Re: gnus date suggestion

[François Pinard <pinard@iro.umontreal.ca>]

Jason R Mastaler <jason@4b.org> écrit:

> > The purpose [...] is to use international dates rather than American
> > dates in software meant to be use all around the planet.  Software like
> > Gnus, say! :-)

> This thread never seems to die.

Don't worry, this thread will die by itself when the problem would have
been have addressed, rather than ignored.

> As Johan Danielsson said two months ago when this was last brought up,
> "Enough of this now. The way to write dates in mail messages is defined
> by RFC822. If anyone want's to change this, just write a new RFC."

I quite understand that some people do not even want to hear that there is
a problem.  There is a problem nevertheless.

I do no really know how RFCs are handled, and I presume it is quite an
undertaking to produce new ones.  Further, not all RFCs get implemented.
So, I feel that this lapidary suggestion sounds more like "Get lost!" than
a practical one.  A few people working in ISO fields exchange letters
with me at various occasions, and I happened to read that ISO often prefer
making standard out of habits or usages, than forcing new habits through
the production of new standards.  So I think we should address habits
and usages more directly.  Standardisation might more easily follow, later.

> Why are you still picking on Gnus?

Please be kind enough to read the messages you are replying to.  I wrote:

   The purpose [...] [is] to use international dates rather than American
   dates in software meant to be use all around the planet.  Software like
   Gnus, say! :-)

Here, we have an international standard opposing an oldish American
standard.  Gnus might elect to favour the international standard, instead
of standing still until absolutely everyone agrees.  Most people know that
RFC 822 will never be the driving force for any kind of improvement, as it
already did most of its good, and thanks to it, Internet mail now exists.
Undoubtly, it was very helpful in its time, but it gets somewhat misused
when as an excuse to slash out any further improvement.

-- 
François Pinard                            mailto:pinard@iro.umontreal.ca
Join the free Translation Project!    http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/~pinard