On 05/24/2012 04:27 PM, Tobias Conradi wrote:

It doesn't matter whether it is anyone's job.

I am here to improve usability of the IANA time zone database.

Other people already invent new names because in their systems the
IANA time zone names are not sufficient.

E.g. CLDR has created UN/LOCODE based codes:
http://cldr.unicode.org/development/development-process/design-proposals/bcp47-mapping

This a draft design document proposing what is now the 'tz' field of IETF BCP 47 Extension U < https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6067> referencing UTS35 and data < http://unicode.org/reports/tr35/#Unicode_Language_and_Locale_Identifiers>. However, it is not relevant to simply the discussion of "." and "-", instead, the UN/LOCODE based codes (with some additions) were needed due to length restrictions.

The characters used are well-specified, I don't see any benefits to deprecating "." and "-".

Steven

ICU / CLDR Project