1849: Decades - Revision history

TheErgster: Added current radio tagline

2025-11-13T14:35:32Z

Added current radio tagline

2.98.65.8: /* Trivia */

2025-10-08T17:48:06Z

‎Trivia

82.132.237.234 at 16:52, 8 October 2025

2025-10-08T16:52:22Z

134.60.67.135: /* Trivia */

2025-10-08T08:29:43Z

‎Trivia

134.60.67.135: /* Explanation */

2025-10-08T08:28:53Z

‎Explanation

2600:1010:B207:61FE:ED01:5CF4:CC8B:3756: Sorry, messed up the link in my last one, just fixing it :)

2025-10-03T21:31:43Z

Sorry, messed up the link in my last one, just fixing it :)

2600:1010:B207:61FE:ED01:5CF4:CC8B:3756: I found the station!

2025-10-03T21:28:37Z

I found the station!

2607:F140:400:AF:D5A5:D8E4:47BF:7DAD: /* Explanation */ It's well into the 2020s now, so there is something to add.

2025-09-30T02:34:37Z

‎Explanation: It's well into the 2020s now, so there is something to add.

172.71.242.62: /* Explanation */ Saw this news article, decided it might work as a citation/caveat for here, and for the 'fix' of spelling. (Perhaps it's just too British, in all respects. And we, in turn, don't use "aught" for "zero", very much at all.)

2023-07-17T12:58:48Z

‎Explanation: Saw this news article, decided it might work as a citation/caveat for here, and for the 'fix' of spelling. (Perhaps it's just too British, in all respects. And we, in turn, don't use "aught" for "zero", very much at all.)

172.70.85.218: /* Explanation */ Because the comic does it the lazy way.

2023-06-16T17:15:10Z

‎Explanation: Because the comic does it the lazy way.

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
 From the 1960s to the 1990s, it was common to group eras by decades. Fashion, music, and other cultural trends that changed relatively quickly were often defined by those decades.  People casually and commonly referred to "the sixties", and so on, to separate these periods.
@@ Line 22: / Line 21: @@
 In the title text, he refers to his radio station changing taglines. The station is most likely referring to "Mix 104.1" as [https://radiodiscussions.com/threads/80s-gone-from-wbmx.592448/ this forum] recounts both the original and second tagline.
 Twenties were discussed again later in [[2249: I Love the 20s]].

@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
 ==Trivia==
-* Randall has by mistake written "and and aughts" in the caption for this comic, instead of "and aughts".
+* Randall has, probably by mistake, written "and and aughts" in the caption for this comic, instead of "and aughts".
 {{comic discussion}}

