Why is the timestamp in offline IMs sent via Email different than SLT ?

[Jacob Neutron]

I have noticed that when an offline IM is sent via email to me, the timestamp is different.

Does anybody know why? Does it depend on my rl local time ? 

[Echo Hermit]

Welcome to Second Life Answers, Jacob

Yes, it does depend on your real life local time. This is usually what the timestamp will reflect, rather than the SL time.

[valerie Inshan]

It shows your RL timestamp.

If these are notifications from the forums, both your RL time and SL time appear:

[Jacob Neutron]

Thanks Valerie, but I am still confused. I live in Europe (Berlin-Paris time zone), and I received an IM via email sent to me at about 11:30 my time.

The time stamp showed "[09:30]" and the IM when logging on to SL, showed "2:30". Now I understand the latter (California, i.e., LL time) but I don't understand what causes the 2 hour difference.

[Echo Hermit]

I am in the UK, and this week, I also received an offline IM showing a one hour time difference. The next time I logged into my dashboard, I actually had a notification at the top of the screen saying my clock had not synchronized with something, and an option to click a box to fix this.

I don't think it's anything to worry about, just something the computer system/software does automatically - (maybe via Windows Updates?).

Regarding offline IMs coming into email, just use the real time on your email and minus the necessary number of hours to get the SL time, and if you're saving chatlogs, just remember to edit the timestamp when you cut and paste from email into saved documents.

[Luc Starsider]

As you've seen from the others this is RL time. This is one place RL time is used. There are more in the viewer when you're in world. At least I don't think it's been changed. Objects you received used to have local time. Pluss DST tends to throw that off by an hour as well.

[Jacob Neutron]

Thanks Echo, you confirmed my guess (well at least partially). Any message sent to me (IM sent via email when I am offline), might go to a server in the UK, which is not in daylight saving time, and then that server puts the stamp, which in this case would be two hours behind for me. Now, I have only one doubt left. The person who sent the message lives in London and therefore the two hour behind could be explained as above. But what if a person lives in NYC? Would it still have the London, two hours behind timestamp, or would it have the a timestamp reflecting NYC time? In other words, the timestamp depends on the receiver or the sender ?

 

Sorry about all these questions, but I am intrigued by the technical "secrets" behind

[Luc Starsider]

I didn't see the comments here before now... You're on to something with the DST thought. It really throws things off. I'm pretty sure the timestamp would be the receivers time.

[Jacob Neutron]

Well, thanks Luc. Not so sure it is the receiver which adds the timestamp, since it is in the content of the email and not in the email details.

But it is a strange behavior indeed, starting with the server NOT in DST.

Anyway, thank you all for the replies

 

BTW, the system of posting "answers" and "comments" makes things a little hard to read. Just my 2 cents.

[Echo Hermit]

There's no need to be sorry for having an enquiring mind

I must admit, before you raised your question, I hadn't thought much about the timestamp difference. I think this is going to have to be your homework for tonight

Last week, I received a message from someonen who is on the same time zone as SL and there was an hour time difference in the time stamp. I'd thought it was down to daylight saving times, but they don't change for a while, and then I got that message on my dashboard about having to synchronize my times.

I'm sorry I can't give a straightforward and true answer on this one, but certainly, if anyone has been keeping emails of IMs sent from inworld, and knows the senders' time zone, that could be useful information to refer to, to solve this little mystery.

[Echo Hermit]

And, just to add about the "answers" "comments" "permalinks", etc., yes, you are right, it does make this Answers section rather hard to read and navigate. We have been complaining about it since this software was new to us, I think almost two years ago.

[Jacob Neutron]

Ok, Echo, I did my homework. I checked other ims i have gotten via email, from people east and west. Funny, sometimes the time difference between the timestamp in the IM and the email timestamp is 9 hours (as it should be since it is the time difference between my RL time zone and California) and sometimes it is not that.

So, I don't think it is the receiver server who adds that timestamp in the IM, but the sender server. I guess it depends on "HOW" you are connecting to the grid.

[Lindal Kidd]

I'll add that it's a stupid idea.  I get those same local time stamps in offline IMs that I read IN WORLD.  It'a a royal pain to try to translate that timestamp back into SLT and compare it with the current time...did the sender IM me a minute ago?  Or four hours ago?  Yeck.

[Echo Hermit]

I've added this to my list of things to take more notice of, Jacob

It can be good sometimes to make observations that may seem quite unimportant at first. I call it the "wax on, wax off" theory.

I hope you will also be a regular here on the forums. You have a curious mind, a willingness to learn, and a positive attitude.

[Jacob Neutron]

Ok, ok, Echo ... I got it. I'll buy you a drink