TZ database content

Robert Elz kre at munnari.OZ.AU
Mon Feb 12 11:09:48 UTC 2001


    Date:        Mon, 12 Feb 2001 02:24:23 -0800
    From:        "John A. Halloran" <seagoat at primenet.com>
    Message-ID:  <3.0.6.32.20010212022423.00e03a30 at pop.primenet.com>

  | You mention Lord Howe Island and then ask where South Australian Time with
  | a standard of -10:30 comes from.  Lord Howe is the only Australian location
  | that observes South Australian Time.

What?   How could anyone call whatever the timezone is in Lord Howe
"South Australian" - Lord Howe is off the north east coast of NSW,
nowhere near the state of South Australia, and not anywhere near the
generic south of Australia.

  | Norfolk Island at -11:30 is standardized to what the list calls New Zealand
  | Time.

Huh?   Has NZ ever had a 11:30 offset from UTC?

  | Zone names are important for the human interface, to be matched
  | and linked to when possible.  Don't discount the importance of the human
  | interface.

This is the only rational use for named zones - but how can you possibly
be considering that as important if you're telling people in Afghanistan
that they have to use Iranian time instead of their own?  Or that French
Polynesia (or a part of it) lives in an Australian timezone?

If human considerations count, all that is bogus.   If they don't, then
numeric zones are what is needed, and sufficient.

kre





More information about the tz mailing list