Odd time zone problem

[SpectroPro]

I am in the Eastern US time zone.  All my other web sites show the correct time.  My computer is correct.  When I look on my hosting server, it is correct.  However, for some goofy reason, my board shows my time as one hour off.  I know I can change it, and have..  BUT, it is showing  GMT +5.   That is WRONG!  That would put me in India I think.. LOL 

We are GMT -5 or -4 depending on the time of year.  (most computers understand if it is always GMT-5.   

I know it's not a big deal, but damned irritating to look at up there on top of my forum.  I have the latest version 2, and have installed and uninstalled it 3 times in 2 days.  Always the same thing.. 

Is there a place to fix this?  Is it a simple error in the -/+ signs?  Where can I fix that if that is the case..

Thanks for any/all help..

- Greg

[Deprecated]

Admin -> Configuration -> Features and Options -> Options -> Overall time offset

Use that number to set the difference between your host's server time and your desired forum time (time that appears to guests). Then individuals set their own offset from forum time in their profile.

- also Greg

[SpectroPro]

Admin -> Configuration -> Features and Options -> Options -> Overall time offset

Use that number to set the difference between your host's server time and your desired forum time (time that appears to guests). Then individuals set their own offset from forum time in their profile.

- also Greg

I have done that..  however, I shouldn't have to.  This is why I posted.  My host/server is in the same time zone I am in.   

GMT-5

But the clock on the board says GMT+5

This is the problem I am tyring to find out about..  Other web sites I have on the same server that have clocks on the sites (just normal html pages) all show the correct time.  GMT-5 

So why is SMF showing GMT+5??

[Deprecated]

Please post your forum's URL and tell us what exact number is programmed into your setting that I named above. (Admin setting, not your personal profile.)

If you don't want to post the URL, send it to me via PM and I'll keep it confidential.

[SpectroPro]

Please post your forum's URL and tell us what exact number is programmed into your setting that I named above. (Admin setting, not your personal profile.)

If you don't want to post the URL, send it to me via PM and I'll keep it confidential.

As the board is in maintenance now, not a problem.. You can still see the time problem.. 

That setting is at 0.   I will say, I tried several things.  I changed that to -5.  That never changed, however, what that time zone displays.  It always says GMT+5.   If I put -10.  It still says GMT+5.

Note:  I can get it to show the correct server time by changing the 0 to a 1 (which is also NOT right, because that should be GMT+6...  Am I making my thinking clear?  I hope so..  I mean, default is +5, so technically, to make it EASTERN US time zone, I SHOULD have to enter -10....  The server is located in New Jersey, btw....

http://forum.therealityrocks.com/trr/

[Deprecated]

Go to your Admin -> Configuration -> Features and Options -> Options.

Find "Default time format" and paste in the following: %B %d, %Y, %I:%M %p

Find "Overall time offset" and set it to 0

Hit save. Then tell us what you see.

[Deprecated]

I'm beginning to understand the problem. The situation is becoming:

1.) Figure out how to get your forum working correctly. Solution: Don't put %Z in your settings.

2.) Figure out if this is a bug with handling %Z or is it a server misconfiguration or what.

As I said, your solution is to not put %Z in your setting. That's going to mess up your members anyway because no matter what they set their profile time offset to it will still still show GMT+5 because their individual member profile is not taken into account when generating the %Z text.

[SpectroPro]

I'm beginning to understand the problem. The situation is becoming:

1.) Figure out how to get your forum working correctly. Solution: Don't put %Z in your settings.

2.) Figure out if this is a bug with handling %Z or is it a server misconfiguration or what.

As I said, your solution is to not put %Z in your setting. That's going to mess up your members anyway because no matter what they set their profile time offset to it will still still show GMT+5 because their individual member profile is not taken into account when generating the %Z text.

Exactly..  I will remove it, which is no big deal..  But still quite odd that for my time to show correctly, I have to edit the 'server offset'.     The server offset SHOULD indeed be 0 to show the correct time if I am reading everything correctly.  Server and I are in same zone, thus, should be no offset.  But as it stands right now, to make the BBS think it is in the Eastern Time Zone, I have to add 1. 

Anyways, thanks for looking..  and I hope someone that can do will look into fixing this.. 

Greg

[Deprecated]

Hey, you're right. I have to add one to my own settings even though my server is using America/New_York setting and time, e.g. EDT.

I wonder if this is some sort of warped attempt at our hosts to adjust for daylight savings time. Or is it a SMF bug?


Just to save time, I've started a topic in bug reports and anybody interested can read about or comment on it there:

[SMF 2.0b3.1] Set overall time offset %Z variable misleading or borken

[SpectroPro]

Hey, you're right. I have to add one to my own settings even though my server is using America/New_York setting and time, e.g. EDT.

I wonder if this is some sort of warped attempt at our hosts to adjust for daylight savings time. Or is it a SMF bug?


Just to save time, I've started a topic in bug reports and anybody interested can read about or comment on it there:

[SMF 2.0b3.1] Set overall time offset %Z variable misleading or borken

Cool..  I run 4 other web sites on the same server, and they all show the correct time on their pages.   When I look at my logs, on the site, they show the correct time..  That leads me to believe that it is in fact a bug in this version of SMF.  I know when I ran the version 1x of SMF about a year ago, it was always correct with the time.

Greg

[Deprecated]

You've just reminded me to look at my own logs. They are correct for EDT. But I have to add 1 offset to my SMF to get the correct EDT server time.

