the forums on the main page that I do not wish to view?

ok there is a little image to the left at each category header, you can collapse there
 
  • #8
robphy said:
How about... a time "hh:mm" if it is today [with no need to write to "Today"],
otherwise... "Yesterday" or a past date [with no need to write a time]?

I'll look into it, but it's not high on my list to be honest :)
 
  • #9
Awesome, thanks Greg! I second robphy's suggestion of time stamp, if you can get around to it :smile:
 
  • #10
Aww goodbye Nexus skin. I will always have fond memories *sniff*.
 
  • #11
I third robphy's suggestion of time stamp. Knowing the time of the last post saves from reloading pages uselessly. It's the main reason I was using Nexus, after esthetic preference.
 
  • #12
Greg Bernhardt said:
ok there is a little image to the left at each category header, you can collapse there
Yay! Thanks.
 
  • #13
robphy said:
"skin deprecation" ...sounds like a medical condition.

virtual exfoliation?
 
  • #14
We've shedded our skin. :yuck:
 
  • #15
out of whack said:
I third robphy's suggestion of time stamp. Knowing the time of the last post saves from reloading pages uselessly. It's the main reason I was using Nexus, after esthetic preference.

ok added time stamp, still tweaking to optimize
 
  • #16
Greg Bernhardt said:
ok added time stamp, still tweaking to optimize
I just saw that!

Can we have the feature that shows when a new member is registering? That was in Nexus as a "welcome our newest member".
 
  • #17
Evo said:
Can we have the feature that shows when a new member is registering? That was in Nexus as a "welcome our newest member".

Just curious how useful that is when we have a member signing up every 6 minutes?
 
  • #18
Greg Bernhardt said:
Just curious how useful that is when we have a member signing up every 6 minutes?
Very useful, for mentors.
 
  • #19
Greg Bernhardt said:
Just curious how useful that is when we have a member signing up every 6 minutes?

I found you could easily spot those that would get banned immediately as they tend to chose names such as:

xxxvids

and

discountmobs

etc.
 
  • #20
Greg Bernhardt said:
ok added time stamp, still tweaking to optimize

Kudos! :approve: That was quick.
 
  • #21
Greg Bernhardt said:
ok added time stamp, still tweaking to optimize

Yay! Thanks! That's the one feature from Nexus that I really liked, especially since something often goes haywire with forums already read...they seem to unmark themselves, posts too, even when there's nothing new in them (it's like an entire previous visit never happened). That time stamp helps me figure out which forums I've already read when they all get marked unread again.
 
  • #22
Why did the timestamps change from "Yesterday" and "Today" to "Y" and "T"?
 
  • #23
morphism said:
Why did the timestamps change from "Yesterday" and "Today" to "Y" and "T"?

Trying to save space. Yesterday and Today with the timestamps is too long and ends up bumping to another line.
 
  • #24
Greg Bernhardt said:
Trying to save space. Yesterday and Today with the timestamps is too long and ends up bumping to another line.

I don't think having a time stamp for "yesterday" is necessary, so you could just have a time stamp for the current day's posts and dates for everything else (or yesterday if you wish). If you did that, then you could get rid of the "T" which is odd looking.
 
  • #25
Moonbear said:
I don't think having a time stamp for "yesterday" is necessary, so you could just have a time stamp for the current day's posts and dates for everything else (or yesterday if you wish). If you did that, then you could get rid of the "T" which is odd looking.

That would require some code alteration.
 
  • #26
I alsonoticed the "Y" and "T" just now, and I must admit I am not thrilled either. I like Moonbears suggestion, if it's not too complicated to implement.
But are the words "Today" and "Yesterday" really too long? I doubt even the word "Yesterday" spelled in full will be much longer than something like "12.13.07, 08:04" so it would probably only be like 4 or 5 characters wider; space which seems to be available.
 
  • #27
I bet in a few days/weeks everyone will have stopped noticing the Ts and Ys and will just associate with with today and yesterday.
 
  • #28
While the T and Y are not the most visually appealing,
the existence of timestamp is, by far, the best aspect and is most appreciated.

Some suggestions:
for today's posts: 12:34 (just the time... T is unncessary)
for yesterday's posts: Y 23:45 (the time is somewhat useful, especially when I'm on at 1am)
for earlier posts: 12.01.07 (just the date)

These are suggestions for the lists of latest posts in the forum...
not for the posts themselves when viewing the thread.
To keep them de-coupled, I suspect that this might require changes in the code at places different from where it has been recently changed.

...but I'm appreciative of the present layout. It works for me. Thanks.
 
  • #29
One more option: if (now - timestamp < 24 hours) then show the time, else show the date. A posted time that exceeds the current time is easily understood to be yesterday's. However I'm not sure if this would end up being clear or confusing. It may require posting the current time somewhere to prevent confusion due to different time zones. Maybe not, opinions welcomed.

