Forum:BC/AD vs BCE/CE

Anyone else think we should standardize on a naming convention? Right now, I've seen dates in BC and AD (that's "Before Christ" and "Anno Dominus") as well as BCE and CE ("Before Common Era" and "Common Era").

Personally, I prefer BC and AD--not because I'm religious (I'm not), but because of my firm conviction that "Common Era" just sounds dumb. :)

Nightsky 01:54, 28 June 2008 (UTC)


 * One one hand, using "BC/AD" might seem like a bad idea because they have a Christian context and it seems to be quite clear that Christianity is not correct in the Whoniverse (what with the Devil being an alien and all that). It could also be argued that "BC" is in English and "AD" is in Latin, so the dating system itself is inconsistent. Also, it's generally agreed (in the real world, at least) that Jesus was born before 1 AD, so it's also incorrect terminology. On the other hand, "BCE/CE" is not something that everyone will understand, and "BCE" takes up another byte per usage than "BC". 06:27, 28 June 2008 (UTC)


 * I was under the impression that BCE/CE are pretty well known. Even if it's not, it would be pretty easy to figure it out from context. Also, it's not like adding another is going to make a big difference. I'm all for using the BCE/CE. --