Feature request: Timezone display/setting

[russellhltn]

That would depend on the time zone listed as part of the iCal file. Currently I think the iCal time zone is GMT and all times are shifted to that.

But that's a separate issue from how times are displayed on the website. Changing the times to the viewer's computer TZ was a technically interesting approach, but most people are expecting to see times local to the unit, not whatever TZ they happen to be traveling in.

[aebrown]

Changing the times to the viewer's computer TZ was a technically interesting approach, but most people are expecting to see times local to the unit, not whatever TZ they happen to be traveling in.

It's not like the approach chosen by the developers is unheard of. Microsoft Outlook, for example, displays all its times in the time zone of the computer, regardless of where the central Exchange server is located.

At this point you're hearing all the complaints from the people who don't like the choice made for displaying the time zone of the computer. If it's simply changed to be the time zone of the unit, you'll then have the opportunity to hear the complaints from the other side. Which group is larger? I don't know.

Google Calendar chose to make the time zone a user setting. So even if I'm looking at a shared calendar that contains events that occur in a different time zone, I can choose my own time zone for display. And if my computer goes to a different time zone, and even if I change the time zone setting on my computer or mobile device, the Google Calendar timezone setting remains how I set it until I manually change it. Personally, I would prefer that implementation, as it seems more predictable.

[russellhltn]

Google Calendar chose to make the time zone a user setting. So even if I'm looking at a shared calendar that contains events that occur in a different time zone, I can choose my own time zone for display. And if my computer goes to a different time zone, and even if I change the time zone setting on my computer or mobile device, the Google Calendar timezone setting remains how I set it until I manually change it. Personally, I would prefer that implementation, as it seems more predictable.

Agreed. A bear minimum, I'd like to see a notation in the corner somewhere what timezone is being used to minimize the surprise factor.

Oddly enough, that's pretty close to what the OP requested. <grin>

[judson.wooters]

This needs to be changed quickly.

It's been this way since the Calendar was developed a few years ago, so I really doubt that it would be changed quickly.

Yes, "quickly" is all just perspective. I was trying to drive home a point of frustration in our Stake. Sorry if that came across as demanding.

My assistant Exec Secretary was in charge of our calendar for several months. He travels to Africa several months out of the year and while there I would send him emails to update an event. Here is an example exchange (this happened many many times for months):

Bro C -- could you setup a training meeting event for July 10th @ 7 PM in the Stake Center?

He would then setup a meeting for July 19th @ 7 PM in the Stake Center (from Africa). But, what would it look like for the entire rest of the Stake in Texas? It would say, Training Meeting, July 10th @ 1 PM in the Stake Center. I would see the time difference, know what happened, and correct it for him. He would then get on the next night, see that it now showed (for him in Africa) July 11th @ 1 AM, so he'd change it back. He's not terribly tech savvy, so this went on for months, despite many many conversations, screenshots and trainings on how to get around it. I finally just stopped sending him calendar update requests as it was doubling my work load.

I think a feature to be able to toggle between local and user time would solve all of this.

[hawkmoonsundown]

The above scenarios describe the issues very well. It's frustrating to have parents get confused when they get an email saying we are meeting at 9pm instead of 6pm because the lds.org calendar notification is based on the timezone of the computer on which I am working as opposed to the unit's local time where the parents and youth reside.

I recommend leaving the timezone shifts to the user and keep the lds.org calendar timezone tied to the unit.

Another solution would be to show the unit's timezone and the computer's timezone next to each other on the left-hand side. Outlook provides a capability like this. For the lds.org calendar, it could be the default view if or when the local and the unit's timezones differ. The calendar would operate the same as always but provide user feedback indicating when the calendar is showing a different timezone. This would also address my concerns...except, the notification email will still go out using the local timezone and not the unit's timezone...

[judson.wooters]

Bro C -- could you setup a training meeting event for July 10th @ 7 PM in the Stake Center?

He would then setup a meeting for July 19th @ 7 PM in the Stake Center (from Africa).

Sort of ironic that I mistyped the first date in my example. It should read that he would setup for "July 10th"

[lajackson]

Sort of ironic that I mistyped the first date in my example. It should read that he would setup for "July 10th"

That would be quite a time zone shift.

My challenge is that I work on three different devices and, for various annoying reasons, they function in three different time zones. So I have two challenges.

I always have to be very careful to remember which device I am using when I attempt to determine the correct local starting time of an event.

I also have to be very careful to remember which device I am using when I add a new event or update an existing one.

[russellhltn]

My challenge is that I work on three different devices and, for various annoying reasons, they function in three different time zones.

Would one of them be a cell phone that keeps linking to a cell tower in another time zone?

[lajackson]

My challenge is that I work on three different devices and, for various annoying reasons, they function in three different time zones.

Would one of them be a cell phone that keeps linking to a cell tower in another time zone?

Home computer (almost always correct), work computer (usually an hour later), cell phone (usually an hour earlier).