 | This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: This essay provides a rational argument for refusing editors who insist on an article complying with WP:STRONGNAT. It encourages editors to ignore WP:STRONGNAT when writing date formats for article content because the guideline is flawed, based on fallacies, inconsistent with other more consistent policies and guidelines regarding style and content formats, often promotes edit-warring and hostility, alienates and undermines the sense of global community that Wikipedia seeks to achieve, and arguing about date formats tends to be a needless waste of time. |
As an American of cosmopolitan sensibilities who consistently uses DMY date formats (largely due to the accidents of my education, long periods of taking up residence abroad, and continued foreign travel, work, and interactions), I find the insistence on obeying WP:STRONGNAT as rather offensive and exclusionary. The editors who insist on WP:STRONGNAT compliance forget one thing—it is merely a guideline, a recommendation, a preference. It is NOT a policy. It is NOT a rule. It is only a suggestion trying to impose a semblance of order among many entirely valid and acceptable options.
With an appeal to WP:STRONGNAT as an authority, some editors find it necessary to insist on changing date formats back-and-forth from dmy to mdy. All too often this minor content dispute takes the appearance of a "my way or the highway" pronouncement. For someone who dedicated considerable time and effort to an article, it's easy to take offense when some interloping gatecrasher shows up to jam WP:STRONGNAT compliance down your throat. It's even worse when (looking at that gatecrasher's contributions) their only apparent reason for living is change DMY to MDY and vice versa while screaming "per WP:STRONGNAT."
Yes, it really does irk many editors when someone else's only contribution to Wikipedia is repetitive minor bullshit format changes. Those types are held in the same contempt as smug, self-satisfied Grammar Nazis who correct pronunciations and verb tenses while you're trying to talk to them. When that happens, we like to tell those types "don't be a jerk" and express our disagreement and contempt with other choice colourful metaphors.
Additionally, I have found that the WP:STRONGNAT recommendation is based on a fundamentally flawed analysis that is fostered by some blatant falsehoods and misconceptions. Demanding compliance with this guideline only perpetuates them, when correction of the guideline's flaws is in order. Further, WP:STRONGNAT openly contradicts or is inconsistent with other policies and guidelines regarding article consistency (as if Wikipedia were ever consistent, sarcasm) When in doubt, it is always best to ignore all rules and ignore the persistence of those who insist on dubious rules. This essay establishes a rational case for why an editor's insistence on complying with WP:STRONGNAT should* be ignored.
- See notes on the meaning of should below.
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