I originally posted this on the other site back when I took the picture, and it resulted in a lot of confused comments, especially from Americans, eventually getting removed by overzealous mods. Either way, I promise you that this date does not exist, and has never existed.
No, ISO 8601 is the proper order. YYYY-MM-DD.
Wait, so month comes before day? I’ve been doing it right all along?
Please stop. That is another correct way to do it, and I said there is more than one, not two.
The reason why it’s superior is (mostly) just because it removes that ambiguity of whether your region lists months or days first. By using a global standard you are still able to prefer whatever method of speaking it, but especially in situations around health and safety the less chance for confusion the better.
Like, the whole “flammable” vs “inflammable” label is another problem if someone incorrectly assumes inflammable is the equivalent of non-flammable.
I am familiar with the ISO format and use it every day. But let me ask you, do you speak dates in ISO format? If not, then you understand it isn’t always the best format for the situation.
Yes.
The ISO is an organization trying to get everyone on the same page, they are the accepted standard globally. If you see ISO and you go against it, you better have a damn good reason and you’ll be liable everytime.
When was the last time you spoke a date in ISO format? Do you say “2023 February 29th?” If not, you intrinsically know ISO is not always the best format for the situation.
Is this about spoken words or written words…?
Neither, it’s become about some guy who needs to be right. Even if clearly and objectively wrong.
It’s about the correct standard, which if exists, should be the same whether spoken or written. I’m saying that no such standard exists, and there are different correct ways depending on the situation/region.
Written has ambiguity, spoken doesn’t. One has to be standardized and the other doesn’t.
The topic is about written, not spoken since we all completely comprehend this.
I disagree with that assumption.
The comment I was originally replying to was talking about the two most debated formats while ignoring ISO for “non-technical” people. Those two formats are that way because of the way people most commonly speak it in the region where they originated. I agree that the best written format is ISO, but it’s not commonly used outside of technical circles because it requires that you say it in a different order than you read it, which proves difficult for a lot of people.