But whatever format is used in the end, it should be consistent on all pages for the sake of clarity as well as ease of coding (single time formatting function).

Finally, for the sake of international clarity, dropping the US-specific date (dis)ordering should be considered. I think the yyyy-mm-dd format is universally understood.
 
  • #30
out of whack said:
Finally, for the sake of international clarity, dropping the US-specific date (dis)ordering should be considered. I think the yyyy-mm-dd format is universally understood.
I was just about to request that. Either that, or an option to choose the format would be helpful. :smile:
 
  • #31
out of whack said:
One more option: if (now - timestamp < 24 hours) then show the time, else show the date. A posted time that exceeds the current time is easily understood to be yesterday's. However I'm not sure if this would end up being clear or confusing. It may require posting the current time somewhere to prevent confusion due to different time zones. Maybe not, opinions welcomed.
I think that would get extremely confusing!

But whatever format is used in the end, it should be consistent on all pages for the sake of clarity as well as ease of coding (single time formatting function).

Finally, for the sake of international clarity, dropping the US-specific date (dis)ordering should be considered. I think the yyyy-mm-dd format is universally understood.
I don't think that's necessary either. I wasn't familiar with the US date conventions when I first joined, but it takes (like the Y and T) a few days to get used to.
 
  • #32
cristo said:
I think that would get extremely confusing!

Yeah, on further consideration its not the brightest idea... :redface:

cristo said:
I wasn't familiar with the US date conventions when I first joined, but it takes (like the Y and T) a few days to get used to.

Speaking of confusing... Yes, I've seen the US date format all my life, but also other date formats. When I come across 03.04.05 :confused: I have to check the source to know if it means 2003-APRIL-05, 2005-APRIL-03 or 2005-MARCH-04. It's not hard to lose track when you go from one document to the other and I got it wrong a few times. But then, everyone seems to agree on what 2005-04-03 means. What reason can there be to use anything else on an international forum?
 
  • #33
Well considering the majority of the world uses dd/mm/yyyy it should be that.

The T and the Y I've already gotten used to and if its needed to keep the overall aesthetics of the site in check I don't mind. The time stamps were something I always loved from the Nexus skin. They are much more useful.
 
  • #34
I support http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-time.html" [Broken].
 
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  • #35
out of whack said:
Yeah, on further consideration its not the brightest idea... :redface:
Speaking of confusing... Yes, I've seen the US date format all my life, but also other date formats. When I come across 03.04.05 :confused: I have to check the source to know if it means 2003-APRIL-05, 2005-APRIL-03 or 2005-MARCH-04. It's not hard to lose track when you go from one document to the other and I got it wrong a few times. But then, everyone seems to agree on what 2005-04-03 means. What reason can there be to use anything else on an international forum?

While I personally use yyyy-mm-dd to label versions of files and while it is more logical,
I find it visually more appealing to read (especially when scanning quickly) dd-mm-yyyy or the more familiar but less-logical mm-dd-yyyy... since most of the years will be the same.

For me, the goal of the timestamps in the list of recent posts
is to identify the most-recent and most-active discussions.
(Since I'm daydreaming... let me go on to say that it would be
cool to have some color coding to indicate the level of recent activity ("hot topic") based on the rate of recent-postings rather than the number of posts. [I haven't decoded the envelope-symbols on the left column.] It would also be nice to see some kind of "quality of discussion" rating as seen in http://www.fatwallet.com/c/18/ ..maybe one-vote per user, like the Photo Contests... maybe more weight to votes by Mentors etc...)
 
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1. Why do different countries use different date formats?

Different countries have different historical, cultural, and societal influences that have shaped their preferred date formats. For example, the United States uses the month-day-year format, which is derived from the traditional British format. Meanwhile, many European countries use the day-month-year format, which is influenced by the French Revolutionary Calendar.

2. How do different date formats affect international communication?

Using different date formats can cause confusion and misinterpretation in international communication. For example, a date written as 03/04/2021 could be interpreted as March 4th in the United States, but as April 3rd in many European countries. This can lead to missed deadlines, scheduling conflicts, and other issues.

3. Is there a universal date format that can be used on an international forum?

There is no universally accepted date format for international communication. However, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has established the YYYY-MM-DD format as the international standard for date representation. This format is less ambiguous and can help avoid confusion in international communication.

4. Why is it important to be aware of different date formats when communicating internationally?

Being aware of different date formats is crucial for effective communication and avoiding misunderstandings. It shows respect and consideration for cultural differences and can help build stronger relationships with international colleagues and partners.

5. How can I ensure that my intended date format is understood on an international forum?

When communicating on an international forum, it is best to specify the date format you are using to avoid confusion. You can also use the ISO standard format (YYYY-MM-DD) to ensure that your intended date is understood correctly. Additionally, it is helpful to be open to learning about and adapting to different date formats used by others.

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