"datetime" (Was: [whatwg] <output> and onforminput)

Jim Ley jim.ley at gmail.com
Fri Jun 25 17:34:04 PDT 2004


On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 00:14:52 +0000 (UTC), Ian Hickson <ian at hixie.ch> wrote:
> Yep which? I gave two mutually exclusive options.

Drop the timezone.

> > it's not used now, the timezone is always known through context
> 
> Which is a bug. The fact that Web applications now guess the timezone in
> contexts like these is not a feature.

it's the only one that works IMO.

> So because a small fraction of users may have incorrect settings, we
> should require that all users suffer the risks of the server guessing the
> timezone? Please.

Yes, since the failure scenarios inherent in ensuring that context is
provided when asking the user for a date, ensures that the user is
involved in correctly providing the time.  The proposal that removes
this requirement that the author be actively involved and leaves the
server in much more unknown situation.

> > My copy of Opera on Symbian 60 or the OS itself doesn't have anywhere to
> > tell the timezone, unless I've just not found it.)
> 
> Series 60 devices automatically set the timezone from the network
> provider, so it is always correct.

Oh dear, that's much worse!  That means neither the user, nor the
phone knows the right time in UTC terms!  - I don't change my phone
clock when I travel generally, so it's currently on UTC+1 time, it was
still that when I was in norway last week, but you're saying the phone
would've thought it was on UTC+2 because I was on a Norwegian network?
 That's very alarming news, and I'm very surprised it does that unless
it also updates the clock

> It is certainly not going to be more unreliable than having servers guess
> at the timezone.

Except this is a solved problem on the web IME (which is why I'm
asking for the use-cases)

> If you set a date for "30th June 2004 at 3:30", the server has absolutely
> no way to know which of around 36 hours you might actually mean.

Of course not, unless it's set the context for me to specify the time.
 That's what happens now, and what works now, I do not believe
introducing something I'm not even in control of (the timezone
information on my phone!) is going to simplify things.

Jim.



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