So, 4 days ago, the 10th Paint "Annoversary" was held in Chatroom Event at 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time. Only a couple of members showed up. Yet, an hour prior, about 8 members were in the same room. Why is this? This is because of the strange time systems of this website.

Before I explain the problem, allow me to explain the current system:

The current system for chatroom events (and private messages) uses a 12-hour format, and the hour is dependant on what your timezone is set to in Settings. However, this issue arises in the fact that this system does not have DST (Daylight Savings Time) implemented in any way.

I dislike DST just as much as I'm sure most people do, but it is a standard, for now, at least. Because it's not implemented, users must set their timezone 1 hour ahead once DST starts, and 1 hour back once it ends. This seems like common practice in most alarm clocks, watches, microwave ovens, etc. But, in the age of smart devices and websites, you'd expect this to do that for you, or have an option for it, yet there is none.

I may sound like a lazy spoiled child here, but as you can see from the example at the beginning, this can create problems. Normally, people don't rely on the website clock for anything, but in this case (and some others), they expect it to work as it should.

The time here is also inconsistent. For example, the timestamp on this blog and many other things is in the 24-hour format, but still relies on the timezone setting. Why is it different? I also prefer a 24-hour clock, but why? Some people have trouble reading 24-hour clocks, but this justbugs me so much.

It gets worse though, UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) is also mixed up in here! UTC is the base of the timezone settings, at +0 London. It's forced to be used in group shout timestamps, profile comments, and hidden within the birthday clock. This just makes things even more confusing (though the birthday clock less so, especially nowadays), making it more of a hassle to tell what time it was posted, especially for those that don't know all of these different systems and formats.



This may not be a problem to some of you, but it is to me. I just wanted to let it all out, maybe it'll spark something, or at least let everyone know that the 10th Anniversary Redo Party is in fact on Sunday, the 2nd of June, at 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time.

This is also my first rant blog, so, please don't hesitate to criticize.