time zone survey

Arthur David Olson ado
Fri Jun 11 00:28:51 UTC 1993


Attached are results from a casual time zone survey.
Last week I ran through the news articles on nih-csl.dcrt.nih.gov
(the nntp newsfeed system for elsie.nci.nih.gov),
getting the "Date: " and "Message-ID: " line from each article.
Article file names were obtained from the news history file to ensure that
any cross-posted articles would only be used once.
I tossed out data with unzoned time stamps, data without a recognizable
domained system name in the Message-ID, and data from ".com" sites. 
This left 17,912 date/name pairs.  I massaged the data into the form...
	05210205	(AEST)	megalink.apana.org.au
	05010053	+0000	compex.e-burg.su
...where the first field gives two digits each of month, day, hour, and minute
from the Date, the second field gives the time zone that appeared in
the Date, and the third field is the system name from the Message-ID.
This data is available in the file ~ftp/pub/zonesurvey on elsie.nci.nih.gov
(128.231.16.1).

Eighty-nine different zones showed up (sorted alphabetically here):
	(AEST)   +0000    +0001    +0100    +02      +0200    +0300    +0400
	+0500    +0530    +0600    +0611    +0700    +0730    +0800    +0930
	+1       +1000    +1100    +1200    +1300    +1700    -0000    -0100
	-0300    -0400    -0500    -0520    -0600    -0700    -0800    -1
	-1000    -1200    -600     ACST     ADT      AEST     AET      ARG
	AST      BSC      BST      CDT      CED      CEST     CET      CST
	DST      EDT      EDZ      EET      EMT      EST      GMT      GMT+01
	GMT+0200 GMT+1    GMT+12   GMT+1200 GMT+2    IDT      IST      JST
	LCL      MDT      MED      MES      MEST     MESZ     MET      MEWT
	MEZ      MST      NDT      NZDT     NZST     PDT      PST      SGP
	TUR      TZONE    U        UT       WET      WET+0100 WST      XDT
	Y

The number of times each zone showed up (sorted by number of times here):
	3820 -0400    1925 EDT      1902 -0500    994 EST       919 -0700
	 913 CDT       748 +0000     690 +0200    664 CST       655 PDT
	 621 +0100     583 -0600     499 +1000    467 MDT       398 PST
	 275 +1200     211 BST       170 +0001    153 MET       138 -0800
	 135 MST       123 +0300     116 CET       98 +0800      97 -0300
	  53 +0400      51 +0930      45 -0100     36 +1300      35 WET
	  33 -0000      27 UT         23 ACST      22 MEZ        22 NZST
	  20 +1700      20 GMT+12     17 IDT       16 TUR        14 MESZ
	   9 +02         8 MEST        8 WET+0100   7 +0600       7 CED
	   7 CEST        7 LCL         6 AET        6 DST         6 EET
	   6 EMT         5 AST         5 GMT        5 GMT+01      5 GMT+0200
	   5 U           4 -1000       4 IST        3 +0700       3 +1100
	   3 -0520       3 -1200       3 -600       3 EDZ         3 TZONE
	   3 Y           2 ADT         2 ARG        2 BSC         2 GMT+1200
	   2 MED         2 MES         2 SGP        1 (AEST)      1 +0500
	   1 +0530       1 +0611       1 +0730      1 +1          1 -1
	   1 AEST        1 GMT+1       1 GMT+2      1 JST         1 MEWT
	   1 NDT         1 NZDT        1 WST        1 XDT

Aside from the 51 "+0930" articles from Australia, only four "oddball" numeric
time zones show up, and each of them only shows up from one system (the Date
and system name from the original data are shown here):
	   3 -0520
			Wed,  2 Jun 93 22:22:00 -0520	freddy.ampr.ab.ca
			Thu,  3 Jun 93 20:08:00 -0520	freddy.ampr.ab.ca
			Sat,  5 Jun 93 16:05:00 -0520	freddy.ampr.ab.ca
	   1 +0530
			1 Jun 93 15:30:55 +0530	imtech.ernet.in
	   1 +0611
			Wed, 02 Jun 93 16:08:33 +0611	trashcan.hacktic.nl
	   1 +0730
			6 Jun 1993 08:25:56 +0730	news.Colorado.EDU

