Russia autumn 1996 DST patch

[Андрей Чернов (Andrey A. Chernov)]

> I'm not completely convinced by the technical part of your argument.

New names wasn't serious problem from technical part, I see most
problems from human resources part. I.e. all changes required
to adapt new names are technically simple, but cause bug troubles
and confusion to people.

> However, since you're the person on the spot, I guess we should follow
> your advice and use `MSK'/`MSD'.  I'll draft a revised patch along
> these lines.

Thanx!

> It would help if you could send me your recollection of where these
> abbreviations came from; I can put them in as comments.  For example,
> you wrote that MSK and MSD have been used for 10 years or more, but
> they've been in the tz database only for 3 years or so; where were
> they used before that?

MSK/MSD was born and used initially on Moscow computers with Unix-like
OSes by several developer groups (f.e. Demos group, Kiae group).
In those times we don't have any serious connectivity to
the rest of the world, so they was used internally.
Next step was UUCP network, Relcom predecessor (used mainly for Mail),
and MSK/MSD actively used there.
Next step was Internet connections which inherits tz conventions from earlier
variant.

> I looked into those WSU DST dates some more and found that they all
> came from glas.apc.org
> (e.g. <URL:news:APC&63'0'1dd99a0b'd25 at glas.apc.org>); perhaps it's an
> old gateway.

WSU is obviously homemade. Don't relay match on Glasnet things,
this provider comes here only recently, better look at Relcom
postings (most of *.ru, *.su domains without any 'glas' prefix),
Relcom is oldest Internet provider here.

For Russsian language Usenet you can look at relcom.* hierarchy.
Don't expect to find many zones there, because
most of world-spreaded Newsreaders don't know anything about Russians.
BTW, relcom.* hierarchy can give you more hits because Mail/News
gateway still used here.
If you'll find some Russian Mail lists archived, it give you more
success. I know lists, but don't know any archived.
I can send you Date:'s from my home Mail folders, if it can
be considered as proof.

> I noticed also, by the way, that `MST' was used for `Moscow summer
> time' in some English-language reports of preliminary returns in the
> Russian presidential election; e.g. see
> <URL:news:APC&63'0'4e79b8c1'8b4 at glas.apc.org> (1996-06-17), which you
> can find by visiting <URL:http://dejanews.com/forms/dnq.html> and
> searching for `"Moscow summer time" MST' in the Old Usenet database.

I also saw MST, but in English enviroment only.

-- 
Andrey A. Chernov
<ache at nagual.ru>
http://www.nagual.ru/~ache/