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
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