I just got the And I Feel Fine hat which states "post or vote on December 21".
Does SE have a time machine now?
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1I just earned this hat now. :)– HimanshuCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:08
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13While it's 21st December somewhere, it's definitely not 21st December UTC.– ChrisF ModCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:08
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7I think it's an off by 12 hours error. It's just gone noon here in the UK– ChrisF ModCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:09
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18This is going to be a fairly highly upvoted question as all you have to do to get the hat is upvote it!– ben is uǝq backwardsCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:13
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so really do have a time machine ... i have got too– NullPoiиteяCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:15
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3Probably trying to do as much as possible before the end of the world tomorrow! ;)– Shadow WizardCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:24
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@Sha Wiz Dow Ard today* :p– TravisCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:25
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@Travis oh my! <going to buy some water>– Shadow WizardCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:26
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5Who cares, can't be a bug if it gives you more hats– user200500Commented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:31
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2Amazing how everyone are now wearing it, as if fearing it will disappear!– Shadow WizardCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:33
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1Thanks to that hat, now the Beatles song is stuck on my head.– bfavarettoCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:41
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1FWIW, each day exists somewhere on Earth for a whole 50 hours. (Dec 21 2012 starts in time zone UTC+14 at 10:00 UTC Dec 20 and ends in time zone UTC−12 at 12:00 UTC Dec 22).– R. Martinho FernandesCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:52
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1This is probably preemptive, since they wont be able to actually give it out after the world explodes.– AviDCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:54
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It is a play around the number 12: Change position to the digits of 12, and you get 21; the hat has been awarded 12 hours before the time...– avpadernoCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 13:06
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1@bfavaretto wat. Beatles? Not R.E.M.?– Aarthi StaffCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 21:11
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Show 6 more comments
11 Answers
So, the official answer is: we over-awarded the hat so that people in Auckland / Tokyo / Shanghai / Vanuatu wouldn't have to wait until their midday to receive it.
You're all mostly programmers, so you should be reasonably familiar with how much of a headache timezones can be sometimes. Since Stack Exchange is run on UTC, we have to leave a +14/-12 hour buffer so that the nations around the International Date Line have just as much opportunity to grab hats as people along the 0 longitude.
This behavior will also occur for the other hats that are date-sensitive. This included L'Chaim, and will include Tis the Season and the New Year's Eve Hat / Auld Lang Syne.
Basically: Don't panic! It's a feature, not a bug!
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5Yeah, calling @Yannis a programmer. Bundling the rest of us with the likes of him.– OdedCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 21:04
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5@Oded to be fair, I called him "mostly" a programmer.– Aarthi StaffCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 21:09
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1@Oded if you accept this answer, then Gamecat gets the pirate hat. Help a fellow meta-er out. :P– Aarthi StaffCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 21:10
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Hehe... this being the official story (um. answer)... Not a problem. Just as soon as I get my "Buddy Breathing" :)– OdedCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 21:11
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Always happy to help out a fellow Meta-er... even if he isn't wearing any hat ;)– OdedCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 21:44
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Wait... That means that I should have gotten the LChaim hat as I did post/vote on the morning of December 17th EST. No? @Aarthi– NaftaliCommented Dec 24, 2012 at 14:28
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Hmm, we may not have had the extended window for L'Chaim. I shall ask. @amanaplan– Aarthi StaffCommented Dec 24, 2012 at 16:41
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When tomorrow is today, either time has ended, or we are too bored to care about dates.
Yup this post gave me the hat too. Feature confirmed.
answered Dec 20, 2012 at 12:10
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1Seeing as the SO timemachine posted from the 21st, I think we will survive.– OdedCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:11
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1@nhahtdh - but Stack Exchange usually operates on UTC and it's not 21/12 here.– ChrisF ModCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:12
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@ChrisF: Just offer the most logical explanation that I can think of, that doesn't make this a bug.– nhahtdhCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:13
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11@ChrisF - not this time, we're intentionally +/-12hr with the hats on time ranges since over-awarding is better than feeling left out, festive!– Nick Craver ModCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:15
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@NickCraver i love this hat thing ... it was totally unexpected Commented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:30
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@Nick you are not over-awarding enough! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTC%2B14 Commented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:57
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@R.MartinhoFernandes - I had very little to do with the hats...I just stumble around our code and read it (sometimes), before making crazy changes.– Nick Craver ModCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:58
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Nah, The Mayans weren't prepared for the confuddling time zones. So hopefully the end of the world will be delayed by a few millenia while they are mired in bureaucracy trying to untangle tricky issues like:
- Should the end of the world be phased in over a 24 hour period to ensure doom happens on the correct day for everyone.
- How should leap seconds and the move to Gregorian calendar be accommodated?
- Should the next stone calendar be carved using a Stardate datum?
- How to deal with pesky loose ends like time dilation
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As per current time zone it is 21st December in Auckland. So the description of this hat is correct.
answered Dec 20, 2012 at 12:23
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5"So the description of this hat is correct.".. in Auckland.– user200500Commented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:26
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6UTC (GMT/Zulu)-time: Thursday, December 20, 2012 The Mayan Calendar finishes one of its great circles in December 2012. Some believe this is a sign of the End of the World. In Auckland this happens on Saturday, December 22, 2012 at 12:11:00 AM.– TravisCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:28
StackOverflow is preparing for the DOOMSDAY, so distributing the hats right away before we face a scary day tommorow...Chill out guys users with maya hat are safe ~Cheers~
This is a live post from India and it's almost 21st December 2012 and no harm till now.
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Well, it should happen "during the day" so we'll have to sit and wait. :-D Commented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:32
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The Maya's lived in South America, so we probably have to wait a couple of hours. Commented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:32
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it doesn't matter if its happen or not but i believe in living like there's not tomorrow... Commented Dec 20, 2012 at 12:34
It appears to be 12 hours out from UTC. SO does run on UTC doesn't it? Funny, I got the hat on SO but not on Meta.
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1You just earned it on meta too. Needed to wait because ..........– HimanshuCommented Dec 20, 2012 at 13:12
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This effect also occurs with regards to the winterbash-2013 hats.
And they continued to peck away at their keyboards, unaware of hats with power beyond their comprehension were already being set in motion....
They're just hedging their bets. If the world really does end tomorrow, we won't get those badges. Status-as-designed.
20/12 here and I got my hat. We must be, ahem, Out of Time.