Those idiots at the hosting company (1&1). They should be running UTC and let the users adjust their time to suit themselves. I bet those idiots will go back to GMT-5 when daylight savings ends. (Currently they're GMT-4.)

I've run into this thing in my professional capacity, dealing with multiple international users with various PCs and laptops. I solved my problem with ctime, the number of seconds since 1/1/1970 00:00 UTC. There is no daylight savings time or any other confounding factors. You keep your time in ctime seconds, and convert to your local time whenever and however desired.

What I hate most is dealing with problems that have already been solved, and then mucked up again by idiots who don't know what they are doing.

[SpectroPro]

You've just reminded me to look at my own logs. They are correct for EDT. But I have to add 1 offset to my SMF to get the correct EDT server time.

Those idiots at the hosting company (1&1). They should be running UTC and let the users adjust their time to suit themselves. I bet those idiots will go back to GMT-5 when daylight savings ends. (Currently they're GMT-4.)

I've run into this thing in my professional capacity, dealing with multiple international users with various PCs and laptops. I solved my problem with ctime, the number of seconds since 1/1/1970 00:00 UTC. There is no daylight savings time or any other confounding factors. You keep your time in ctime seconds, and convert to your local time whenever and however desired.

What I hate most is dealing with problems that have already been solved, and then mucked up again by idiots who don't know what they are doing.

I got on 1&1 when they first started.  After they hijacked 2 of my domains (they refused to release them when I tried to move them) I ended up suing them.   I was only with them a few months before I decided they sucked.  To this day...YEARS later, they still send me updates and such as if I was a client.  I have repeatedly emailed them, filled out web forms, and called them telling them they are morons and idiots, and I have not used them and have even convinced many others to leave their service and sued them and WON, and that I would do everything in my powers to make sure everyone is educated on their practices....  and WHY would they have me listed as a client still...  My lawyer said it's a numbers game..  As long as they list me as a current client, they can use me in their stats... 

[Deprecated]

Well I never gave them my true email address. When I dump them they will have no means to reach me. I never even gave them my correct residence address, and they have a disposable Yahoo email to contact me with.

So you are with 1&1 too, or is this your new host? You said NJ and my 1&1 host is in NY.

[SpectroPro]

Well I never gave them my true email address. When I dump them they will have no means to reach me. I never even gave them my correct residence address, and they have a disposable Yahoo email to contact me with.

So you are with 1&1 too, or is this your new host? You said NJ and my 1&1 host is in NY.

No...God NO!!!  LOL   Like I said, I was with them when they very first started.  They were brand new.  I was only with them a few months.   Bought 2 domains through them.  Then, when I tried to move the domains to have them with all my other domains, they refused to release them.. So I left them, went to Sitelutions.com and had to sue 1&1.  Luckily, they had to pay all my costs when I won.  But yeah, I left them years ago.

- Greg

[Deprecated]

I started with them too. I got 3 years of free hosting. I'm glad that you won your court case.

-Greg too (us Greg's gotta stick together!!!)

[Rumbaar]

Have you converted or your host upgraded from an old php version recently or in the past.  I'm trying to remember setting that might alter a db setting that is hidden due to a version of php, but can't remember it related to offset.

Now when you set it to 0 are you sure you're personal offset is at 0 as well?

[SpectroPro]

Have you converted or your host upgraded from an old php version recently or in the past.  I'm trying to remember setting that might alter a db setting that is hidden due to a version of php, but can't remember it related to offset.

Now when you set it to 0 are you sure you're personal offset is at 0 as well?

Host has not changed in a while..  The reason I tend to 'blame' this version of SMF, is that previous 1x versions all worked perfectly and showed correct time zone.

And, this one, no matter what, always shows the same GMT.  And at that, it is incorrect.  GMT+5   I am in GMT - 5

Also, other apps I run on the same server all show correct time zone information. 

Another thing I noticed..  If I take the default GMT+5 and put in subtract 10 hours from it.  This should give me GMT-5 (which it doesn't) and should change the default time (let's say it is 7pm locally) to 9am locally.  But it does not. 

Anyways, I have the temp fix, in that I just made the board settings to what I had to do to show correct times. But, I would like to use the %z in the time format, and to do that, it MUST show correctly, which for me is GMT-5. 

Hope that made sense...  but again, no, there has been no mods to the php engine as of late..  If you remember or think of a setting, I will ask my host to look into it.  They usually will install things I ask about and verify or upgrade things if I request..  They are great about that.

[Deprecated]

I'm running PHP 5.2.6. It is the latest stable release of PHP.

I'm convinced that the %Z thing is totally borked, or at least totally incompatible with SMF's use of the setting. You see, the thing is that %Z does not get adjusted when the administrator adjusts server time offset, and does not get adjusted when members localize their profiles.

If your %Z returns America/New_York it's going to keep returning that no matter what the admin or members set into their localizations. It's going to right on saying GMT+5 no matter what any other settings are. If I adjust my own time to PDT which is GMT-7, my %Z is still going to say GMT+5. And what's with the +5? If anything it should say GMT-5, not +5. I'm going to have to dig into PHP and maybe Apache too to figure out that one.

The %Z thing is incompatible with admin or member time zone adjustments! It should be removed or fixed.

[Deprecated]

Please see this bug report for more discussion: [SMF 2.0b3.1] Set overall time offset %Z variable misleading or borken

I think it might be more appropriate to discuss it there, in the context of a bug report. I believe SMF is broken (or borken) in this feature, although of course until we get to the bottom of it that is not certain.

Anyway I think we will get more knowledgeable eyes on it as a bug report rather than as a 2.0 support issue. YMMV