> This site seems to confirm it tho:
>
> <http://www.saqqara.demon.co.uk/datefmt.htm>
>
Hmmm, 11 reasons to use this format:
5 of these reasons are "Because it makes it easier for me to write software
if you do" which don't carry much weight IMNSHO
However, in the spirit of standardisation, I'd like to suggest:
1. Please can we stop this silly 'firstname lastname' format. The most
significant string (family name) should come first, with a standard
delimiter (comma) before the first name (which should come last). This is
what bibliographies and libraries have used for years, so should everyone
else. Please use:
LASTNAME, [FIRSTNAME|FIRST INITIAL]
2. The address format is a real mess, being least significant string first,
and no clear guide as to whether comma or newline or both are the acceptable
delimiters. Also, the location of the postcode string is arbitrary, and in
any case the postcode repeats information and is often redundant. However,
since postcodes can be easily fed into computer programs, and are language
independant, they should replace all that other stuff.
Please use:
ISO planet code, ISO country code, POSTCODE, Building Number[, apartment
number][, business name]
Note also that country code is compulsory. In the past post offices assumed
that addresses without a country code were local and assumed the 'current'
country as the one required for delivery. This sort of assumption landed us
in the Y2K mess where people foolishly assumed that a year was in the
'current' century, for some silly reason.
Note too that ISO planet code has been introduced so that when we colonise
mars, we will not be left with 3 billion ambiguous addresses! What a mess
that would be! As you see I have really learned from the Y2K thing, which
caused such massive chaos here on earth when all the computers stopped
working and the planes fell out of the sky etc etc.
I hope others will take these suggestions to heart,
Peterson, Jonathan
Earth, UK, W1H 6LT, 40, Ideashub
2001-03-21
