[Bug 17857] New: i18n-ISSUE-92: time zone vs. time zone offset

https://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=17857

           Summary: i18n-ISSUE-92: time zone vs. time zone offset
           Product: HTML WG
           Version: unspecified
          Platform: Other
        OS/Version: other
            Status: NEW
          Severity: normal
          Priority: P3
         Component: other Hixie drafts (editor: Ian Hickson)
        AssignedTo: ian@hixie.ch
        ReportedBy: contributor@whatwg.org
         QAContact: contributor@whatwg.org
                CC: ian@hixie.ch, mike@w3.org, public-i18n-core@w3.org,
                    w3-bugs@norbertlindenberg.com


This was was cloned from bug 16962 as part of operation convergence.
Originally filed: 2012-05-07 17:17:00 +0000
Original reporter: Addison Phillips <addison@lab126.com>

================================================================================
 #0   Addison Phillips                                2012-05-07 17:17:26 +0000 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.5.5.7 Global dates and times
http://dev.w3.org/html5/spec/single-page.html#global-dates-and-times

This section gives a number of examples that equate time zone offset with an
actual time zone. For example:

--
"1979-10-14T12:00:00.001-04:00"
One millisecond after noon on October 14th 1979, in the time zone in use on the
east coast of the USA during daylight saving time.
--

It should be made clear that a zone offset is not the same thing as a time
zone. Mention should be made of the need for separate time zone information
when working with real date and time values in use cases that depend on it (see
our note "Working with Time Zones")

Norbert commented:

The issue really is: why don't we use IANA time zone names to identify time
zones? "-04:00" could be "the time zone in use on the east coast of the USA
during daylight saving time", but it could also be one of many other time
zones.
================================================================================
 #1   Ian 'Hixie' Hickson                             2012-05-10 18:02:26 +0000 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The example quoted is accurate -- the time it refers to is indeed on the east
coast of the USA, and not another time zone that happens to have the offset
-04:00. There's no way to tell that from the time itself, but that's just a
limitation of the ISO format. Are there any cases where the terms are confused?
I thought I had been careful about the way the terms were used.
================================================================================
 #2   Norbert Lindenberg                              2012-05-16 02:07:04 +0000 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How do you know "the time it refers to is indeed on the east coast of the USA"
and not in Venezuela?
================================================================================

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Received on Wednesday, 18 July 2012 07:04:44 UTC