RE: [WAI-IG] Date & number format

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Here is an easy to understand reason for designs that use short dates that has nothing to do 
with the intellect level of the client - data base limitations.  Many sites use data base driven 
content.  I believe achieving a and b below is impossible on the world wide web.  Clearly 
stating the date format used on a site [or page of a site] and consistently following that format 
should minimize date confusion for ALL users.  This applies to both rendered dates as well as 
input formats on forms.
 

Kurt Mattes 
Application Development Analyst-Lead Developer 
(302) 282-1414 
Kurt_Mattes@bankone.com 

 -----Original Message----- 
 From: jon@hackcraft.net [mailto:jon@hackcraft.net] 
 Sent: Fri 12/5/2003 7:58 AM 
 To: Lois Wakeman 
 Cc: WAI list 
 Subject: Re: [WAI-IG] Date & number format
 
 


 > *If* there are no language constraints, then spelling the month out is
 > unambiguous whatever format (conventional US, EU, JP) you choose. (I realise
 > that is a big if)
 
 Yes, I mustn't have been making myself clear when I said that you should use
 the full month name if you can.
 It's only when a client is stupid enough to insist on a short date (for reasons
 I never understand but figure must have something to do with the physical size
 on the screen) but not so stupid as to insist on having a date like 03/04/1984
 that I'd use 8601 in a human-targetted context.
 
 > And as Tina says, no Europeans I know use the ISO standard in real life,
 > which is presumably what we were originally discussing in the context of
 > form entries.
 
 Despite knowing a few Europeans who use 8601 in real life (mostly people like
 myself who got used to it from particular contexts) I'll agree with that. The
 problem is though that the formats 03/04/1984, 04/03/1984, 03-04-1984 and 04-03-
 1984 simply don't work unless:
 
 a. You have good locale information about the user (language isn't enough for
 anything better than a good guess).
 b. The user knows you have good locale information about them, and hence that
 you chose the format they'd use, rather than your own preference.
 
 --
 Jon Hanna                   | Toys and books
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