[tz] Preparing to fork tzdb

[Paul Eggert]

On 9/24/21 9:35 AM, Almaz Mingaleev wrote:

> Using repo history only I get the impression that in 2021 you
> merge zones because they were merged in 2014.

Yes, the 2021 alike-since-1970 merges were part of a process that began 
in 2013 or so. The reasons for that process were discussed back then; 
you can dig them out of the mailing list and they should help answer 
some of the other questions in your email. Those reasons were not 
primarily based on equity per se (sorry, don't recall details offhand).

What's happened since 2013, unfortunately, is that I am both busy and 
forgetful, and after getting about two-thirds of the way through the 
process over the next few years, I forgot to finish it. The result is 
that we have 2021a where about 30 Zones (notably the much-discussed 
Europe/Oslo and Europe/Stockholm) currently have "preferred" status, 
whereas the other roughly 350 Zones are following the guidelines.

This situation creates the appearance (and some would say the reality) 
of national or ethnic preferences in tzdb. This equity issue was raised 
early this year, and my recent alike-since-1970 changes were in response 
to that. Basically they reply to the complaint by saying, "You're right! 
I messed up. Here's the fix that will make tzdb fairer again."