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Show DN: Unsolicited Dating Advice(joelcalifa.com)
over 7 years ago from Joel Califa, Senior Product Designer at GitHub
Weston Vierregger, over 7 years ago
Maybe this comment is a bit snarky, but I love it.
It's absolutely mind-boggling when "design problems" get torn down in this way. Does the author suppose that anyone, ever, reads a date one number at a time with pauses to contemplate each entry? Date: 18/2/2016. 18!?! OF WHAT?? Oh, thank God, there's a 2 next... if only I knew what this 18 and this 2 meant, together? Simultaneously, these two numbers are completely arbitrary to me. Luckily, there is a slash between them; I know this may be a date but certainly not a time. If there is a year next, I'll be certain. There is another slash here... could it be? Ah, yes, a familiar 4 digit date code! Perfect. This is in fact a date. I wish this was somehow simpler.
Chen Ye, over 7 years ago
Remember that its not necessarily even about initial parsing. Comparing dates visually with month first is much faster, for ex
Mattan Ingram, over 7 years ago
That's not the point, the point is that referring to the 18th day of a month without any context is mostly useless. The only time it really makes sense is when someone asks you a question verbally "When are you going?" "I leave on the 18th." because then it is obvious that they mean this month.
The year is useless context because it is too broad. A month provides ideal context.
Taulant Sulko, over 7 years ago
In that point in time, they are both numbers so I don't see how seeing 18 first or 2 first would make a difference. Numbers without context don't mean anything.
Calendars are just conventions so there is some prior learning involved before using them. Adding some logical sense to a convention will make it easier to remember and learn. For example, It is easier to remember counting things from the small number to big (1,2,3 ), than just remembering some arbitrary order (2,1,3).
Also, if you see 18 first you know it is not a month because it is bigger than 12. A better example would be 2.12.2016. In a situation like this, you need a better convention to figure out if the 2 is a month or a day.
But you do know the context is a date. The point is what is more important context within the date context? Day or month first? Year first is mostly useless because rarely are people referring to specific dates in other years.
The argument here isn't what is more logical or easy to remember from a state of complete lack of context, you know you are looking at a date, the argument is what is more useful to see first.
Pretend you are describing a location to someone with Latitude/Longitude, Region/State. What is easier, the coordinate numbers first followed by the Region, or the Region first, followed by the coordinates? I would want to know what region I am thinking about first, before knowing the EXACT coordinates.
Phil Rau, over 7 years ago
This man gets it.
You need a month to make sense of a date. It sets your context.
Ollie Barker, over 7 years ago
But which month? While I still prefer the non-us approach (I'm from the UK) I do understand why it makes sense having the month first.
It is the 18th day of the month. Hope that helps.