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4th - 8th, January 2021

4th to 8th of January, 2021

January 4th to 8th, 2021

Jan 4th - 8th, 2021

4th Jan - 8th Jan, 2021

2021 Jan 4th - Jan 8th

Jan 4th - Jan 8th, 2021

Jan 4 - 8, 2021

other [feel free to type it out]

I miss when it was the comic numbers that were in the parentheses.

Sven, drink more spathe ham.

[Gyrre]

So I completely spaced out when typing in this week's thread dates, so I went back to the forum page and saw that we actually don't have a consistent dating format between WCDTs amongst us. Hell, I don't even do consistently from thread to thread unless I copy-paste an older thread's title to just change the numbers. And just out of curiosity, I dug way back to the first two dozen pages to to see what the WCDT format was when they were first started.

Anyways, thank God* 2020 is finely over. Here's to hoping 2021 is at the very least not any worse.

*or whatever deity/ancestor(s)/higher consciousness/being suits your beliefs

[Wingy]

I much prefer YYMMDD, so I would nominate WCDT #### - #### (yymmdd - yymmdd).

[Dandi Andi]

Ah, an ISO 6801 fan I see.

[Gyrre]

I'm kind of torn, myself. As an American, I'm used to putting the month first. But some of them just look better visually.

Any graphic designers amongst us who want to weigh-in on this from that angle?

[hedgie]

I have a preference for D/M/Y, but Y/M/D works as well.  It just doesn’t seem as useful as a human reading it, since the year and month change less often than the days, and a rollover in days is a quick visual shorthand that it’s a new month.

[Gyrre]

If memory serves, the USA didn't actually standardize the M/DD/YY format until the 1960s or 1970s.

[sitnspin]

Honestly, YYYY/MM/DD is, for me, the most logical, aesthetically pleasing, and easily organised format. I wish that was the universal standard.

[anahata]

It is the universal standard, more or less, hence the mention of ISO 6801. If only everyone would use it...

[Wingy]

Ah, an ISO 6801 fan I see.

Not so much.  I just have a habit of using it since I've been in the position of creating files (meeting minutes, etc.) that are best organized by date.  Now that the year is out of the teens for good, YYMMDD is far less likely to be misconstrued than DDMMYY.  As an old programmer, it's also easier to keep files with names beginning YYMMDD blah blah blah since it's not always straightforward to sort files by date in some OSs, especially if in the process of reviewing the file you change it somehow.  So I've landed on YYMMDD as a preference, not as a standard.

[Gyrre]

Honestly, YYYY/MM/DD is, for me, the most logical, aesthetically pleasing, and easily organised format. I wish that was the universal standard.

Because it functions similar to integers with the last digits being the first to increase, then the slowly increasing with the month serving as a hundreds place, then the year as a thousands place?

[sitnspin]

Because, when listed in numerical order, they are also in chronological order.

[oddtail]

I picked "other", but basically I like the first option best, just without the comma.

In the end, anything BUT month-first is fine with me. That's just super weird and unwieldy for me.

[Case]

I picked "other", but basically I like the first option best, just without the comma.

In the end, anything BUT month-first is fine with me. That's just super weird and unwieldy for me.

Seconded on the month-first. Just can't get used to it.

[Pilchard123]

Because, when listed in numerical order, they are also in chronological order.

And when sorted lexicographically too.

[Is it cold in here?]

Honestly, YYYY/MM/DD is, for me, the most logical, aesthetically pleasing, and easily organised format. I wish that was the universal standard.

Because it functions similar to integers with the last digits being the first to increase, then the slowly increasing with the month serving as a hundreds place, then the year as a thousands place?

One little two little three little-endian
Three big, two big, one big-endian

[Gyrre]

I could swear I had formatted at least one of those poll options with having an 'of' before the year at the end.

[Gyrre]

Honestly, YYYY/MM/DD is, for me, the most logical, aesthetically pleasing, and easily organised format. I wish that was the universal standard.

Because it functions similar to integers with the last digits being the first to increase, then the slowly increasing with the month serving as a hundreds place, then the year as a thousands place?

