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Shared/meta documentation and project artefacts for Element clients
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Customisable date/time formatting (including iso 8601) #1253

Open ThomasWaldmann opened 7 years ago

ThomasWaldmann commented 7 years ago

May I suggest to use the iso way for formatting dates and times?

https://xkcd.com/1179/

Currently, e.g. the "last used" value for the devices (settings dialogue) looks like this:

myip @ 2/1/2017, 12:10:34 AM

... which is confusing for non-american non-12h clock users. iso-like formatted it would look like this:

myip @ 2017-02-01 00:10:34

(which is also the way it sorts naturally).

turt2live commented 7 years ago

For complete clarity, words can also help. I've personally never been a fan of entirely-numeric dates.

ip @ Feb 1, 2017 12:10:34 AM

ThomasWaldmann commented 7 years ago

@turt2live Words need translations, numbers don't. Also, you still have strange 12h clock.

turt2live commented 7 years ago

Translations haven't been implemented yet as is (although that's not an excuse to have words). https://github.com/vector-im/riot-web/issues/680

I also personally prefer AM/PM.

This sounds like another setting to me - as preferences differ between regions and people.

ThomasWaldmann commented 7 years ago

Yes, if one has date time setting preferences, one can of course offer dozens of ways to format them (see xkcd picture). If one has not, the best way to go is iso standard.

Also, do not expect that language and datetime format preference is coupled. If someone wants english, that doesn't necessarily mean he wants mm/dd/yyyy or so.

croulibri commented 7 years ago

I would support the idea of implementing international standards (ISO) in order to avoid using a system based on preference of a limited number of people. When translation comes, then maybe different format of date could be proposed. So the proposed : myip @ 2017-02-01 00:10:34 seems the more suitable to fit with the diversity of culture, language and practices of Matrix users.

ara4n commented 7 years ago

see also vector-im/element-web#1728. As much as I like iso 8601, its not the must human-legible format - i'd rather we gave people the option to format the timestamps as they desire.