[WikiEN-l] Temporal tags and outdating

[geni]

On 18 May 2010 21:24, stevertigo <stvrtg at gmail.com> wrote:
> Recap: A while ago we discussed date conditional switching templates:
> http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2009-May/100714.html .
> The problem to be corrected was the use of future tense language which
> then becomes outdated and thus notably incorrect. This also has a
> greater effect of casual correction patterns which essentially
> annotate the error rather than fixing it. For example:
>
> ""Apple's iTunes store *will start* to sell DRM-free 256 kbit/s (up
> from 128 kbit/s) AAC encoded music from EMI for a premium price (this
> has since reverted to the standard price).""
>
> A proper correction would have simply changed "will start [to sell]"
> to "began [to sell]" and that would be that. Time and tenses require a
> little bit of thinking however, and an editor made a parenthetical
> comment (edit note, annote) in place of a considered switch of tense.
> Forgivable but incorrect. If the {{dateswitch}} template idea was
> fully implemented and used, anyone writing future events could simply
> write {{dateswitch|will start|began|ON DATE}} and the switch would
> happen on the date.
>

[[WP:V]] says no. The use of the wrong tense has the additional
benefit in that it instantly indicates that there is something that
needs updating here.



-- 
geni