[tz] Policy Suggestion: Minimum time period betwen releases

[Rany Hany]

While I understand your frustration with recent chaos caused by poor 
planning, I have to respectfully reject your proposal for the following 
reasons:

Firstly, implementing a 30-day minimum period between releases would 
punish users who have outdated tzdata solely because they are ruled by 
incompetent governments. While it may be easy to blame politicians for 
poor planning, citizens and businesses should not be penalized for 
factors beyond their control.

Secondly, deliberately making the latest tzinfo inaccurate would only 
lead to more issues rather than solve them. Accurate and up-to-date time 
zone information is essential for global communication and coordination, 
and any intentional inaccuracy would create confusion and further chaos.

Best

On 3/27/23 19:46, Howard Hinnant via tz wrote:

> Recent events have brought to my attention the need to put a damper on chaos caused by poor planning.  When governments give little notice to changes in time zone rules, this is not a problem that this group can fix, or should even try.
>
> I propose a minimum period of 30 days between successive IANA tz database releases.  The train leaves the station no more frequently than once every 30 days (and will probably be less frequent).  Whatever information is solid before the release date makes it on the train.  Otherwise it can wait another 30 days (at least).
>
> My recommendation is in part based on this common statement:
>
>      Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part
>      https://www.incirlik.af.mil/News/Commentaries/Display/Article/303134/poor-planning-on-your-part-does-not-constitute-an-emergency-on-my-part/
>
> This week’s chaos isn’t unusual.  In fact it is normal, especially for some countries.  If they can’t be bothered to make a plan in advance and stick with it, I don’t see why this group of volunteers needs to compensate for that.  Let the politicians lie in the beds they make.
>
> Howard
>