On 14 Apr 2010, at 08:56, Marcelo de Moraes Serpa wrote:
The server's time rules. Wherever you are in the world, when you "sign
up", the server clock starts ticking. Suppose you get 30 days of free
service. When the server has counted 30 days, you're done. Doesn't
matter how many timezones you've crossed, the server hasn't moved.
Yeah, you are right. Time is time, independent of timezone. If it's
30 days, it's 30 days here, or anywhere else, the difference is the
start and end times. It gives the illusion though of time lost, if
you for exampe, receive a trial end email saying your trial has
expired when, for you, it's still your "last day".
However, as a side note and also to aggregate something of value to
this message, timezone corrections are needed when the for the user
to know when, on his time, the trial will end (if you ever show this
data to the user). This can help to avoid any confusions.
Also, on applications that, for example, need to trigger actions on
the user's time, GMT as a base date and a user attribute with the
GMT correction is essential. Otherwise, the user would get a email
he scheduled for 7:00 his time at a totally different hour (his time).
So different things: time as measurement and time as a way to
identify a specific temporal spot(s). Time is always the same time
as a unit of measurement, timezone-independent. When trying to
schedule an event or mark points (in time), timezone corrections are
often needed.
Rails is timezone aware, so that isn't all too much of a problem, as
you can find in the RoR wiki: http://wiki.rubyonrails.org/howtos/time-zones
There are however ways to determine the timezone of the user without
him/her having to enter it into a form. Basically, you determine the
timezone offset using Javascript, as details on http://www.onlineaspect.com/2007/06/08/auto-detect-a-time-zone-with-javascript/
and then put the value in a hidden form field. The best moment to do
so, would be at the time the registration for trial form is being
submitted.
Best regards
Peter De Berdt
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