[news.software.b] GMT in history file?

ecl@mtgzy.UUCP (12/03/86)

Suddenly the times in our history file are GMT instead of EST.  The TZ
variable on our system is set to "EST5EDT" and exported (and always has been).
Everything was fine until sometime around 11/25.  We're running 2.11 with
patch #1.  I can't find anyplace in the software where one needs to set the
timezone.  Help?

					Evelyn C. Leeper
					(201) 957-2070
				UUCP:	ihnp4!mtgzy!ecl
				ARPA:	mtgzy!ecl@rutgers.rutgers.edu
I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked
at it the right way, did not become still more complicated.
                             --Poul Anderson

rick@seismo.CSS.GOV (Rick Adams) (12/04/86)

The dates are now stored in GMT regardless of your local time zone.
Your user agent (vnews/rn/whatever) should convert to your local time
for you. The programs all read it as GMT.

---rick

shannon@sun.uucp (Bill Shannon) (12/05/86)

In article <42762@beno.seismo.CSS.GOV>, rick@seismo.CSS.GOV (Rick Adams) writes:
> The dates are now stored in GMT regardless of your local time zone.
> Your user agent (vnews/rn/whatever) should convert to your local time
> for you. The programs all read it as GMT.
> 
> ---rick

Unfortunately, when news articles are sent to a non-news system (such
as sending them to a pseudo-system that really mails them to a mailing
list), the dates are left in GMT and the people reading the article
via mail see weird dates.

philip@axis.UUCP (Philip Peake) (12/05/86)

In article <42762@beno.seismo.CSS.GOV> rick@seismo.UUCP writes:
>The dates are now stored in GMT regardless of your local time zone.
>Your user agent (vnews/rn/whatever) should convert to your local time
>for you. The programs all read it as GMT.

This *should* be the case. Unfortunately, there are several (dare I say
many) UNIX merchants in europe who just sell the machines as they arrive,
i.e. with the timezone set to EST or PST.

There are two major reasons for this, firstly, the country may not have
a name for its time-zone (as here), or, secondly (and more commonly) due
to incompetence.

This has the effect that any non-local time-zone time-stamps comming
from europe should be regarded with suspision - as should any
time-stamp with the time-zone specified as EST or PST - they may
just come from europe ......

Philip