123-45-1234 this is a social security number

(319) 123-4567 this is a telephone number

10.1.2001 This is January 10th in Europe

1/10/2001 This is January 10th in America

216.115.108.243 This is an internet ip.

1.10.2001 When is the event...? Don't use dots unless you're in Europe ... But if you must be like the Europeans, use day.month.year...

218.123.1234 218.123.123.4 ip or telephone number...? One can count the number of digits, but why? Americans recognize 123-1234 as a phone number, so stick to that. What's so hip about confusing people?

2/1/1 just because y2k has past, it is hard to tell the month and day from the year. In the '90s, there was no ambiguity, the months and days don't go that high. 2/1/2001, ahh....

.biz .tv .info .family .... so much for <company name>.com.... They fixed internet name space by adding uncertainty. How about WalMart, Inc, and WalMart, Biz and WalMart, Stor....