Am 16.09.2014 um 12:13 schrieb Peter Lebbing: > On 15/09/14 21:56, Robert J. Hansen wrote: >> From the plain meaning of the word, "expiration." >> >> There's a half-finished liter of milk in my fridge that's now a week >> past its expiration date. (Yes, yes, I'm going to throw it out once >> I get home...) >> >> If you want, feel free to come by. I'll pour you a glass of milk. >> After all, an expiration date doesn't mean "don't use this," right? >> It's only a number that's to be interpreted according to however >> someone wants. > > Sure! A week might be a bit much, but if it were 3 or 4 days I'd agree. > Starting from slightly before the expiration date to well past, I simply > sniff it, pour out a little, look if it is curdling... and if none of > those things apply, I happily pour myself some perfect moo juice. A > bloody shame to throw it away. You really throw out perfectly good food? > Just because someone said "well, given our process variations, even the > worst piece, even the milk produced on a hot day and picked up a bit > late, would still be okay for one and a half week. To cover our asses, > let's say we warrant it for a week"? >
Just as a side node. The usage of this example is a little unlucky because it has so many traps based on cultural differences. I saw that discussion coming when I read it. In Germany on food products you will find the word "Expiration Date" which literally means: "Don't eat me after that date." But there is a discussion to change that because what they are actually meaning in this context is: "I won't change my shape, taste and rigidity till that date." So I guess, people with such a background are a little more open to the interpretation of that phrase. But as far as I know, in the US it says "Best before" to avoid that confusion and make clear that this product is probably still good, some time after that date. And I think the same confusion is going on with respect to the expiration date in our context. And I am all for not overloading the meaning of words, so if I read expiration date than for me this is a dead line. If you mean "best before" than I would prefer if people say it like this. Martin _______________________________________________ Gnupg-users mailing list Gnupg-users@gnupg.org http://lists.gnupg.org/mailman/listinfo/gnupg-users
