Re: [FEATURE REQUEST] Timezone support in org-mode datestamps and org-agenda

[Ihor Radchenko <yantar92@posteo.net>]

Tim Cross <theophilusx@gmail.com> writes:

> Daryl Manning <daryl@wakatara.com> writes:
>
>> I think timezone you're in should be declared globally, surely?  And then defined in the timestamp?
>>
>
> Do you mean globally as in at the OS level or globally in org mode. If
> the latter, I disagree. The OS has this information and there is no need
> for org to repeat it (and possibly hav it wrong). I would go the other
> direction and say that the TZ should only be defined in an org file i it
> differs from the OS setting.

I am not sure here.

Consider the following situation:

1. Someone lives in Berlin most of the time and has all the business
   activity, including meetings in Berlin.
2. All the timestamps, including scheduled meetings are thus recorded in
   local time - there is not much point specifying that it is
   Europe/Berlin when system time is Europe/Berlin anyway.
3. The meetings are scattered across various Org files.   
4. The same person goes on holiday to a different time zone with no
   plans to do work meetings there. No adjustments to Org settings or
   files are being made.
5. There is a meeting in Berlin time being scheduled shortly after the
   holiday.   
6. Due to emergency (say, flight delay), it becomes impossible to come
   back to Berlin in time. The meeting must be attended online thus.
7. The local computer time zone is automatically set to the local time
   though. And combined with the timestamps being scheduled in "local"
   time (assuming that they will only matter in Berlin), it becomes a
   problem. Note that the computer time zone should be retained to make
   agenda display real meeting times in local time.
8. Solution to that problem is telling Org somehow that all the
   timestamps without time zone specifier must be considered in
   Europe/Berlin, not local time zone. At least, temporarily.
9. The easiest way Org can support such need would be global "default"
   time zone. It will be easier than a need to go through every possible
   Org file on computer and hand-setting the Europe/Berlin there.   

So, I am in favour of allowing Org-global "default" time zone in addition
to setting it on per-file, per-heading, and per-timestamp basis.

-- 
Ihor Radchenko // yantar92,
Org mode contributor,
Learn more about Org mode at <https://orgmode.org/>.
Support Org development at <https://liberapay.com/org-mode>,
or support my work at <https://liberapay.com/yantar92>