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You could always display the length of time since the post was made. I'm sure I've seen that solution used somewhere 
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This is actually as complicated as you think it is!
Date & Time is location specific (UTC offsets give us that adjustment).
We live in FL and have a place in TN (Central time). While we are there, I
keep my computer in EDT (NY Time) and talk to the clients only as if NY Time.
It is simpler.
Next up. Store all time as UTC type time, collect and display it as "local".
And then the concept of Local to the customer is displayed to the help desk.
As in, it is:
xam in Bangalore (Here)
1pm in NY (Our "Company Standard Time")
4pm in Sacramento, CA (Customer Standard Time)
The magic is that you have to STORE the customer address/UTC offset. And that should
be something you can give them control over.
In Oracle, when a session is created, you can set its default time zone, and dates/times
will adjust (but this get harry over shared web connections), so a lot of our web code just
handled it.
Now with SaaS, you have even more issues, because you add:
?pm in Denver ("Their Company Standard Time, as opposed to ours")
We fought for some time with DB rules that said "Once a record is entered, after midnight, it cannot be changed"). Yep, it was midnight in NY time, and that was 9PM in CA. They were upset in CA. Luckily they were rarely open that late.
BTW, the first part of the conversation (because of all the reminders) is to confirm the time zone with the customer. Because, like myself, they could have traveled elsewhere!
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TL;DR the entire discussion, but here is my take for what it's worth.
First, all date/time storage should include the UTC code as others stated. As for display let's opt for both sides; display the time local to the current user *and* to the original source location.
So for the example about an ATM located in New York with support in the US west coast we would see:
2016-07-29 05:00am [local EDT 2016-07-29 08:00am]
That pretty much tells me everything I need to know.
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Incremental searching and some AI.
Built a (New Zealand postal) address lookup for a call center: if it starts with a number .... else ... etc.
No other input except a single text (search) field; returns x choices which become less the more one types (incremental searching).
Also deploying "shipping kiosks": missing labels usually start with a query as to kiosk and shipping destination ("time" is assumed to be recent).
A fuzzy search including a $ amount and location seems like a logical place to start with ATM's...
(Note that we also incrementally add "transaction info" to a central server while a shipping kiosk "session" for a given customer is in progress; so we always have "something" for a customer that started a session).
Oh ... And I store several times: local (kiosk); UTC; "Server" ... To cover my ass.
modified 30-Jul-16 6:39am.
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I've worked on a number of code bases that had to properly handle and manage timestamps. I've never seen a situation yet where the correct thing to do is to store local time. Storing a common time (generally zulu time) without daylight saving time correction is what you need, with a translation from the stored time to local time (including DST correction). Almost every time related bug I've seen is related to violating this principle.
I'm retired. There's a nap for that...
- Harvey
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Yesterday, I got handed an Acer lappy, and asked to update it before the free period runs out tomorrow.
So...I back it up, and start the upgrade. It runs to 99% and stops after 4 hours. Ah. I see. Windows 7 updates...shutdown...27 updates.
Turned it this morning...same thing, 48 updates... followed by an hour to start up.
And now? Yet another 26...
Seriously Eryl? When did you last turn this thing on, 1976?
Sod this...where's that Media Creation Tool?
12 minutes later and it's downloaded the ISO and has started the verification. 
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Don't you just love acting as (unpaid) tech. support for all your friends and relations? 
If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.
--Winston Churchill
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It would have taken a lot less time to just install Linux on the computer.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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All Windows 7 SP1 updates from its release through April 2016, in a single rollup[^].
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 So I had a BSOD problem, the hardware guy came over to handle it, and finished with a newly formatted HD!!!
Skipper: We'll fix it.
Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this?
Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
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The obvious method of thanking him would be to reformat (boot, of course) his genitalia.*
* We'd not want him to breed, anyway.
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Aren't you really, really glad you do regular backups! 
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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I'm hoping against hope that your intentions were just plain cruel.
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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It is not my - personal - computer, and the company policy is to backup only personal profile.
What we have are basic images (updated once a year!!!), so I have to install a few million updates, and configure all that are not stored on my personal profile...
Skipper: We'll fix it.
Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this?
Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
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The Company wants you to be productive, yes? 
Manager: What have you been doing all day? Playing with your computer!?! We've got a product to finish and ship!!!
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For the purpose of creating graphs of plan-against-done we should report on what we spent our day... Normally I do not do this (the reporting), but for the two days it takes me to restore my productivity I report 'no computer'...Just for fun...
Skipper: We'll fix it.
Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this?
Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
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And yes. At home I do full image backup - weekly...
Skipper: We'll fix it.
Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this?
Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
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Wish I would have. Just lost my hard drive and the last backup was a while ago. Have some files from a couple of days ago, but not all.
Mongo: Mongo only pawn... in game of life.
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OriginalGriff wrote: Aren't you really, really glad you do regular backups!
Aren't you really glad you store everything in The Cloud?
I think that is what you meant, right?.
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But the BSOD is gone, right?
(running, ducking, and hiding)
If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.
--Winston Churchill
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Daniel Pfeffer wrote: running, ducking, and hiding
Bevare! You are in my range!!!
Skipper: We'll fix it.
Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this?
Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
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Commiseration is.
![Rose | [Rose]](https://codeproject.global.ssl.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/rose.gif)
«There is a spectrum, from "clearly desirable behaviour," to "possibly dodgy behavior that still makes some sense," to "clearly undesirable behavior." We try to make the latter into warnings or, better, errors. But stuff that is in the middle category you don’t want to restrict unless there is a clear way to work around it.» Eric Lippert, May 14, 2008
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