Wikipedia:Overview of date formatting guidelines: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:54, 18 October 2019

Revision as of 10:42, 18 October 2019

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*'''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}}}} (also called the "all-numeric" format; used only in places where space is limited, such as in references and some tables and infoboxes, but not in article text proper).

The appropriate format to use infor a particular situation is controlleddetermined by the (somewhat confusing) interaction between three sub-provisions of MOS:DATEFORMAT. The priority among these provisions can be summarised as follows:

#'''Consistency ([[MOS:DATEUNIFY]]):''' Each article should use either DMY or MDY consistently, ''except'' that in references, access/archive dates (and in some cases publication dates) may use YMD.

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#*articles on topics relating to other English-speaking countries use DMY.

::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 necessarily use DMY, even though DMY is the predominant format in France.

<ol start="3"><li>'''Retaining existing format ([[MOS:DATERET]]):''' If an article has evolved using predominantly one format, don't change it ''except'':</li></ol>

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

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::Think carefully before changing established date formats of existing articles, especially multiple articles in a particular subject area. Consider whether the proposed change would improve Wikipedia (beyond conforming the articles to your personal preference) and whether editors who have contributed to the article(s) may have reached a consensus to use a particular format. Other editors may feel justified in reverting date-format changes made without prior discussion, even when those changes are supported by the above guidelines.

As with any guidelines, [[Wikipedia:Ignore all rules|occasional exceptions will apply]]. If there is good reason to diverge from the guidelines in the case of a particular article, [[Wikipedia:What "Ignore all rules" means#Use common sense|use common sense]] and achieveget consensus on your proposal with other editors on the article's talk page.