One little two little three little-endian
Three big, two big, one big-endian

thousands/hundreds/tens
         year/month/day

[Dandi Andi]

ISO 6801 gives the date as YYYYMMDD but also allows the inclusion of dashes for visual clarity such as YYYY-MM-DD. This format is also (as IICIH illustrated with his little song) called "Big-endian". I like this one because, as Sitnspin pointed out, if it's in numerical order, it's in chronological order as well, so it is very useful for indexing. It's written left to right with the most significant digits on the left just like any other numbers we write. It is, its way, elegant.

Little-endian, DD-MM-YYYY, is more intuitive for conversational use. It truncates very well in casual conversation. If I ask my librarian for a copy of the newspaper from the 23rd, they'll very likely assume I mean the 23rd of December. If I say that I need the paper from the 23rd of November, they'll very reasonably assume (as you did in the last sentence I am sure) that I mean November 2020. So it makes sense to use little-endian order since the most relevant information is closest to the front (in most casual applications).

Middle-endian, MM-DD-YYYY, is only used in the US, as far as I know. And not without good reason. It isn't simple or elegant. It makes no sense. Why do we do this? Why are we so stubbornly foolish? It is the same reason we do anything. Someone did it that way once and it stuck and we're too embarrassed to admit that we've been wrong this whole time.

[Farideh]

I agree with the YYYY-MM-DD format.

Also: comic's up. May is doing quite well 🙂

[Gyrre]

Your explanation for Big-endian is basically what I was trying to get at.

Let's just be glad that going by the julian date basically only happens in factories. The last two digits of the year followed by the day number of that year. For examples; today (Sunday, the 3rd of January, 2021) would be 21003, and the 31st of this December will be 21365.

EDIT: typo fix

[shanejayell]

That was cute. Faye is jealous of no longer being the 'cool big sis'. Ha.

[N.N. Marf]

Given that it's weekly comic discussion.. thread titles would be neater if we used the week number, rather than month/day ranges, which are irregular on mid-week month or year changes, unless we write out the whole year and month twice. There's an international standard having the 1st week with more than half it's days in the new year as week 1.

[BenRG]

Ever since May got her new body, I've noticed that she's cooled down a lot. He's less abrasive and more willing to reach out and be friendly with people. This fits in with my feeling that a lot of her behaviour was due to her environment - a broken body that was causing her only pain and stress.

Meanwhile, I find myself wondering just how deep Faye's jealousy about her 'baby sister' making a new friend might run!

Regarding the poll question, I prefer to do dates in what, to me, is their intuitive correct format. Today is the 4th day of January 2021, so the date would be written as '4th January 2021'. To me, other formats are back-to-front. Seriously, though, it's also not a big thing and certainly not something that needs to be changed. So long as everyone can get the necessary data, there is no need to have fixed thread title formats.

[Gyrre]

Given that it's weekly comic discussion.. thread titles would be neater if we used the week number, rather than month/day ranges, which are irregular on mid-week month or year changes, unless we write out the whole year and month twice. There's an international standard having the 1st week with more than half it's days in the new year as week 1.

It beats using the julian, but I think we'd still need to include the date range in some fashion. Perhaps week X, [thread poster's preferred date format]?

[snip]

Regarding the poll question, I prefer to do dates in what, to me, is their intuitive correct format. Today is the 4th day of January 2021, so the date would be written as '4th January 2021'. To me, other formats are back-to-front. Seriously, though, it's also not a big thing and certainly not something that needs to be changed. So long as everyone can get the necessary data, there is no need to have fixed thread title formats.

I was mostly just curious as to everyone's preferred date format. Personally, the most 'sensible' date format depends on what's being dated. As previously mentioned, ISO works really we for archiving. But, 'big-endian' doesn't really feel natural in terms of speech or dialogue, so one of the others might do better. Hell, format preference could be used to convey information about a character's personality. Granted, author bias can come into play pretty easily.

[snubnose]

Ah yes.

US americans and dates.

I've literally seen places in which people used both M/D/Y and D/M/Y. Good luck finding out what date was actually meant if D <= 12.

I dont understand it. Its so easy. Just use YYYY-MM-DD (the international format) and you'll be all set. I use that all the time.