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 ==Explanation==
 {{incomplete|Figure out what radio station Randall was talking about in the title text and mention what it does now.}}
-From the 1960s to the 1990s, it was common to group eras by decades. Fashion, music, and other cultural trends that changed relatively quickly were often defined by those decades.  People casually and commonly referred to “the sixties”, and so on, to separate these periods.
+From the 1960s to the 1990s, it was common to group eras by decades. Fashion, music, and other cultural trends that changed relatively quickly were often defined by those decades.  People casually and commonly referred to "the sixties", and so on, to separate these periods.
-This pattern broke down after 1999, because it didn’t naturally lend itself to an analogous phrase for the year from 2000-2009. A number of different terms have been proposed and used: “the {{w|Aughts}}”, and “[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-66199129 the noughties]” had been used for 1900-1909, but have an archaic flavor that may not work for everyone. “The {{w|2000s}}” and “the millenium” are ambiguous and clunky. None of these terms ever became popular enough to become a consensus term. Similarly for the period from 2010-2019, terms like “the 2010s” and “the teens” have been used, but not widely accepted.
+This pattern broke down after 1999, because it didn't naturally lend itself to an analogous phrase for the year from 2000-2009. A number of different terms have been proposed and used: "the {{w|Aughts}}", and "[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-66199129 the noughties]" had been used for 1900-1909, but have an archaic flavor that may not work for everyone. "The {{w|2000s}}" and "the millenium" are ambiguous and clunky. None of these terms ever became popular enough to become a consensus term. Similarly for the period from 2010-2019, terms like "the 2010s" and "the teens" have been used, but not widely accepted.
-The practical upshot of all of this is that verbally splitting time periods into clear decades simply became less obvious for the periods since 2000. While people still refer to earlier time periods by decades, it is far less common to do so when referring to recent years. The roll-over text gives the example that we still refer to “music of the ’80s and ’90s” (although the comic omits the apostrophes that might normally indicate the missing century digits), but rarely refer to “music of the 2000s” or something similar.
+The practical upshot of all of this is that verbally splitting time periods into clear decades simply became less obvious for the periods since 2000. While people still refer to earlier time periods by decades, it is far less common to do so when referring to recent years. The roll-over text gives the example that we still refer to "music of the '80s and '90s" (although the comic omits the apostrophes that might normally indicate the missing century digits), but rarely refer to "music of the 2000s" or something similar.
 The time-line in the comic stretches into the future (as of the time of publication), and uses question marks to present uncertainty over whether the decade-grouping trend will return in the 2020s. On the one hand, such was a well-established custom, and we once again have clear language for it. On the other hand, after largely abandoning the custom for 20 years, it is far from certain that people will adopt it again.
-What isn’t mentioned in the comic, but may be relevant, is that, in the absence of those decade categories, it has become more common to refer to time periods and the people who grew up in them by somewhat arbitrary generational categories: Baby Boomers, Generation&nbsp;X, Millennials, Gen&nbsp;Z, and so on. This has provided an adequate substitute, since youth culture in the 2000s and 2010s has been more commonly defined as “{{w|Millennials#Cultural_identity|millennial culture}}”. There are drawbacks to this (both because the terms are more loosely defined, and because they often come with negative connotations), but these trends may have become sufficiently ingrained that they could displace the older decade-based divisions.
+What isn't mentioned in the comic, but may be relevant, is that, in the absence of those decade categories, it has become more common to refer to time periods and the people who grew up in them by somewhat arbitrary generational categories: Baby Boomers, Generation&nbsp;X, Millennials, Gen&nbsp;Z, and so on. This has provided an adequate substitute, since youth culture in the 2000s and 2010s has been more commonly defined as "{{w|Millennials#Cultural_identity|millennial culture}}". There are drawbacks to this (both because the terms are more loosely defined, and because they often come with negative connotations), but these trends may have become sufficiently ingrained that they could displace the older decade-based divisions.
-The title text gives the specific example of [[Randall]]’s local radio station dividing music by decades, and points out they simply started talking around the decades from 2000 to 2019. He implies that whether they resume this pattern in the 2020s will be a good indicator of whether this speech pattern will resume, but expressed doubt whether radio will last long enough to find out. This is a jab at the radio industry, which has been in decline for a long time as it has faced increasing competition from other communications technologies. While it is unlikely that the radio industry will cease to exist in the near future, further decline seems probable.
+The title text gives the specific example of [[Randall]]'s local radio station dividing music by decades, and points out they simply started talking around the decades from 2000 to 2019. He implies that whether they resume this pattern in the 2020s will be a good indicator of whether this speech pattern will resume, but expressed doubt whether radio will last long enough to find out. This is a jab at the radio industry, which has been in decline for a long time as it has faced increasing competition from other communications technologies. While it is unlikely that the radio industry will cease to exist in the near future, further decline seems probable.
-In the title text, he refers to his radio station changing taglines. The station is most likely referring to “Mix 104.1” as [https://radiodiscussions.com/threads/80s-gone-from-wbmx.592448/ this forum] recounts both the original and second tagline.
+In the title text, he refers to his radio station changing taglines. The station is most likely referring to "Mix 104.1" as [https://radiodiscussions.com/threads/80s-gone-from-wbmx.592448/ this forum] recounts both the original and second tagline.
 Twenties were discussed again later in [[2249: I Love the 20s]].
@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
 ==Trivia==
-* Randall has by mistake written “and and aughts” in the caption for this comic, instead of “and aughts”.
+* Randall has by mistake written "and and aughts" in the caption for this comic, instead of "and aughts".
 {{comic discussion}}