Time zone abbrevations that show up in tzdata93c.tar.Z files:
	ADT	Atlantic Daylight Time
	AST	Atlantic Standard Time
	BST	British Standard Time
	CDT	Central Daylight Time
	CET	Central European Time
	CST	Central Standard Time
	EDT	Eastern Daylight Time
	EET	Eastern European Time
	EST	Eastern Standard Time
	IDT	Israeli Daylight Time
	IST	Israeli Standard Time
	JST	Japanese Standard Time
	MDT	Mountain Daylight Time
	MET	Middle European Time
	MST	Mountain Standard Time
	NZDT	New Zealand Daylight Time
	NZST	New Zealand Standard Time
	PDT	Pacific Daylight Time
	PST	Pacific Standard Time
	WET	Western European Time
	WST	Western Standard Time

Time zone abbreviations that are fairly clear are:
	(AEST)	Australian Eastern Standard Time (used only by one system)
		Fri, 21 May 93 02:05:36 (AEST)	megalink.apana.org.au
	ACST	Australian Central Standard Time
		21 May 93 13:18:16 ACST	state.systems.sa.gov.au
		Tue, 25 May 93 13:27:42 ACST	cola.pax.tpa.com.au
		...
		4 Jun 93 00:47:42 ACST	state.systems.sa.gov.au
		Sun, 06 Jun 93 19:13:17 ACST	cola.pax.tpa.com.au
	AEST	Australian Eastern Standard Time
		Fri, 04 Jun 93 21:47:10 AEST	ese.escape.brisnet.org.au
	AET	Australian Eastern Time (used only by one system)
		10 May 93 08:50:04 AET	licre.ludwig.edu.au
		27 May 93 19:00:11 AET	licre.ludwig.edu.au
		28 May 93 12:46:13 AET	licre.ludwig.edu.au
		1 Jun 93 08:46:51 AET	licre.ludwig.edu.au
		1 Jun 93 09:02:16 AET	licre.ludwig.edu.au
		7 Jun 93 14:52:39 AET	licre.ludwig.edu.au
	CED	Central European Daylight
		28 Apr 93 21:00:06 CED	alphanet.alphanet.ch
		27 May 93 22:53:59 CED	sourcery.han.de
		28 May 93 18:36:06 CED	sourcery.han.de
		1 Jun 93 22:16:54 CED	sourcery.han.de
		1 Jun 93 22:22:52 CED	sourcery.han.de
		1 Jun 93 22:45:24 CED	sourcery.han.de
		2 Jun 93 21:05:10 CED	sourcery.han.de
	CEST	Central European Standard Time
		Tue, 25 May 93 07:26:34 CEST	obula.nbg.sub.org
		Tue, 25 May 93 15:58:02 CEST	obula.nbg.sub.org
		Wed, 26 May 93 12:46:27 CEST	obula.nbg.sub.org
		Tue, 01 Jun 93 11:18:35 CEST	obula.nbg.sub.org
		Wed, 02 Jun 93 08:42:25 CEST	obula.nbg.sub.org
		Fri, 04 Jun 1993 17:45:26 CEST	oktagon.rd.sub.org
		Sun, 06 Jun 93 20:44:27 CEST	scrum.greenie.muc.de
	MED	Middle European Daylight (used only by one system)
		3 Jun 93 00:17:24 MED	lifestyle.rhein-main.de
