I find it easier to ask what standard they work to. If someone says "I write C++", I would ask "what version?" as there is a significant gulf between 2003 and 2

I find it easier to ask what standard they work to. If someone says "I write C++", I would ask "what version?" as there is a significant gulf between 2003 and 2011 standards, for example. Or, as is very common, they are not sure and it you will know that they don't know enough C++, or are in danger of writing C++ like it was C. If someone says "I play the guitar" and you ask "acoustic, electric? hollow bodied?" and they don't know, you'd be surprised. If someone says "I own a Volkswagen Golf" and you asked what mark (4, 5, 6 or 7) and they didn't know, you'd assume they knew nothing about they car or didn't have to replace any parts on it, even simple things like windscreen wipers as they'd have bought the wrong ones. It's the same with C++ - the spec makes a huge difference so we should probably all be aware of what we're writing.