Date Formats In Geocaching.com

[+mtbikeroz]

Hi (from OZ, Australia),

 

Firstly, all the people from the USA reading this, please read & consider this with consideration for the rest of the world, keep a level head and please don’t send me flame mail, Ta.

 

To GC.com team,

 

To your credit, in a variety of screens in gc.com, you use dates in formats like,

15 September 2004, or, Wednesday September 14, 2004. With these formats, everyone in the world is clear as to the date.

 

On some screens though, you use the quaint US format of 09/14/04, which in this case is “reasonably” clear (& endured) due to the “14”, but typically, say, 07/04/04, to the rest of the world means 7 April 2004, not some other quaint date.

 

Now that Geocaching is a truly WORLD sport, would it be too much to ask for the organisers of GC.com (aka Jeremy & team), to make the date formats in all the screens, like either of the first two above.

 

Just a thought – Thanks.

 

US readers, please consider, for the whole world – Thanks.

 

PS - If this has been raised before, my apologies, but it may be time to reconsider, thanks.

[+PDOP's]

I think it's in the works as described in this thread.

[+mtn-man]

Yeah. Thanks for the link. The GC.com team will most likely not see your topic where it is posted. I am going to move it into the Geocaching.com Web Site Forum so they will see it.

[+bamageek]

For what its worth, I think there is a way to detect the clients regional settings from the HTTP header. If so, maybe it would be possible for gc.com to get the date format here and take advantage of it?

 

I might be wrong but thought I'd bring it up...

[+hedberg]

In Sweden do we write it year-month-day, for example 04-09-15.

It is also very common to write it 15/9-04.

 

But this changes from country to country...

 

And we have 24h clock... 20:32 means 32 minutes are 8 in the evening

[+Divine]

20:32 means 32 minutes are 8 in the evening

I think 32 minutes are still 32 minutes, morning or evening.

 

But I agree with the OP, the less ambiguity in units the better - whether it was in cache sizes or date formats. I also prefer 24 hour clock, but I guess that's not a big issue in GC.com website as long as the am and pm are mentioned. More important is to use UTC, when crucial times are announced.

[+New England n00b]

Frankly, I hope it's an option, not a forced situation. What's next, forced metric? I'm not trying to be sour here. I have my preferences. You have your preferences.

 

Let's let them BE preferences, OK?

[+Divine]

What's next, forced metric? [snip]

 

Let's let them BE preferences, OK?

Metric is a preference already. Except in the TB pages, where imperial is forced.

 

I'm fully ok with having different unit formats as preferences. Let's HAVE the preferences, OK?

[+New England n00b]

Works for me. I was unaware of the TB pages situation.

[Cholo]

I think we've had this discussion before. Nobody's system is correct. That this is basically an American site should clue people on what is used. The use of UTC for date and time is used in the radio world, I have no problem with it. Some scientific communities use the Julian date. As for the metric system, it's not all that great. You may argue that.....and if you do, good luck.

[+KG7JE]

I just wish the logs could note the time the cache as found (or not found). I've seen notes from other cachers that log the same day I do. Sometimes I'm sure that they are out of order as I know they were in the log at the cache and logged online before me but somehow my log shows up after theirs (or before theirs depending on which direction you choose for before and/or after).

 

Just wanted to clarify that little situation -- the before and after. However, will not go into the hereafter as that's what I tend to ask myself a lot time times -- Now, what is it that I am hereafter? Oh yes, that bright red micro pen reminded me that there should be a cache somewhere around here.

[+mtbikeroz]

Yes it may indeed be an "American" site, for all that its worth in the world of the internet, but it is a WORLD sport.

 

Yes, a range of alternatives would be a good idea, so if I'm in Australia say, I could choose the Universal Date format & metric. (I've used both metric & imperial & metric is so much better).

 

But I would like gc.com to at least consider the rest of the world, and have consistency for everyone. (and possibly take iniative and lead the way in which the world is inevitably headed).

 

Regards & happy geocaching.