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From: jef@ace.ee.lbl.gov (Jef Poskanzer)
Newsgroups: news.software.b
Subject: Re: Is anyone interested in putting local time in the "Date:" header?
Message-ID: <4309@helios.ee.lbl.gov>
Date: 29 Nov 89 03:05:54 GMT
References: <2184@coconut.bbn.com>
Sender: usenet@helios.ee.lbl.gov
Reply-To: Jef Poskanzer <jef@well.sf.ca.us>
Organization: Paratheo-Anametamystikhood Of Eris Esoteric, Ada Lovelace Cabal
Lines: 27

In the referenced message, rsalz@bbn.com (Rich Salz) wrote:
}This seems self-contradictory.  You can't do GMT->foreign local
}because you don't know the rules, but you can do foreign local->GMT?
}I don't think time converstions work that way.  Am I just confused?

You're confused.  You can't do GMT->foreign local time not because
you don't know the rules, but because you don't know what time zone
the message came from.  The information isn't there.

However, Henry's objection makes more sense.  I wasn't aware that
time zone notation was not standardized.  That's rather unfortunate,
and I agree that it blows this scheme out of the water.

}I think the thing that makes the most sense is to display dates in
}local time at the reading machine.

This sounds like a useful option to add to a newsreader, but I'm not
interested in adding it.

The best compromise from my point of view might be to generate and look
for an "X-Local-Date:" header.  Anyone see any problems with this?
---
Jef

  Jef Poskanzer  jef@well.sf.ca.us  {ucbvax, apple, hplabs}!well!jef
     "To err is human.  To blame it on someone else is politics."
                         -- Hubert H. Humphrey