@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
 ==Trivia==
-*Randall has by mistake, written "and and aughts" in the caption for this comic, instead of "and aughts".
+* Randall has by mistake written “and and aughts” in the caption for this comic, instead of “and aughts”.
 {{comic discussion}}

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 ==Explanation==
 {{incomplete|Figure out what radio station Randall was talking about in the title text and mention what it does now.}}
-From the 1960s to the 1990s, it was common to group eras by decades. Fashion, music, and other cultural trends that changed relatively quickly were often defined by those decades.  People casually and commonly referred to "the sixties", and so on, to separate these periods.
+From the 1960s to the 1990s, it was common to group eras by decades. Fashion, music, and other cultural trends that changed relatively quickly were often defined by those decades.  People casually and commonly referred to “the sixties”, and so on, to separate these periods.
-This pattern broke down after 1999, because it didn't naturally lend itself to an analogous phrase for the year from 2000-2009. A number of different terms have been proposed and used: "the {{w|Aughts}}", and "[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-66199129 the noughties]" had been used for 1900-1909, but have an archaic flavor that may not work for everyone. "The "{{w|2000s}}" and "the millenium" are ambiguous and clunky. None of these terms ever became popular enough to become a consensus term. Similarly for the period from 2010-2019, terms like "the 2010s" and "the teens" have been used, but not widely accepted.
+This pattern broke down after 1999, because it didn’t naturally lend itself to an analogous phrase for the year from 2000-2009. A number of different terms have been proposed and used: “the {{w|Aughts}}”, and “[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-66199129 the noughties]” had been used for 1900-1909, but have an archaic flavor that may not work for everyone. “The {{w|2000s}}” and “the millenium” are ambiguous and clunky. None of these terms ever became popular enough to become a consensus term. Similarly for the period from 2010-2019, terms like “the 2010s” and “the teens” have been used, but not widely accepted.
-The practical upshot of all of this is that verbally splitting time periods into clear decades simply became less obvious for the periods since 2000. While people still refer to earlier time periods by decades, it is far less common to do so when referring to recent years. The roll-over text gives the example that we still refer to "music of the '80s and '90s" (although the comic omits the apostrophes that might normally indicate the missing century digits), but rarely refer to "music of the 2000s" or something similar.
+The practical upshot of all of this is that verbally splitting time periods into clear decades simply became less obvious for the periods since 2000. While people still refer to earlier time periods by decades, it is far less common to do so when referring to recent years. The roll-over text gives the example that we still refer to “music of the ’80s and ’90s” (although the comic omits the apostrophes that might normally indicate the missing century digits), but rarely refer to “music of the 2000s” or something similar.
 The time-line in the comic stretches into the future (as of the time of publication), and uses question marks to present uncertainty over whether the decade-grouping trend will return in the 2020s. On the one hand, such was a well-established custom, and we once again have clear language for it. On the other hand, after largely abandoning the custom for 20 years, it is far from certain that people will adopt it again.
-What isn't mentioned in the comic, but may be relevant, is that, in the absence of those decade categories, it has become more common to refer to time periods and the people who grew up in them by somewhat arbitrary generational categories: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millenials, Gen Z, and so on. This has provided an adequate substitute, since youth culture in the 2000s and 2010s has been more commonly defined as {{w|Millennials#Cultural_identity|millennial culture}}". There are drawbacks to this (both because the terms are more loosely defined, and because they often come with negative connotations), but these trends may have become sufficiently ingrained that they could displace the older decade-based divisions.
+What isn’t mentioned in the comic, but may be relevant, is that, in the absence of those decade categories, it has become more common to refer to time periods and the people who grew up in them by somewhat arbitrary generational categories: Baby Boomers, Generation&nbsp;X, Millennials, Gen&nbsp;Z, and so on. This has provided an adequate substitute, since youth culture in the 2000s and 2010s has been more commonly defined as “{{w|Millennials#Cultural_identity|millennial culture}}”. There are drawbacks to this (both because the terms are more loosely defined, and because they often come with negative connotations), but these trends may have become sufficiently ingrained that they could displace the older decade-based divisions.
-The title text gives the specific example of [[Randall]]'s local radio station dividing music by decades, and points out they simply started talking around the decades from 2000 to 2019. He implies that whether they resume this pattern in the 2020s will be a good indicator of whether this speech pattern will resume, but expressed doubt whether radio will last long enough to find out. This is a jab at the radio industry, which has been in decline for a long time as it has faced increasing competition from other communications technologies. While it is unlikely that the radio industry will cease to exist in the near future, further decline seems probable.
+The title text gives the specific example of [[Randall]]’s local radio station dividing music by decades, and points out they simply started talking around the decades from 2000 to 2019. He implies that whether they resume this pattern in the 2020s will be a good indicator of whether this speech pattern will resume, but expressed doubt whether radio will last long enough to find out. This is a jab at the radio industry, which has been in decline for a long time as it has faced increasing competition from other communications technologies. While it is unlikely that the radio industry will cease to exist in the near future, further decline seems probable.
 In the title text, he refers to his radio station changing taglines. The station is most likely referring to “Mix 104.1” as [https://radiodiscussions.com/threads/80s-gone-from-wbmx.592448/ this forum] recounts both the original and second tagline.

