Re: [PATCH] Make display-time-mode time zone configurable

[Mark Oteiza <mvoteiza@udel.edu>]

Paul Eggert <eggert@cs.ucla.edu> writes:

> On 03/02/2016 04:39 PM, Mark Oteiza wrote:
>>
>>> I'm afraid we're starting to go in circles. I'm curious about why
>>> one would want to change just the mode-line's time zone, and you're
>>> responding that it's because one would want to change just the
>>> mode-line's time zone. :-) 
>> You are repeatedly responding to the use case with the non-solution of
>> setting the time zone globally in Emacs.
>
> Yes, we are indeed going around in circles. The problem is that I
> haven't seen a real use case yet.

To me it seems you have simply dismissed the use cases already
mentioned.

> We already have a solution for an expert who for some reason needs a
> mode line in a different time zone from the Emacs default. As I
> understand it, you're asking to complicate Emacs by adding a feature
> to make it easier to configure Emacs to have this unusual behavior, so
> that a non-expert can more easily arrange for Emacs mode lines to be
> in the "wrong" time zone. My problem is that I don't understand why a
> non-expert would want to do that. And without understanding the actual
> need, it's hard to see why the proposed feature's benefits would be
> worth its costs.

Where "wrong" simply means not the emacs default. In time-stamp.el it is
considered worthwhile having the option to standardize time stamps in a
particular non-default time zone. It is not unusual for a system to be
configured to the "wrong" time zone (perhaps UTC), and it would be nice to
have the mode line clock show the "right" time.

Changing a single option is far less annoying than changing a sprawling
sexp, so it will be easier for experts and non-experts alike. I'm not
sure how expertise is relevant.