[Meander]

I personally use YYYY_MMDD, but I think that YYYY-MM-DD is that best.

Look at May being all charming and supportive!

[Perfectly Reasonable]

The snake needs to be puking knives.

[cesium133]

Ah yes.

US americans and dates.

I've literally seen places in which people used both M/D/Y and D/M/Y. Good luck finding out what date was actually meant if D <= 12.

I dont understand it. Its so easy. Just use YYYY-MM-DD (the international format) and you'll be all set. I use that all the time.

Canada seems to have the worst of both worlds, where they use both MM/DD/YYYY and DD/MM/YYYY at the same time.

[Gnabberwocky]

That's a great quote from Faye in panel 3. I may use that.

[DaiJB]

The snake needs to be puking knives.

And be on fire.


Favourite date format? - maybe Long Count Date 13.0.8.2.16 to 13.0.8.3.0 ? 
Or Month 11, 21 - 25, 4718? 

(I know, I know, I'm being a pain in the behind...) 

[Oenone]

My human-ing is failing me -- is Faye jealous of the kiddo getting complimented or jealous of May being so comfortable with the kiddo? Or of how her art isn't appreciated by their clients in the same way?

ETA: Is Faye's art something she still works at? Or is she just satisfied with being naturally talented? Like, Renee seems pretty disciplined in her pursuit of "the best of its type" baking, and just the fact that that she's allowed in the same kitchen with Elliot and tries to share what she's good at with her friends speaks to how important it is to her. Is Faye jealous because the art she doesn't spend time on or share with others is less appreciated?

[notStanley]

CCYYMMDD is the only way to go!  It sorts properly.  Been using that since 1978, first job was a home loan company, and calculating 30 year mortgages had to worry about that CC rollover.

[BenRG]

My human-ing is failing me -- is Faye jealous of the kiddo getting complimented or jealous of May being so comfortable with the kiddo? Or of how her art isn't appreciated by their clients in the same way?

I think it is mostly jealousy that May is threatening to become a closer adult-ish friend to Sam than she is.

[Dock Braun]

CCYYMMDD is the only way to go!  It sorts properly.  Been using that since 1978, first job was a home loan company, and calculating 30 year mortgages had to worry about that CC rollover.

Imagine if they'd decided to use only 1 (one) digit for the century.

[Mr_Rose]

My human-ing is failing me -- is Faye jealous of the kiddo getting complimented or jealous of May being so comfortable with the kiddo? Or of how her art isn't appreciated by their clients in the same way?

I think it is mostly jealousy that May is threatening to become a closer adult-ish friend to Sam than she is.

But then, Sam could just put her foot in her mouth using the dexterity only teenagers seem to have…

[Gnabberwocky]

But then, Sam could just put her foot in her mouth using the dexterity only teenagers seem to have…

Yeah, we're quite flexible like that.

[Oenone]

My human-ing is failing me -- is Faye jealous of the kiddo getting complimented or jealous of May being so comfortable with the kiddo? Or of how her art isn't appreciated by their clients in the same way?

I think it is mostly jealousy that May is threatening to become a closer adult-ish friend to Sam than she is.

Has Faye's jealousy been an issue before? I know she's been territorial over Marten.

[Mr_Rose]

My human-ing is failing me -- is Faye jealous of the kiddo getting complimented or jealous of May being so comfortable with the kiddo? Or of how her art isn't appreciated by their clients in the same way?

I think it is mostly jealousy that May is threatening to become a closer adult-ish friend to Sam than she is.

Has Faye's jealousy been an issue before? I know she's been territorial over Marten.

She gets territorial over absolutely everything in her life but I think it’s more related to an abject terror of change, at least change she doesn’t initiate. She should settle down once she’s had a good sleep on it, especially with Bubbles’s patience and sweet lovin’.

[Gnabberwocky]

Comic's up.

I guess I was hoping that Sam would be able to get May to open up a little WRT Robot Jail. Doesn't look like that'll be happening anytime soon.

[Mordhaus]

Robot Dementors are the guards.

[shanejayell]

I've always kinda assumed Robot Jail might not be conceivable in human terms.

