My girlfriend just got a new Shell gas credit card. At the bottom of the card it says "valid thru 1000". Hmmmm. At least they're using a 4 digit year format. :o) Oh well, in case you're wondering it still worked and we were able to fill the tank.

Anyone else have one of these?

-- i. (nospam@work.thanks), July 27, 1999

Answers

Sounds more like they're still using 2 digit years, and her card is good until October 2000.

-- (not@quite.ithink), July 27, 1999.

Collector's item.

-- laminate it now (lisa@work.now), July 27, 1999.

Not unless it was first issued in the 19th month of '98 as the issue date right next to it says.

-- i. (nospam@work.thanks), July 27, 1999.

They could certainly use a 4 digit year for issue year and still be stuck with 2 digit years for expiration. Why not call them and ask?

-- (not@quite.ithink), July 27, 1999.

that is a great one. i think if your girlfriend has a card that old, she is probably too old for you?!

-- T.E. (applpie@aol.com), July 27, 1999.

"it still worked and we were able to fill the tank."

I continue to expect a great deal of noncompliance to fit into this category, though by no means all. Clearly Shell isn't 'ready' yet. In fact, they're so far from ready that mistakes like this actually escape the company and get into public hands. Impact minimal to zilch. If this is the general type of remediation remaining, we can live with it. Who knows?

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), July 27, 1999.

I know I said I was only lurking from now on but I couldn't resist this one. My Shell Card says:

Cardmember since 1983 Valid thru 0303

Seems they use a YYYY format for the first and a MMYY format for the second. It's not clear, it's not logical, but it's NOT Y2K related!

Back to lurk mode...

RMS

-- RMS (rms_200@hotmail.com), July 27, 1999.

Flint wrote, "If this is the general type of remediation remaining, we can live with it. Who knows?"

Flint, buddy, wouldn't that be great?

Mike

================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), July 27, 1999.

If they can't get a card printed/embossed correctly, that you the public see, who knows what's going on in the bowels of the corporation.

Of course, the pollys would say that the cards you get are non-critical and so the companies have obviously devoted all their resources to mission critical areas. So, no problemo. :-)

-- vbProg (vbProg@MicrosoftAndIntelSuck.com), July 27, 1999.

They're using a CCYY format on one date, a MMYY format on another date, the card works fine and yall are calling this a failure?

Please explain............

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), July 27, 1999.

Yes, it's just a trivial error, a slight administrative bobble, no adverse results. They have always been with us, and there will be more in the future.

Put a few thousand trivial bobbles together next year, and hope like hell that none of them, singly or in concert, add up to a major blunder in a date-dependent system.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), July 27, 1999.

Gotta ask the same as Deano; just what is the error here?

-- Hoffmeister (hoff_meister@my-deja.com), July 27, 1999.

Hey, the card works! Who cares if the date if right or wrong. We want things to work and then fix them later. And if the date can't be fixed, who cares as long as it works. There, that's how Y2K will be fixed, don't fix it if it ain't broke.

-- leave it alone (leaveitalone@leaveitalone.com), July 27, 1999.

I gotta wonder how many people even took the time to look at their own credit cards before posting? Every credit card I have uses a "Member Since YYYY - Valid Through MMYY" type of dating.

-- Ken Winters (kwinters@olympus.net), July 27, 1999.

Pretty much what I said from the beginning...

-- (not@quite.ithink), July 27, 1999.