[tz] Lebanon DST change internally disputed

[Tim Parenti]

On Sat, 25 Mar 2023 at 16:46, Jad Baz via tz <tz at iana.org> wrote:

> Lebanon is going through many internal disputes surrounding the latest
> decision to delay DST
>

Thanks for the heads-up.  This situation is unfortunate and is just one
of many reasons we advise governments to disseminate these changes far in
advance.  Thankfully, this sort of division appears rare in recent memory,
but it has the potential to be incredibly disruptive when it does occur,
and there's not really anything we can do about that.


> All of these concerns are important to bring to light in view of IANA's
> procedures for updating timezone data:
> If you would ask today "what the average person on the street would think
> the time actually is", it's not at all clear what the answer would be
>

Yes, it appears many in Lebanon are planning to set their clocks forward
in about 15 minutes while others plan to wait a few more weeks.  Hopefully
those differences can be reconciled, and the situation can clear itself up
somewhat over the next few days.  Do keep us posted.

In the meantime we have, by coincidence of timing, two tz versions which
differ only by the Lebanese government's recent announcement.  Though it's
certainly an imperfect solution, those hoping to observe the government's
announced delay of DST could use tz version 2023b, while those choosing to
ignore the delay could use 2023a (or even 2022g if they don't care about
handling timestamps in Egypt, Greenland, Morocco, and Palestine.)  Of
course, such a split approach would present some pretty major
interoperability challenges.

--
Tim Parenti
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