Subj : alternative DateTime (ref: fts-0001.016)
To   : Maurice Kinal
From : andrew clarke
Date : Mon Dec 21 2020 23:34:06

18 Dec 20 06:36, you wrote to Andrew Leary:

 MK> proposed DateTime = a string 19 bytes long.
 MK>                     Format = "YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss" where,
 MK>                               YYYY = four digit year
 MK>                               MM   = two digit month ranging from 01 to
 MK> 12
 MK>                               DD   = two digit day ranging from 01 to 31
 MK>                               hh   = two digit hour ranging from 00 to
 MK> 23
 MK>                               mm   = two digit minute ranging from 00 to
 MK> 59
 MK>                               ss   = two digit second ranging from 00 to
 MK> 59

 MK> Since there is no room for the UTC offset DateTime should be set to UTC
 MK> in order to avoid confusion.  This format will ensure that the packed
 MK> message is exactly the same byte length as specified in fts-0001.016 not
 MK> counting the ASCII null charater that terminates the string as per
 MK> packed MSG header specification for all header strings (eg To, From,
 MK> subj, etc).

This is just creating busywork for the handful of developers left (eg. me, occasionally) and new bugs for no benefit.

In Fidonet you can safely assume that a two-digit year in any message is in the range of 1984-2083, given that the network began in 1984.

Anyone miraculously still running a FidoNet node in the year 2083 can either:

0. do nothing
1. modify the 1984-2083 window in their mail reader
2. invent a ^A control line that has the four digit year in it

#1 is easiest.

Timezones are already covered by FTS-4008 (TZUTC), and still not everyones uses those.

--- GoldED+/BSD 1.1.5-b20180707
 * Origin: Blizzard of Ozz, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (3:633/267)

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