• Re: TZUTC - reader's preference

    From August Abolins@1:153/149.42 to Matthew Asham on Sat Sep 13 03:42:33 2025
    OK. But I'm confused. :/

    Outgoing with -0700 I understand, since that is your TZ.
    But how exactly is my -0400 setting applied? I don't think I notice any adjustments.
    This is sent 1:42 EDT my time.

    --- Original Message ---
    From: Matthew Asham
    Date: 2025-09-13 08:42:48.557454
    Subject: Re: TZUTC test

    BinktermPHP uses the system time zone for outgoing messages and TZUTC for adjusting the date/time based on readers preference
    --- Original Message ---
    From: August Abolins
    Date: 2025-09-13 07:48:39.234531

    --- BinktermPHP v1.6.3
    * Origin: myPoint System ~ myPoint System - https://mypoint.lovelybits.org (1:153/149.42)
  • From August Abolins@1:153/149.42 to Matthew Asham on Sat Sep 13 03:55:44 2025
    OK. But I'm confused. :/

    Outgoing with -0700 I understand, since that is your TZ.
    But how exactly is my -0400 setting applied? I don't think I notice any adjustments.
    This is sent 1:42 EDT my time.

    --- Original Message ---
    From: Matthew Asham
    Date: 2025-09-13 08:42:48.557454
    Subject: Re: TZUTC test

    BinktermPHP uses the system time zone for outgoing messages and TZUTC for adjusting the date/time based on readers preference
    --- Original Message ---
    From: August Abolins
    Date: 2025-09-13 07:48:39.234531

    --- BinktermPHP v1.6.3
    * Origin: myPoint System ~ myPoint System - https://mypoint.lovelybits.org (1:153/149.42)
  • From Matthew Asham@1:153/149.42 to August Abolins on Sat Sep 13 05:49:53 2025
    What a local time setting should do is affect the display of the time so that it's the local viewers time.

    Something doesn't look right to me about the times to me. I'll have to take a look at this more. It should be saving the time as a UTC time and then using TZUTC as an offset calculator but I have a feeling it's doing something else.

    Thanks for pointing this out



    OK. But I'm confused. :/
    Outgoing with -0700 I understand, since that is your TZ.
    But how exactly is my -0400 setting applied? I don't think I notice any adjustments.
    This is sent 1:42 EDT my time.
    --- Original Message ---
    From: Matthew Asham
    Date: 2025-09-13 08:42:48.557454
    Subject: Re: TZUTC test
    BinktermPHP uses the system time zone for outgoing messages and TZUTC for adjusting the date/time based on readers preference
    --- Original Message ---
    From: August Abolins
    Date: 2025-09-13 07:48:39.234531

    --- BinktermPHP v1.6.3
    * Origin: myPoint System ~ myPoint System - https://mypoint.lovelybits.org (1:153/149.42)
  • From Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to Matthew Asham on Sat Sep 13 13:49:24 2025
    What a local time setting should do is affect the display of the time so that it's the local viewers time.

    No, the TZUTC setting simply tells you to take XX hours on or off the time of the message to get TZUTC time.

    Something doesn't look right to me about the times to me. I'll have to take a look at this more. It should be saving the time as a UTC time and then using TZUTC as an offset calculator but I have a feeling it's doing
    something else.

    Synchronet actually uses the time of the message and takes into account TZUTC and says in the header of the message something like this message was posted 30 minutes ago, or 90 minutes ago as the case may be. I'm not sure just how sysnchronet does that but something similar could be done if TZUTC is present.

    I suppose it's possible for a mail reader to post the message time in it's local timezone if it takes into account the TZUTC of the message and adjusts for it's local timezone but I don't know of any reader that does that.

    I don't think that is something you can do on your end.

    --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)
  • From Matthew Asham@1:153/149.42 to Alan Ianson on Sun Sep 14 01:14:30 2025
    Hi Alan!

    What a local time setting should do is affect the display of the time so that it's the local viewers time.
    No, the TZUTC setting simply tells you to take XX hours on or off the time of the message to get TZUTC time.
    Something doesn't look right to me about the times to me. I'll have to take a look at this more. It should be saving the time as a UTC time and then using TZUTC as an offset calculator but I have a feeling it's doing
    something else.

    For context we're talking about a timezone setting a user can change in their personal settings that affects the date/time display of the message.

    When the message comes in the system uses TZUTC to calculates the UTC time, records it in the database and then when the user is viewing the message another calculation is done based on their preferred timezone.

    In theory this means they'd see a 'local' date/timezone.

    I suppose it's possible for a mail reader to post the message time in it's local timezone if it takes into account the TZUTC of the message and adjusts for it's local timezone but I don't know of any reader that does that.

    I thought readers would use their local time and include the TZUTC kludge in their outbound packet to help remote systems render 'local time', but I understand TZUTC might not be implemented in which case it's unknown what time zone a Date and time actually are.

    Matthew

    --- BinktermPHP v1.6.3
    * Origin: myPoint System ~ myPoint System - https://mypoint.lovelybits.org (1:153/149.42)