		6 Jun 93 12:27:48 MED	lifestyle.rhein-main.de
	MES	Middle European Standard (used only by one system)
		Sat, 22 May 93 12:46:44 MES	wolferts.ka.sub.org
		Sun, 06 Jun 93 15:05:50 MES	wolferts.ka.sub.org
	MESZ	Middle European Standard Zone
		Tue, 25 May 1993 17:49:06 MESZ	email.tuwien.ac.at
		Wed, 26 May 1993 12:12:26 MESZ	gwdu14.gwdg.de
		Wed, 26 May 93 14:03:58 MESZ	lbl.gov
		Fri, 28 May 1993 00:02:42 MESZ	nasim.sta.sub.org
		Fri, 28 May 1993 00:03:34 MESZ	nasim.sta.sub.org
		Fri, 28 May 1993 00:04:26 MESZ	nasim.sta.sub.org
		Fri, 28 May 1993 00:12:50 MESZ	nasim.sta.sub.org
		Fri, 28 May 1993 00:13:56 MESZ	nasim.sta.sub.org
		Fri, 28 May 1993 00:15:10 MESZ	nasim.sta.sub.org
		Sat, 29 May 1993 01:30:40 MESZ	nasim.sta.sub.org
		Tue, 01 Jun 1993 00:46:06 MESZ	nasim.sta.sub.org
		Thu, 03 Jun 93 10:48:04 MESZ	aie.wu-wien.ac.at
		Fri, 4 Jun 93 10:56:33 MESZ	exaib.wu-wien.ac.at
		Fri, 4 Jun 93 11:06:41 MESZ	exaib.wu-wien.ac.at
	MEST	Middle European Standard Time
		Tue, 25 May 93 12:45:47 MEST	xivic.bo.open.de
		Tue, 25 May 93 14:20:53 MEST	xivic.bo.open.de
		Tue, 25 May 93 14:48:22 MEST	xivic.bo.open.de
		Wed, 26 May 93 23:22:22 MEST	joker.wes.open.de
		Sat, 29 May 1993 18:22:55 MEST	netmbx.netmbx.de
		Sat, 29 May 1993 18:21:07 MEST	netmbx.netmbx.de
		Sun, 30 May 1993 12:57:21 MEST	netmbx.netmbx.de
		Tue, 1 Jun 1993 21:51:09 MEST	netmbx.netmbx.de
	MEZ	Middle European Zone (used primarily in Germany)
		Mon, 10 May 93 20:47:50 MEZ	rhrz.uni-bonn.de
		Wed, 26 May 93 12:59:57 MEZ	vm.univie.ac.at
		...
		Sun, 06 Jun 1993 14:32:28 MEZ	sartar.toppoint.de
		Sun, 06 Jun 1993 18:37:50 MEZ	sartar.toppoint.de
	UT	Universal Time (used only by one system)
		29 May 1993 21:14 UT	kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
		31 May 1993 15:40 UT	kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
		...
		3 Jun 1993 21:36 UT	kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
		4 Jun 1993 00:20 UT	kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
	WET+0100	Western European Time+0100
		8 Apr 93 15:00:02 WET+0100	ittpub.nl
		1 Jun 93 19:26:08 WET+0100	ittpub.nl
		2 Jun 93 16:17:13 WET+0100	ittpub.nl
		2 Jun 93 20:24:36 WET+0100	ittpub.nl
		4 Jun 93 13:32:33 WET+0100	ittpub.nl
		4 Jun 93 13:39:50 WET+0100	ittpub.nl
		4 Jun 93 13:47:53 WET+0100	ittpub.nl
		4 Jun 93 14:08:22 WET+0100	ittpub.nl

