
In response to the need to find a new time zone home before I'm eligible to retire in 2012, Eliot Lear and Paul Eggert have authored the draft document "IANA Procedures for Maintaining the Timezone Database" now available from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) web site: http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-lear-iana-timezone-database-00 Comments on how the draft can be improved are welcome. Also welcome: feedback on whether the proposed approach meets the needs of folks on the time zone mailing list--the proposed approach can't and won't go forward without support from the time zone community. The document includes electronic mail addresses for Eliot and Paul; general comments can also be sent to the time zone mailing list. --ado

On Thu, 21 Oct 2010, Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E] wrote:
http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-lear-iana-timezone-database-00
I think this could be a good solution to the problem. A few suggestions: Section 5: Maintenance and Distribution of Reference Code Currently the maintainer of the TZ database also maintains reference code. This software is currently distributed under the BSD license. Apart from three files, the current tzcode distribution is public domain. There is no single BSD licence so this statement is ambiguous. In fact the licence on the three special files is more like a MIT licence. Section 6 is supposed to be about the database but contains a misplaced comment about the code's licence which correctly contradicts section 5. There should be a section on the licensing of contributions, since the TZ licence is more liberal than the IETF licence. Tony. -- f.anthony.n.finch <dot@dotat.at> http://dotat.at/ HUMBER THAMES DOVER WIGHT PORTLAND: NORTH BACKING WEST OR NORTHWEST, 5 TO 7, DECREASING 4 OR 5, OCCASIONALLY 6 LATER IN HUMBER AND THAMES. MODERATE OR ROUGH. RAIN THEN FAIR. GOOD.

On Thu, Oct 21, 2010 at 18:09, Tony Finch <dot@dotat.at> wrote:
On Thu, 21 Oct 2010, Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E] wrote:
http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-lear-iana-timezone-database-00
2. Procedures for selecting a technical expert for the technical expert who will play the role of coordinator, as well as release manager for the TZ database; Nit: this sentence doesn't seem to parse well. Otherwise, this looks like a sane direction to be headed in. Cheers, Dirkjan

Dear Tony, On 10/21/10 6:09 PM, Tony Finch wrote:
On Thu, 21 Oct 2010, Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E] wrote:
http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-lear-iana-timezone-database-00
I think this could be a good solution to the problem.
A few suggestions:
Section 5: Maintenance and Distribution of Reference Code
Currently the maintainer of the TZ database also maintains reference code. This software is currently distributed under the BSD license.
Apart from three files, the current tzcode distribution is public domain. There is no single BSD licence so this statement is ambiguous. In fact the licence on the three special files is more like a MIT licence.
I've modified the text to state that several files are distributed under license, and that no attempts shall be made to change that license (not that this can easily happen).
Section 6 is supposed to be about the database but contains a misplaced comment about the code's licence which correctly contradicts section 5.
Corrected.
There should be a section on the licensing of contributions, since the TZ licence is more liberal than the IETF licence.
See next email to SM. Eliot

Dear Elliot; I have read your draft, and have two issues (which I think are also touched on here). 1.) It is the understanding of the IESG, ISOC, and IANA that the database itself is public domain. While I certainly don't speak for the IESG, I don't think that you are going to get such a ruling from the IETF. The IETF is not a court and should not (IMO) be making assertions about other people's IPR. You should (IMO) assert that it is public domain here, and let the IETF accept that assertion. That is probably the best you are going to get on this point. (I wouldn't be surprised if ISOC and IANA have similar concerns.) 2.) It is not clear to me from your document who will hold the copyright in the code (i.e., _who_ will be issuing the BSD license). If it is the IETF Trust, then it will have to be the "Simplified BSD License" we settled upon for IETF code components. 3.) A minor point This memo states that moving forward the TZ database will be distributed with a valid cryptographic signature. You don't need to tell us what you are telling us. How about Moving forward the TZ database SHOULD be distributed with a valid cryptographic signature. Regards Marshall On Dec 16, 2010, at 9:11 AM, Eliot Lear wrote:
Dear Tony,
On 10/21/10 6:09 PM, Tony Finch wrote:
On Thu, 21 Oct 2010, Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E] wrote:
http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-lear-iana-timezone-database-00
I think this could be a good solution to the problem.
A few suggestions:
Section 5: Maintenance and Distribution of Reference Code
Currently the maintainer of the TZ database also maintains reference code. This software is currently distributed under the BSD license.
Apart from three files, the current tzcode distribution is public domain. There is no single BSD licence so this statement is ambiguous. In fact the licence on the three special files is more like a MIT licence.
I've modified the text to state that several files are distributed under license, and that no attempts shall be made to change that license (not that this can easily happen).
Section 6 is supposed to be about the database but contains a misplaced comment about the code's licence which correctly contradicts section 5.
Corrected.
There should be a section on the licensing of contributions, since the TZ licence is more liberal than the IETF licence.
See next email to SM.
Eliot

As usual, thanks for your contributions, Marshall. Please see below: On 12/16/10 4:01 PM, Marshall Eubanks wrote:
Dear Elliot;
I have read your draft, and have two issues (which I think are also touched on here).
1.)
It is the understanding of the IESG, ISOC, and IANA that the database itself is public domain.
While I certainly don't speak for the IESG, I don't think that you are going to get such a ruling from the IETF. The IETF is not a court and should not (IMO) be making assertions about other people's IPR.
You should (IMO) assert that it is public domain here, and let the IETF accept that assertion. That is probably the best you are going to get on this point. (I wouldn't be surprised if ISOC and IANA have similar concerns.)
Ok. Will change accordingly.
2.) It is not clear to me from your document who will hold the copyright in the code (i.e., _who_ will be issuing the BSD license). If it is the IETF Trust, then it will have to be the "Simplified BSD License" we settled upon for IETF code components.
Only code that is licensed today– at this moment– is contemplated being licensed at all, and that code that is license shall retain the license it has. In this case it's three files that are distributed under license from U.C.
3.) A minor point
This memo states that moving forward the TZ database will be distributed with a valid cryptographic signature.
You don't need to tell us what you are telling us. How about
Moving forward the TZ database SHOULD be distributed with a valid cryptographic signature.
Ok. Thanks, Eliot

I support the move of the TZ DB to an organisation as a new home. My preference would be CLDR, as I think that the data is entirely within the cultural remit there. However, since I'm not putting in effort myself to make that happen, I will support the IETF home. Stephen Co-spec lead, JSR-310 On 21 October 2010 14:11, Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E] <olsona@dc37a.nci.nih.gov> wrote:
In response to the need to find a new time zone home before I'm eligible to retire in 2012, Eliot Lear and Paul Eggert have authored the draft document "IANA Procedures for Maintaining the Timezone Database" now available from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) web site:
http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-lear-iana-timezone-database-00
Comments on how the draft can be improved are welcome. Also welcome: feedback on whether the proposed approach meets the needs of folks on the time zone mailing list--the proposed approach can't and won't go forward without support from the time zone community.
The document includes electronic mail addresses for Eliot and Paul; general comments can also be sent to the time zone mailing list.
--ado
participants (6)
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Dirkjan Ochtman
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Eliot Lear
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Marshall Eubanks
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Olson, Arthur David (NIH/NCI) [E]
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Stephen Colebourne
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Tony Finch