5 ms·

As a general rule, I get really annoyed when I come across a web page and I can't tell how old it is, especially if it is information that is likely to age rapi

As a general rule, I get really annoyed when I come across a web page and I can't tell how old it is, especially if it is information that is likely to age rapidly. I don't care if putting a date on the page makes it less "evergreen", hurts someones SEO stats or makes the flowers wilt, I just want to know if I can trust what I'm reading.

k-mcgrady 12y ago
>> "makes it less "evergreen"" The evergreen no date thing is fine with me - provided the content itself is actually evergreen. That's the bit people seem to forget. Not dating content doesn't magically make it last forever. If the information is unlikely to expire then I don't need a date. If there is a chance that the information will go out of date, especially if the dated information will not be useful to the reader, then it should be dated.
- gnopgnip 12y ago
  In five years will the failure rate of 3-4tb drives that are harvested from external enclosures matter?
  - sillysaurus3 12y ago
    I have no idea why this is downvoted at all, let alone downvoted so heavily. It's correct. The content will be out of date in five years, so it's not evergreen and should be dated.
SCdF 12y ago
Agreed. FWIW I basically don't read articles where I can't find the date, unless it's clearly something that doesn't need one (which is rare). Especially anything technology related, truth turns to myth in no time at all.
Rapzid 12y ago
A thousand up-votes for you. Date of information is one of the most important contexts in IT. I can't count the times somebody has said "This says this and that about such and such", and I have to say "Yeah bro, when was that written? Oh, three years ago? What's the story now?".
IgorPartola 12y ago
This. No debate necessary, just add the dates.
mironathetin 12y ago
Yes, dates are really important. If anybody thinks, readers will skip their article, if the date is too easy to find, why don't you sign the article with the authors name and then let the author decide, if a date has to be added. Like "joe - Nov. 1, 2014" or just "joe". This article certainly needs a date.
- pavel_lishin 12y ago
  When I'm reading articles about tech, I almost always skip the ones without a date, unless they're the last or only source of knowledge on the topic I'm looking for. An article without a date is about as trustworthy as a scribble on a bathroom stall.
- arca_vorago 12y ago
  I agree. I actually submitted a bug report to DuckDuckGo based on this. Perhaps a slight abuse of the reporting system, but I feel one of the primary reasons I end up typing !google at the end of my searches is that I don't see dates on searches by default in ddg.
rootbear 12y ago
My goodness! This comment upped my karma points by about 50%! I guess I hit a nerve... Thanks for all the up votes.
- atYevP 12y ago
  Well you inspired change as well ;-)

k-mcgrady 12y ago

>> "makes it less "evergreen"" The evergreen no date thing is fine with me - provided the content itself is actually evergreen. That's the bit people seem to forget. Not dating content doesn't magically make it last forever. If the information is unlikely to expire then I don't need a date. If there is a chance that the information will go out of date, especially if the dated information will not be useful to the reader, then it should be dated.

gnopgnip 12y ago
In five years will the failure rate of 3-4tb drives that are harvested from external enclosures matter?
- sillysaurus3 12y ago
  I have no idea why this is downvoted at all, let alone downvoted so heavily. It's correct. The content will be out of date in five years, so it's not evergreen and should be dated.

SCdF 12y ago

Agreed. FWIW I basically don't read articles where I can't find the date, unless it's clearly something that doesn't need one (which is rare). Especially anything technology related, truth turns to myth in no time at all.

Rapzid 12y ago

A thousand up-votes for you. Date of information is one of the most important contexts in IT. I can't count the times somebody has said "This says this and that about such and such", and I have to say "Yeah bro, when was that written? Oh, three years ago? What's the story now?".

IgorPartola 12y ago

This. No debate necessary, just add the dates.

mironathetin 12y ago

Yes, dates are really important. If anybody thinks, readers will skip their article, if the date is too easy to find, why don't you sign the article with the authors name and then let the author decide, if a date has to be added. Like "joe - Nov. 1, 2014" or just "joe". This article certainly needs a date.

pavel_lishin 12y ago
When I'm reading articles about tech, I almost always skip the ones without a date, unless they're the last or only source of knowledge on the topic I'm looking for. An article without a date is about as trustworthy as a scribble on a bathroom stall.
arca_vorago 12y ago
I agree. I actually submitted a bug report to DuckDuckGo based on this. Perhaps a slight abuse of the reporting system, but I feel one of the primary reasons I end up typing !google at the end of my searches is that I don't see dates on searches by default in ddg.

rootbear 12y ago

My goodness! This comment upped my karma points by about 50%! I guess I hit a nerve... Thanks for all the up votes.

atYevP 12y ago
Well you inspired change as well ;-)