On Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 1:20 AM, Wily D wilydoppelganger@gmail.com wrote:
On Sat, Jan 17, 2009 at 9:35 PM, Skyring skyring@gmail.com wrote:
On Sun, Jan 18, 2009 at 11:16 AM, Delirium delirium@hackish.org wrote:
Delirium wrote:
... strongly discourage edits that change one to
another, unless the article's strongly associated with a specific English-speaking country where one dialect predominates.
I'm puzzled here. Why is it only English-speaking nations that use dates?
-- Peter in Canberra
Because it's English Wikipedia. It's harder to claim there's a preferred dialect of English to use for the article on French Guiana.
What on earth does the variant of English used in a nation have to do with the date format used? Date format is an independent variable, like the colours of the national flag or the units of measurement.
In written English we commonly use two date formats, known as American (mdy) and International (dmy). All we have to do is pick the appropriate format for the subject, and we have reliable, easily accessed sources for nations and cultures to prevent arguments.
Where there is no clear format, such as for an article on swans or the International dateline, then fall back on the rules as per WP:ENGVAR - stay with the established format unless there is a good reason for change. That's the thinking behind the Arbcom ruling on jguk - the actual variety of English used is immaterial.