J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote: > Though back when most genealogy is involved, there is in practice little > problem - in fact I'd even venture to suggest that for a lot of the > time, actually considering that 1851-6-9 UK is different from 1851-6-9 > USA could cause more trouble than it solves. It'll certainly cause a more persistent problem, in that once you know that, you're constantly wondering if the guy who filled out this form or that one knew or cared and which one he used! When I'm outside the US, I tend to use local dating style, but there's no denying that 8/11/1851 is either August or November in an English-speaking country. Toss in the US Military's use of European style, and you'll never be bone-deep certain of a date written without alpha char$ again. A library I frequent asks visitors to sign in; about half are military, so you get 8/6 and 6/8 on the same day; Lord he'p if it ever really matters. Some of you commening in this thread strongly favor programs that don't restrict your data-entry, so that you may enter "Hamlet's Hovel, Southside of what was then West Podunk in what was then Whooville, Lancs." So why do you want to allow the computer program to force you to record a date to its liking? Cheryl