[whatwg] Time and Date (was: Joe Clark's Criticisms of the WHATWG and HTML 5)

[Colin Lieberman]

Matthew Raymond wrote:
>    I support the <time> element for the opposite reason, in fact. I
> don't want to see authors styling the date format. I'd rather see the
> date format localized or customized to a user preference. If the author
> wants it in a specific format, they can use CSS to style the element in
> such a way as to show its contents:
>
> HTML:
> | <time datetime="YYYY-MM-DD">(*)???MMMM;YY;D???(*)</time>
>
> CSS (using css3-content):
> | time { content: contents; }
>
>
>   

I agree to a point. Time and date should be machine readable in markup, 
but I don't know if UAs should *default* to user preference over-riding 
the author's chosen format.

My argument here is cultural or sociological - If, in 10 years, kids 
grew up only ever seeing dates presented in one format, they wouldn't 
learn about how dates work elsewhere. This seems like a small thing, but 
I think the flavor of dealing with varieties of date formats is just one 
way that we get to participate in a really cool, big world full of lots 
of different people.

Yes - dates should be standardized for machines. This allows AT to help 
folks with (for example) learning disabilities.
No - people should not only be served one flavor of date format unless 
they need it.

Just my two cents,
Colin Lieberman