[tz] Ambiguous abbreviations for Australian timezones when daylight savings is in affect

[Tobias Conradi]

On Mon, Apr 1, 2013 at 12:28 PM, Alan Barrett <apb at cequrux.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 28 Mar 2013, David Patte ₯ wrote:
>>
>> For those blocking this from being fixed, the most common excuse is that
>> tz is not supposed to impose its own abbreviations upon its users, but by
>> not going with anything the Australians are using - tz is doing exactly
>> that.
>
>
> I don't think that anybody wants the tz database to use different
> abbreviations from what is in common use in Australia.
Then why the IANA timezone database contains EST for Daylight saving
time in Eastern Australia?

> What's blocking this from being *changed* is that we believe that the
> existing abbreviations *are* in common use in Australia,
Who is "we"? Not even Paul is believing it as shown by his October 2012 message.

> but that other
> abbreviations are also in common use, and we have no good way to choose
> between the two (or more) sets of abbreviations, so it seems best to retain
> the status quo.

Again, this is not about just choosing a /new/ set, but it is about
one that uses one acronym for each zone during daylight saving time.

> If you want change, then it is incumbent on you to demonstrate that your
> preferred abbreviations are either in wider use than the alternatives, or
> have more official government backing than the alternatives.
Why?

> Selective
> quoting from some web sites does
> not constitute such a demonstration.
How would you demonstrate "official government backing" if not by
selecting a subset of official government websites?


-- 
Tobias Conradi
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http://tobiasconradi.com/