If most readers' assessment were instead, Current > Uncertain > Old, then perhaps it would be best for date to be left out of the URL and templates only to include it conditionally? Would it be dishonest to tell you that today's post was written today, but not say when a post from three years ago was written?
> If most readers' assessment were instead, Current > Uncertain > Old, then perhaps it would be best for date to be left out of the URL and templates only to include it conditionally?
Well, sure, it would be "best" in terms of maximizing the initially perceived value of the information you are providing by negating inputs to the reader's initial assessment when they would work against you.
Of course, if the reason people's filters work that way is experience-based rather than some innate feature of psychology, the utility of that practice will wane over time and as experience alters the assessment.
> Would it be dishonest to tell you that today's post was written today, but not say when a post from three years ago was written?
To an extent, yes, it would be dishonest, especially if the whole point is to withhold information about currency only when it would weigh against the reader's assessment of value. Practices of that type (highlighting the newness of new content but avoiding discussing the datedness of other content) are pretty common, though.