Time zone abbreviations that are guesswork are:
	ARG	Argentina?
		Tue, 25 May 93 12:46:21 ARG	satlink.net
		Thu, 27 May 93 07:36:01 ARG	satlink.net
	BSC	?
		Tue, 25 May 1993 10:51:05 BSC	FINHUTC.HUT.FI
		Tue, 1 Jun 1993 11:57:00 BSC	brfapesp.bitnet
	DST	Daylight Saving Time?
		Thu, 27 May 93 11:00:24 DST	cmrra.ca
		Thu, 27 May 93 23:31:02 DST	cmrra.ca
		Fri, 28 May 93 17:26:14 DST	cmrra.ca
		Sat, 29 May 93 16:48:42 DST	cmrra.ca
		Sat, 29 May 93 16:54:30 DST	cmrra.ca
		Sun, 30 May 93 14:38:30 DST	cmrra.ca
	EDZ	?
		Mon, 31 May 93 18:14:42 EDZ	wship.nullnet.fi
		Fri, 04 Jun 93 20:41:41 EDZ	swob.nullnet.fi
		Fri, 04 Jun 93 20:53:45 EDZ	swob.nullnet.fi
	EMT	?
		28 Apr 1993 12:08:23 EMT	alf.uib.no
		29 Apr 1993 11:15:44 EMT	alf.uib.no
		29 Apr 1993 11:17:15 EMT	alf.uib.no
		28 May 1993 17:56:54 EMT	alf.uib.no
		1 Jun 1993 19:43:42 EMT	alf.uib.no
		3 Jun 1993 18:09:42 EMT	alf.uib.no
	MEWT	?
		12 May 93 07:41:03 MEWT	mble.philips.be
	LCL	LoCaL time?
		Tue, 1 Jun 1993 09:18:43 LCL	kona.cc.mcgill.ca
		Wed, 2 Jun 1993 07:48:00 LCL	mp.cs.niu.edu
		Wed, 2 Jun 1993 13:44:00 LCL	mp.cs.niu.edu
		Thu, 3 Jun 1993 09:33:00 LCL	oas2-tic.safb.af.mil
		Thu, 3 Jun 1993 08:25:39 LCL	grouse.umesve.maine.edu
		Fri, 4 Jun 1993 20:09:05 LCL	CUVMB.COLUMBIA.EDU
		Fri, 4 Jun 1993 20:19:59 LCL	CUVMB.COLUMBIA.EDU
	NDT	?
		Tue, 25 May 1993 15:39:29 NDT	UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU
	SGP	?
		Mon, 31 May 93 15:43:36 SGP	uwm.edu
		Fri, 4 Jun 93 10:20:26 SGP	uwm.edu
	TUR	Turkey?
		Wednesday, 5 May 1993 23:23:11 TUR	TRMETU.BITNET
		Wednesday, 26 May 1993 09:03:58 TUR	TRMETU.BITNET
		Wednesday, 26 May 1993 09:05:39 TUR	TRMETU.BITNET
		Wednesday, 26 May 1993 09:06:26 TUR	TRMETU.BITNET
		Wednesday, 26 May 1993 20:47:38 TUR	TRMETU.BITNET
		Thursday, 27 May 1993 10:15:14 TUR	TRMETU.BITNET
		Thursday, 27 May 1993 12:28:59 TUR	TREARN.BITNET
		Thursday, 27 May 1993 13:20:19 TUR	TRMETU.BITNET
		Thursday, 27 May 1993 15:20:12 TUR	TRMETU.BITNET
		Friday, 28 May 1993 11:01:42 TUR	TREARN.BITNET
		Friday, 28 May 1993 12:53:52 TUR	TRMETU.BITNET
		Sunday, 30 May 1993 12:15:24 TUR	TREARN.BITNET
		Saturday, 29 May 1993 12:46:01 TUR	TRMETU.BITNET
		Monday, 31 May 1993 21:44:49 TUR	TRMETU.BITNET
		Saturday, 5 Jun 1993 18:30:45 TUR	TREARN.BITNET
		Sunday, 6 Jun 1993 13:14:56 TUR	TREARN.BITNET
	TZONE	?
		Mon, 31 May 1993 05:01:19 TZONE	VAXF.COLORADO.EDU
		Wed, 2 Jun 1993 19:59:49 TZONE	carson.u.washington.edu
		Fri, 4 Jun 1993 09:21:33 TZONE	sunburn.uwaterloo.ca
	XDT	?
		Tue, 25 May 1993 10:20:55 XDT	sfanet.nrl.navy.mil
		
The results make me think there's little prospect of discovering useful
time zone information (in particular, time transitions that don't already
show up in tzdata93c.tar.Z) from running through news articles; someone
with an account on a site that does extensive archiving of news might prove
me wrong.

				--ado



More information about the tz mailing list