"Imagine a infinite space, but you can't move, along with a immense perception of time passing."

"....."

"That is not at all what Robot Jail was like, but it's a start."

[Gnabberwocky]

I've always kinda assumed Robot Jail might not be conceivable in human terms.

"Imagine a infinite space, but you can't move, along with a immense perception of time passing."

"....."

"That is not at all what Robot Jail was like, but it's a start."

I mean, I'd honestly take that. It's May's choice for if/when she wants to talk about it, but I really do want to know what it's like, even if it's "an abstract concept that is incomprehensible to the human mind."

[TheEvilDog]

I'm guessing that the tone of May's reaction is less "can't explain it in relatable terms to a human experience" and more "Kid, you literally have no idea what I have gone through, both in prison and out of it and its mildly insulting that you think you know what it was like".

The only parallel I can imagine for May's time in Robot Jail would be something like Locked In Syndrome, and even then you can't exactly relate the experience and expect someone to understand what its really like. Its one of those experiences that someone would have to go through to really understand, otherwise there's just a lot of smoke getting blown out of people's asses.

[Gyrre]

I'm guessing that the tone of May's reaction is less "can't explain it in relatable terms to a human experience" and more "Kid, you literally have no idea what I have gone through, both in prison and out of it and its mildly insulting that you think you know what it was like".

The only parallel I can imagine for May's time in Robot Jail would be something like Locked In Syndrome, and even then you can't exactly relate the experience and expect someone to understand what its really like. Its one of those experiences that someone would have to go through to really understand, otherwise there's just a lot of smoke getting blown out of people's asses.

I've been assuming it's something akin to solitary confinement without the ability to really move around. It may or may not come with some sort of behavioral adjustment regimen (like being subjected to nonstop Barney reruns or something overly saccharine and moralistic).

[TheEvilDog]

It may or may not come with some sort of behavioral adjustment regimen (like being subjected to nonstop Barney reruns...<sic>).

I think that qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment.

[awkwardness]

It was bound to happen, but Sam's sincerity and empathy is actually something that I don't think anyone else has shown her before. Sam is trying, which is better than ignoring the past and not addressing it because you don't want to hurt May's feelings or you're apathetic to it.

Kids with no filters sometimes are the best and cheapest therapy.

[awkwardness]

I'm guessing that the tone of May's reaction is less "can't explain it in relatable terms to a human experience" and more "Kid, you literally have no idea what I have gone through, both in prison and out of it and its mildly insulting that you think you know what it was like".

The only parallel I can imagine for May's time in Robot Jail would be something like Locked In Syndrome, and even then you can't exactly relate the experience and expect someone to understand what its really like. Its one of those experiences that someone would have to go through to really understand, otherwise there's just a lot of smoke getting blown out of people's asses.

I've been assuming it's something akin to solitary confinement without the ability to really move around. It may or may not come with some sort of behavioral adjustment regimen (like being subjected to nonstop Barney reruns or something overly saccharine and moralistic).

If it's not Barney Rubble, Barney Fife, or Barney Miller then it's cruel and unusual punishment.

[Gyrre]

I've always kinda assumed Robot Jail might not be conceivable in human terms.

"Imagine a infinite space, but you can't move, along with a immense perception of time passing."

"....."

"That is not at all what Robot Jail was like, but it's a start."

Something akin to the white room in THX 1138?

[BenRG]

In Sam's defence, a 14- or 15-year-old, especially one raised in as near-boundary-free a way as she has probably has no framework from which to imagine what incarceration of any kind is. However, given how much she loves being out and enjoying adventures, being grounded probably was close in terms of its frustration and boredom.

FWIW, I've always thought that Robot Jail is a virtual realm where your ability to move and interact with others and your environment is enormously restricted and your perception of time is distorted. Oh, and there probably a nicely Orwellian rehabilitation 'educational' system' which is your only option other than staring at blank walls 23/7 (you get an hour's interaction with a randomly-selected other prisoner for one hour per day unless you're really disruptive).

[snubnose]

Actually, after COVID-19, many people probably have trouble to adjust to life on the outside again.

Personally, I never was "grounded", so I dont know how that is.