Removing Dates From Posts for Timeless Content
Darren Rowse from ProBlogger wrote a post today that covered the topic of removing dates from blog posts for the appearance of timeless content.
As mentioned in my design decisions series, I believe it should be the reader, and not the blogger, who decides which content is timeless.
After I consolidated my design decisions series for another site, I quoted a reader’s comment on another blog:
When I find a blog with no time stamp, I feel conned. (From Erica)
I don’t personally feel conned, but a timestamp is a helpful tool in gathering context. For example, if I’m looking up something time sensitive, such as useful apps for my new iPhone, I wouldn’t want to read something dated March of 2008 because the new iPhone wasn’t out then.
On the other hand, as Darren pointed out, there are older posts which are indeed timeless (not date sensitive) that readers ignore simply because they are old:
The problem is that when you have a post that is ‘timeless’ (ie it doesn’t really date because the tips you give or the principles that you talk about will always apply) a date can act as a distraction to your reader. They arrive at the post and see that it was written in 2006 and a little warning bell goes off in their mind that what they are reading is not ‘current’.
While Darren presents some good arguments for having (and not having) dates on posts, the majority of his comments are in favor of keeping dates.
So Should Blog Posts Have Dates?
My official stance is yes. You’d be hard pressed to find a magazine, journal, or newspaper without some kind of time reference. Even reference material and novels have publishing dates and revisions. Why would the web be any different?
Yes, I can hear Liz Strauss saying, “But we’re on the web, not in print.”
While true, a time reference is one aspect of print that should be carried over.
The argument for removing dates is so that the content appears timeless. I would love to declare all of my content timeless. But it’s not up to me. It’s up to my readers.
Liz Strauss says...
No, I’m all for time stamps and I like them large. I don’t have a bias against something written two years ago . . . if it’s timeless. A list of famous quotes or some basic writing rules don’t update every year. BUT it’s not nice to get to a site where you want to know whether what you’re reading is the latest version . . . and you can’t tell because there’s no time stamp.
If you remove the time stamp, I think you’re obligated to write ONLY timeless content.
Ronald Huereca says...
@Liz,
Yeah, me too. And it’s very difficult to write timeless content.
I had a drama teacher who asked us once, “Who here likes the Matrix?”
Several raised their hands.
He said, “In about thirty years, who’s going to be talking about it?”
We all gave each other blank stares.
He finally made the point, look at your classic movies like Citizen Kane that have stood the test of time. And figure out why this movie is referred to as a classic, and other movies like the Matrix will eventually be referred to as special effects garbage.
Simonne says...
I like to see the date when a post was published. The lack of dating doesn’t make an article timeless. The content is important. I liked your analogy with the drama teacher.
RT Cunningham | Philippines says...
In my lowly opinion, dates aren’t required in post URLs or post titles, but need to be included with each post. The actual time of each post isn’t necessary.
Dates exist for a reason and it’s not to determine whether a post is timeless or not. It’s to determine age. If you want a post to appear to be newer then update it, republish it and redirect the old one to the new one.
The only time dates really come into play is when you’re writing about current events topics.
Mihaela Lica says...
I hope Darren is not running out of ideas, Ronald. As Liz says, the “date” doesn’t matter if the content is “timeless.” And you are right: the reader decides what timeless is.
Texts from 2000 years ago are still actual, aren’t they? Legends that were never printed kept their freshness and reached to us… We have them printed now, yes, but when they first came to light no one even wondered about dates and time. We print things to remember, we give dates to keep track of time…
Removing dates from blog posts to “make the content appear timeless” to the reader is deceiving…
pearl says...
I’ll agree with Liz that if you give the ‘appearance’ of timeless content, that’s the only type of content you should provide.
Now you could provide timeless content in the same site in my opinion. Just keep the blog section of the site with dated posts (since web-log is technically a record of your daily, weekly thoughts and opinions), but include another section where ALL articles and posts are ageless and timeless.
Andrew Flusche says...
What an excellent discussion! I agree with you guys: posts need dates. That’s one thing I can’t stand about static websites; you have no idea when the information was published or updated, unless there is a “last updated” date somewhere. Blogs allow readers to quickly filter out old content and find exactly what they need. Keep the date stamp!
Ronald Huereca says...
Thanks a lot for the comments all. Looks like it’s pretty unanimous here that dates should be included. Although not all agree how they should be implemented, it’s still an insightful discussion.
Brad says...
I have to agree with you Ronald, time stamps are a must on blog posts for me. Typically when I am searching for information I want the most relevant and current content I can find. Without a time stamp on a blog post I immediately move on to the next search result in my quest for the latest.
Always let the reader decide if they care about a time stamp!
Erum Munir says...
Glad to see I’m not the only one. When I orgininally read the post at Problogger, that is exactly what I thought. The visitors should be given some credit in determining if the post is a classic or not. And there is hardly a blog that does not have time sensitive posts — it just wastes a person’s time to not have a date on those. So as far as I am concerned, dates all the way…
Btw love your blog design. The strawberry at the bottom is good enough to eat. I’ve been eyeing it for a while lol.
Mike says...
I personally think it all depends on what you are going for. Some people use free blog platforms because they are free and because they are the most basic and simple to setup. These same people are often trying to create more of an informational website than a blog. I guess these people would be better served in switching over to some type of mini-site that they have out their linke blinkweb or weebly or even hubpages or squiddo. I’m not sure. I will have to ponder this for awhile to come to an opinion.
Donace says...
Well putting the dates is a two pronged fork; one side would say dates are essential, which they are especially in regards to topics that change often, where the information changes on a steady basis.
On the other hand some posts such as How to’s FAQ’s and other such which are unlikely to change and ’stand the test of time’ have no need for a date.
irregardless though a timeline helps show growth in an authors work; may it be on the web or in print. Where would Shakespeare be with out his different writing eras :p
Ronald Huereca says...
@Donace,
You bring up a good point and gave me an idea. If content is truly timeless, then the blogger should move that information to its own page. No timestamp needed, although a last modified would be helpful.
沿阶草 says...
http://blog.2i2j.com/plugins/wordpress-thread-comment
asdf says...
Sorry
Key Reviews says...
Timeless content is what matters. Whether you put the date or not, it is the content that matters. Readers will be the one to judge.
Web Hosting Reviews