Fwd: Time Zone Debate
De : Steven DeWitt <news -at- stevendewitt -dot- ca>
Date : 31 mai 2006 22:09:51 HAA
À : Diana Ost <Diana -dot- Ost -at- msmcorp -dot- com>
Objet : Rép : Time Zone Debate
Hello,
I would say it depends on who the audience is. If you have an international audience or want to make it *seem* that way, go even further and use something like "8 a.m. - 7 p.m. Chicago (1400 - 0100 UT)".
Comments:
- Why not work the text "Chicago" in there as you say, a lot of people are better with places than numbers. Abbreviations get confusing as they all look the same; don't forget that there is also "Central European Time" for example.
- Don't bother distinguishing between Standard and Daylight Savings time, I think it would confuse a lot of people.
- Don't forget that most people outside of the US and English Canada are very accustomed to reading 24-hour time regardless of the language they speak.
- Don't bother telling international clients what time zone Chicago is in, just tell them what the business hours are in UT, they already have to do a calculation to convert to their own time zone so why make them convert twice...
Whatever you choose, the goal is to make people understand what your business hours are no matter what time zone or continent they are in/on, so whatever helps them to communicate during business hours!
Good luck,
Steven
--
Steven DeWitt, C. Tran. (FR>EN, ES>EN, en>fr)
Fredericton NB CANADA
mail [at] stevendewitt [dot] ca
Le 06-05-31 à 10:49, Diana Ost a écrit :
This got the editor in me going :-)
There should be a space between the stated time and AM or PM (8:00 AM,
or just 8 AM). It is easier to read.
Have you thought about using UTC - Universal Time. We used UTC (I called
it
GMT before - wrong oops!) time at the last place I worked, which is good
if you are giving information to people outside of the US. One
calculator is here that shows the hours offset and ZULU time (24 hour
clock): http://www.csgnetwork.com/utctimecalc.html
This one is the World Clock that lists cities around the world, and
allows anyone to set up a personal clock:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/ We used this one for scheduling
meetings :-)
Diana Ost
Technical Writer/Reporting Analyst
Production Administration
Market Street Mortgage Corporation
diana -dot- ost -at- msmcorp -dot- com
Phone (727) 431-7209
Fax (727) 724-9096
2650 McCormick Drive, Suite 200
Clearwater, Florida 33759
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-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+diana -dot- ost=msmcorp -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+diana -dot- ost=msmcorp -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Lou Quillio
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 10:42 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Time Zone Debate
Lisa Dugger wrote:
Which is the correct usage of listing multiple business hours with a
time zone?
Not a matter of "correct", rather "clear". First thing we need to know
are the days, next the times, then the time-zone clarification.
You don't want to say "Central `Standard` Time" or "CST", just "Central
Time" or "CT": let the reader correct for daylight savings. Depending
on audience, it can sometimes be clearer to just say "Chicago time" or
"(Chicago, U.S.)".
Monday - Thursday: 8AM - 7PM, CT
Friday: 8AM - 7PM, CT
Why no spaces/periods in the time (8:00 A.M.)? It's visual noise, and
there's no clarity advantage. Same with minutes. Include 'em if they
matter, forget 'em if they don't.
Is "CT" unclear? Maybe, but probably not. I see the days. Got it.
I see the times. Got it. Wait. They may not be in my time zone.
"CT" probably answers that (because there's a pattern of descending
significance). If I'm on Central Time, I already know what's up.
If I'm not, I know I need to check it.
In doubt? Spell out "Central Time". Global reach? "U.S. Central
Time".
Side by side now:
Monday - Thursday: 8AM - 7PM, CT
Friday: 8AM - 7PM, CT
8:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. Monday through Thursday and 8:00 A.M. to
7:00 P.M. Friday, Central Time.
Forget "correct". Which is clearer, easier to parse? More, which is
clearer to ESL users?
You don't have to decode mine. It's plain.
LQ
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