Internet timezone database server closed down amid lawsuit

[pctech]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/10/07/unix_time_zone_database_destroyed/

Seems the foundations and values of the Internet are being attscked for commercial gain.


I think this is wrong and the case should be thrown out.

[Rik]

On the face of it, it is and I agree, Mitch. Sadly, there's little hard fact in the report.

[pctech]

I just think certain things should be protected because the guy did it out of the goodness of his hart and it is an essential piece of infrastructure.

[Rik]

I'm not arguing with you, Mitch, just saying that there's little fact, by their own admission, in the article. As a result, we don't know what the legal beef is.

[pctech]

Indeed.

Copyright infringment, its getting used more and more these days.

[Rik]

I respect copyright, but I think there's also a public interest argument for some material. On the face of it, this would be such a case. I'd also be interested to know where the data came from in the first place.

[gizmo71]

I think they may be overstating the effect of this specific closure. AIUI, this data isn't normally retrieved live by Java code or Unix servers; it's retrieved and compiled into files that are distributed with the Java runtime and as part of various Unix distributions. Removing this one specific source of data will cause some minor pain to the developers of code that use it, but according to the article there are existing alternative sources of the same data.

The idea that this will suddenly result in the world's computers having no idea what time it is is utter headline-grabbing nonsense.

[pctech]

Looks like ICANN have taken over responsibility

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/10/16/icann_rescues_time_zone_database/

[Rik]

A bit of Cann Do, eh?

[pctech]