[tz] Introduce Etc/UTC+x timezones?

Tim Parenti tim at timtimeonline.com
Tue May 2 17:49:18 UTC 2023


On Tue, 2 May 2023 at 13:35, Doug Ewell <doug at ewellic.org> wrote:

> My apologies; I misread what Tim wrote. He was suggesting to keep the
> “Etc/” prefix to avoid confusion as to what notation like “GMT+1” actually
> means.
>
> Others have indeed suggested using geographically named time zone
> identifiers, and I agree with them.


To be clear, in descending order of preference:

1. Use geographical lookup to avoid these issues altogether
2. Expose full geographical tzids with local rules — not without problems,
but fairly common
3. Expose something like "UTC-06" to select "Etc/GMT+6", abstracting away
the POSIX sign-flipping from users' perspective
4. Expose full non-geographical names like "Etc/GMT+6" but be ABUNDANTLY
clear in explaining what they mean in context
5. Leave users to guess or infer what the sign means

The gaps between most of these rungs in terms of overall user experience
are pretty steep.  My suggestion was more about moving up this ladder in
the context of those who are already eschewing the top two options, for
whatever reason.

--
Tim Parenti
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