Jon Skeet wrote:
> Have you considered adding this to GitHub, but in a separate branch?

I considered it, but in the past I've avoided publishing multiple branches due
to the complexity and confusion that they inevitably entail. Although larger
projects need multiple branches, tzdb is a small one, and I would rather not
maintain separate branches for each alternative-universe prediction of what will
happen in Europe next year. We can install something along the lines of the
patch at an appropriate point assuming the proposal becomes official and after
further info rolls in. As the patch should affect only future timestamps, it
shouldn't break too many people's cell phones when it's installed, and there is
an advantage to sticking to a single prediction even if the prediction is wrong
on some details.

The main point of publishing the patch now was not to predict what Finland or
the UK would do: it was to point out technical details that need to be ironed
out no matter what they do. The main problem, as I see it, is time zone
abbreviations; a secondary problem is whether summer 2019 will be considered
daylight saving time or standard time in Europe.