List current date and time

[nvn]

Would you like to have the current date and time listed on each Physics Forums (PF) page?

I voted yes in the above poll, because as-is, with the current time not listed on PF, users who are not logged in do not know what current time PF is referring to.

And I would also suggest, as a separate suggestion, using the international standard date and time format (ISO 8601) on PF. ISO 8601 is the only international standard date and time format, and is the same for all countries worldwide. It is easily understood worldwide. And it is not biased toward any particular, arbitrary, colloquial, personal preference. The international standard format looks like this: 2011-12-18, 15:40 Z[/color], where Z is an abbreviation meaning UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) time zone. Although any time zone could be listed, UTC is the best default choice for a worldwide web site.

The majority of users are browsing without being logged in, which uses the default time zone. Therefore, the current date, time, and default time zone needs to be listed at the bottom (and/or top) of each page, in the default international standard format, when users are not logged in, so users will know what current time PF is referring to, relative to the post time stamps.

 

[cristo]

Erm.. why? Doesn't your computer have the date and time on it?

 

[Evo]

There is no need for it.

 

[micromass]

I don't think it is that necessary...

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

While you're at it, would you also put the temperature and barometric pressure. Thanks.

 

[Evo]

While you're at it, would you also put the temperature and barometric pressure. Thanks.

Oh, now that I'd go for.

 

[Doc Al]

And put an indicator of Evo's mood!

 

[Evo]

And put an indicator of Evo's mood!

Just put a black bar on the side.

 

[Borek]

Just put a black bar on the side.

I have a black monitor frame on all sides, now I know what it means.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

I'm not sure of the need for this, are you aware that you can set the time you want to view PF in? When you do this you see all the times/dates listed as they are in the time zone you want e.g. if someone in New York at 8pm local time on the 19th of December someone who has set their PF time for London will see the time stamp of the post listed as 1am on the 20th of December.

 

[nvn]

Ryan_m_b: Thank you (and everyone) for your comment. Yes, I was aware of that. In post 1, I am referring to the thousands of users (say, 97 % of users, at any given moment) who are not logged in. Users who are not logged in (and who are therefore viewing the default "skin") typically do not know what time zone system a post timestamp is written in. Simply displaying the current time (according to the forum), at the bottom of the page, dispels the mystery. This is common in some forums.

There is no reason for not defining what time zone is being used in the post timestamps for the thousands of users who are not logged in. Simply listing the current time (according to the forum) at the bottom of the page is easy, and dispels the confusion.

 

[Evo]

Ryan_m_b: Thank you (and everyone) for your comment. Yes, I was aware of that. In post 1, I am referring to the thousands of users (say, 97 % of users, at any given moment) who are not logged in. Users who are not logged in (and who are therefore viewing the default "skin") typically do not know what time zone system a post timestamp is written in. Simply displaying the current time (according to the forum), at the bottom of the page, dispels the mystery. This is common in some forums.

There is no reason for not defining what time zone is being used in the post timestamps for the thousands of users who are not logged in. Simply listing the current time (according to the forum) at the bottom of the page is easy, and dispels the confusion.

Posting time at the bottom of the page? What would that accomplish? You mean the forum time? Forum time is US CST. It would have nothing to do with the times of the individual posts, and why would someone need to know the time of an individual post? Sorry, I'm just trying to figure out what the need is.

 

[drizzle]

Or just point out the forum timezone, in forum policies/guidelines and rules...

 

[nvn]

Evo: Listing the current forum time at the bottom of the page would dispel confusion. Let me show you an example of the confusion.

In post 12, you claimed the default time zone is UTC-6 (which you colloquially called US CST). You posted post 12 at 20:35 UTC, which is 14:35 UTC-6. If we convert 14:35 to a 12 hour clock (which is not an international standard), that would be 2:35 PM. But if you log out, notice the time stamp on post 12 currently says 03:35 PM, which is UTC-5, not UTC-6 (US CST), as you claimed.

So this shows how stating "US CST" is currently incorrect, because the default time stamp on post 12 is currently UTC-5, not UTC-6.

Simply listing the current forum time at the bottom of the page removes all doubt regarding what time zone system the default time stamps are actually using.

 

[Evo]

Sorry, don't see the need. I don't see how this is supposed to help people understand the content of posts and I don't see how it's relevant to the purpose of the forum.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

The feature being asked about comes standard, but I took it off a long time ago.

 

[Evo]

The feature being asked about comes standard, but I took it off a long time ago.

I don't suppose we can get subtitles back? I liked my "older than dirt" designation.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I don't suppose we can get subtitles back? I liked my "older than dirt" designation.

I've never forgot it, so what's the point? ;)

 

[Evo]

I've never forgot it, so what's the point? ;)

Heh, it actually came up again yesterday. I'm just teasing.