Wikipedia:Overview of date formatting guidelines: Difference between revisions

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[[MOS:DATEFORMAT]] sets out the appropriate use of the three date formats usedacceptable for use in Wikipedia articles, namely:

*'''Day–month–year''' (DMY) format—e.g., {{xt|{{#time:j F Y}}}} or {{xt|{{#time:j M Y}}}};

*'''Month–day–year''' (MDY) format—e.g., {{xt|{{#time:F j, Y}}}} or {{xt|{{#time:M j, Y}}}};

*'''Year–month–day''' (YMD) format—e.g., {{xt|{{#time:Y-m-d}}}}{{mdashb}} (also called the "all-numeric" format; used only in places where space is limited ({{mdashb}}references, tables, infoboxes),{{mdashb}}and not in article text proper).

The guidelines provide additional guidance on deciding whichWhich format should be used in a particular cases.situation is Itcontrolled canby sometimesthe be(somewhat confusing) tointeraction understandof whichthree sectionsprovisions: toMOS:DATEUNIFY, applyMOS:DATETIES, in particularand casesMOS:DATERET. The priority between these provisions can be summarised as follows:

#'''[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Consistency|Consistency]] ([[MOS:DATEUNIFY]]):''' Each article should use either DMY or MDY format consistently, ''except'' access/archive dates (and in some cases publication dates) in references may use YMD-formatted dates.

#'''[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Strong national ties to a topic|Strong national ties to a topic]] ([[MOS:DATETIES]]):''' Articles on topics with strong ties to a particular English-speaking country should generally use the date format most commonly used in that nation. This generally means:

#*Articles on US topics use MDY format, ''except'' articles on modern US military topics use DMY in line with modern military usage;

#*Articles on Canadian topics may use either DMY or MDY;

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#:There may be other exceptions for particular topic areas.

#:Note that because this is the English language Wikipedia, MOS:DATETIES does ''not'' apply to topics related to non-English-speaking countries. For example, articles on French topics do not need to follow DMY format even though this is the predominant format in France.

#'''[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers#Retaining existing format|Retaining existing format]] ([[MOS:DATERET]]):''' If an article has evolved using predominantly one format, don't change it ''unless'':

#*to conform with strong national ties (in accordance with MOS:DATETIES, as discussed in 2 above); or

#*there is consensus on the article's talk page otherwise (see below).