[LEAPSECS] Leapsecs Listserve Moving.

[M. Warner Losh]

In message: <6131405E-FA71-4CAE-B2E8-AFC515A64625 at noao.edu>
            Rob Seaman <seaman at noao.edu> writes:

: On Feb 1, 2007, at 8:42 AM, M. Warner Losh wrote:

: 

: > This whole monthly thing, while technically allowed in the UTC  

: > standard, as a practical matter won't happen for a long, long time.

: 

: The lack of care taken worldwide in implementing this standard is a  

: large reason the rather silly proposal for leap hours has arisen.   

: Pick some other random standard - residential plumbing or electrical  

: wiring or what have you.  How much patience would we have if simple,  

: explicit provisions were ignored?  The June/December, March/September  

: wording of the document serves as a pragma - a hint to Daniel  

: Gambis.  The rest of us really ought to be prepared to accept a leap  

: second on any schedule permitted by the standard.

: 

: The word "practical" is taken to have a very strange meaning in civil  

: timekeeping.


Sigh.  I'm just saying that the high-precision time keeping gear
that's out there will fail.  I don't care about plumbing, I just know
from my first hand experience that this gear will fail.  ntpd will
fail being the most obvious thing.  I don't care what the supposed
standard says, as a practical matter, only Dec/Jun will work and when
additional time slots are selected, much gear will need to be updated
replaced.

When I first got into this game a couple of years ago, it took me
months to find out when leap seconds were permitted.  There's much
contradictory information about who is in charge of issuing them, when
they can be issued, etc.  The standard that you refer to hasn't been
accepted universally.  Who really controls it?

Warner