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:34, 30 September 2025
Line 8:		Line 8:

	==Explanation==		==Explanation==
		+	{{incomplete\|Figure out what radio station Randall was talking about in the title text and mention what it does now.}}
	From the 1960s to the 1990s, it was common to group eras by decades. Fashion, music, and other cultural trends that changed relatively quickly were often defined by those decades. People casually and commonly referred to "the sixties", and so on, to separate these periods.		From the 1960s to the 1990s, it was common to group eras by decades. Fashion, music, and other cultural trends that changed relatively quickly were often defined by those decades. People casually and commonly referred to "the sixties", and so on, to separate these periods.

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 This pattern broke down after 1999, because it didn't naturally lend itself to an analogous phrase for the year from 2000-2009. A number of different terms have been proposed and used: "the {{w|Aughts}}", and "the naughties" had been used for 1900-1909, but have an archaic flavor that never really caught on. "The "{{w|2000s}}" and "the millenium" are ambiguous and clunky. None of these terms ever became popular enough to become a consensus term. Similarly for the period from 2010-2019, terms like "the 2010s" and "the teens" have been used, but not widely accepted.
-The practical upshot of all of this is that verbally splitting time periods into clear decades simply became less obvious for the periods since 2000. While people still refer to earlier time periods by decades, it is far less common to do so when referring to recent years. The roll-over text gives the example that we still refer to "music of the '80s and '90s", but rarely refer to "music of the 2000s" or something similar.
+The practical upshot of all of this is that verbally splitting time periods into clear decades simply became less obvious for the periods since 2000. While people still refer to earlier time periods by decades, it is far less common to do so when referring to recent years. The roll-over text gives the example that we still refer to "music of the '80s and '90s" (although the comic omits the apostrophes that might normally indicate the missing century digits), but rarely refer to "music of the 2000s" or something similar.
 The time-line in the comic stretches into the future (as of the time of publication), and uses question marks to present uncertainty over whether the decade-grouping trend will return in the 2020s. On the one hand, such was a well-established custom, and we once again have clear language for it. On the other hand, after largely abandoning the custom for 20 years, it is far from certain that people will adopt it again.