AL> While I can see the merits of your proposal, it currently is not AL> implemented in any FidoNet compatible software.
Understood. That is why if it already hasn't rendered the software as useless it soon enough will. The two digit year has a cycle of expiration built right in. It has been witnessed before in this very echoarea although I am sure few people understood what they were witnessing given the lack of a proper fix. I recall pkzip causing serious problems way back when over the two digit year issue as well as the y2k bug.
AL> Given that many software packages used in FidoNet have been AL> abandoned, had their source code lost, or the authors are no AL> longer available, it is not likely that this format will succeed.
I would have thought the opposite which is why I am currently proposing it as a fix for something that should have been fixed when it first reared it's head. The latest two digit year rollover was just last year sometime in 2019. It is destined to repeat itself many, many more times given the planned obsolesence of many programmers and software companies.
AL> Your best shot is to convince the maintainers of existing AL> packages which are still being developed, such as HPT, D'Bridge, AL> MBSEBBS, Synchronet, and Mystic of the merits of your proposal, AL> and get it implemented.
Sounds like a plan. If not this echoarea then where? I would have thought this is the perfect echoarea for proposing changes to obviously flawed FTN standards rather then to chase down individuals who more than likely already know about this issue.
AL> submit patches to the maintainers for consideration.
No thank you. I grow my own and haven't used the two digit year for anything that matters including echomail. Currently I am using a 64-bit floating point based date application to calculate proper datetime stamps including the two digit year included with this particular MSG. The expirey date for it is Wed Dec 31 23:59:59 UTC 2147485547. Try fitting that into 19 bytes. ;-)
AL> The TZUTC kludge line was created because the .MSG and .PKT AL> headers had no provision for timezone offsets.
We'll see how this goes before ripping that 'fix' apart. :::evil grin:::
Life is good, Maurice
... Ich habe Eichhörnchen in meiner Hose! --- GNU bash, version 5.1.0(1)-release (x86_64-motorshed-linux-gnu) * Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)
