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It looks like that text like "2 seconds ago" has been changed to "just now". This makes sense with time that has ended, like the time of posting questions/answers/comments.

When trying to accept an answer one also gets this time text in a message, like this:

You can accept an answer in 30 seconds

However, with the "just now" update the wording in this case has become a little weird:

You can accept an answer just now

It says it's possible to accept an answer 'just now' but in fact it's not possible at the moment you get the message.

Although this may sound like nitpicking, I'd like to propose changing it to something more meaningful.

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  • 5
    Regression caused by this, possibly?
    – hammar
    Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 14:42
  • 5
    Good catch! I think most simple solution is to put back the old counter in this specific scenario so the user will know exactly when he can accept the answer.
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 14:47
  • Even if you could accept at that point (not getting the message,) the message is entirely awkward anyway. What on earth has 'just' got to do with anything anyway, sounds as informal as slang. What's wrong with 'now' for now? Since we're talking of relative times, anything after now has no comparison containing 'now.' (i.e '2 minutes after 'just now'')
    – Grant Thomas
    Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 15:23
  • 1
    "If you are reading this message, you can accept an answer."
    – tvanfosson
    Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 15:48
  • Changing it to "now" isn't a bad idea; that would fix this one as well
    – Michael Mrozek
    Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 15:57
  • @Mr.D It indicates that the time is not exactly now, but rather in the near vicinity of now. Using "just" that way is quite common and not informal. "About now" would mean nearly the same thing but is more awkward, and "around now" seems too loose. I like "just now" when shown on a post I just made. In fact you can think of it as being short for "this post was just made now" or similar.
    – user154510
    Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 16:01
  • @Michael Would it? Still seems weird to me. The page should just refresh itself if it wants you to refresh it immediately.
    – user154510
    Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 16:02
  • 4
    @Matthew Well, giving you the error "you can accept an answer now" isn't great either, but at least it's grammatical
    – Michael Mrozek
    Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 16:22
  • Please fix this immediately!
    – JonH
    Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 16:50
  • 1
    @Michael: Alternatively "just now" could only apply to short time differences in the past and "momentarily" could apply to short time differences in the future.
    – Rick Sladkey
    Commented Sep 13, 2011 at 22:55

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
5

Changing this so for future dates < 4 seconds it will be

you can foo the bar momentarily

while for past dates < 4 seconds it will remain

you fooed the bar just now

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  • 19
    Please don't use "momentarily". To those of us not using American English that means "for a moment" (so then you'll get people asking why they can only accept an answer for a few seconds), please consider just using "in a moment" or "in a few seconds", which mean exactly what they say. (Sorry to move the comment, but this post is the newer, and probably more relevant, one)
    – DMA57361
    Commented Sep 14, 2011 at 9:01
  • 6
    I second @DMA and "in a few seconds" sounds better IMO.
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Sep 14, 2011 at 9:16
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    I should say my point isn't against American English, but that "you can foo the bar momentarily" reads incorrectly to anyone using another form of the language (and so a sizeable(?) proportion of the site's users), while something like "you can foo the bar in a few seconds" should read correctly for everyone.
    – DMA57361
    Commented Sep 14, 2011 at 9:21
  • 3
    'Usage Note: Momentarily is widely used in speech to mean "in a moment," as in The manager is on another line, but she'll be with you momentarily. This usage rarely leads to ambiguity since the intended sense can usually be determined on the basis of the tense of the verb and the context. Nonetheless, many critics hold that the adverb should be reserved for the senses "for a moment," and the extended usage is unacceptable to 59 percent of the Usage Panel.' Sometimes bells and whistles only serve to create noise.
    – Grant Thomas
    Commented Sep 14, 2011 at 17:22
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    @Mr.D tbh, I'm not sure if you're agreeing with my comment or making a point against it?
    – DMA57361
    Commented Sep 16, 2011 at 10:42
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The current logic is to use the phrase "just now" for time intervals less than four seconds in duration.

If it isn't too much trouble to implement, I think the user should just be allowed to accept the answer (the error message is not displayed) if the timer is within five seconds of expiring anyway.

Extra points for doing it this way on any timer that inhibits a user action (except for rate limiters like the timer to slow down posting of multiple comments).

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1
  • I know this has been discussed over and over, but I would give the extra points if this is done on any timer that inhibits a user action, especially for rate limiters like the timer to slow down flagging of multiple comments.
    – Stewie Griffin
    Commented Jan 15, 2015 at 15:01

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