Stack Exchange sites need a universal clock that is visible!

Question

Since the Stack Exchange sites run on one clock, and a clock that is not common to most of us (such as those of us in the US), can we display a clock with the site time (UTC) displayed somewhere on every page, such as at the bottom with the other text? That way we are more aware of when the days turn over, and ecetera...

close votes, delete votes, flags, and normal votes would also benefit from this as well (thanks @Grace Note!)...

What do you guys think? yea or nay? thoughts?

Answer 1

This is an excellent idea! The timezone difference has caused everyone no end of headaches. Here is just a small sample of the benefits:

• People complaining about the 'enthusiast' and 'fanatic' badge have no excuse now!
• Reached the rep. cap? Look at the clock to see when you can get rep. again.

...and...

• Since Jon Skeet lives in Reading, UK, we can now know with certainty when he's asleep and we can actually get rep!

Answer 2

In light of the new top bar, the position of the server clock has changed once again. As noted over in this guide, the position of the clock is now located in the Achievements Bar, which is that little bar graph item in the top left. Shown in the image below.

The information below is no longer relevant, but because I kept the older old clock available when we phased that out, I'm leaving this around too. ♪

---

Back then it was easier than what we had before back then! When you hover over your display name in the top bar, the dropdown will include a snapshot of the current time in UTC. It's no longer a click away.

Image of old dropdown

The below is deprecated because the system has long been removed, but for posterity's sake...

---

I notice that no one has pointed it out yet, but...

If you check your recent activity page by clicking on the envelope, it will tell you the current site time. This might satisfy the needs of anyone who can't use the GreaseMonkey script, for now.

Image of older old universal clock

Answer 3

And here it is!

Here is a GreaseMonkey script that does just that! It sticks a small little box to the bottom of every StackExchange page with the current UTC date / time.

// ==UserScript==
// @name          StackClock
// @namespace     http://quickmediasolutions.com
// @description   Shows a clock on StackOverflow with the current time in UTC.
// @include       http://stackoverflow.com/*
// @include       http://superuser.com/*
// @include       http://serverfault.com/*
// @include       http://meta.stackoverflow.com/*
// @include       http://*.stackexchange.com/*
// @require       http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.3.2/jquery.min.js
// ==/UserScript==

var cur_date = new Date();

$("#footer-menu").after("<div style='color: white; padding: 4px; margin-left: 8px; background-color: #999; text-align: center; float: left;'>The current UTC<br>time is:<br><br><div id='utc-time'>" + cur_date.getUTCHours() + ":" + cur_date.getUTCMinutes() + "</div></div>");

Answer 4

I suppose your suggestion is more applicable now that more Stack Exchange sites are getting off the ground, some of them not technical at all (e.g. Cooking), but a year ago my answer would have been a derisive "What, you call yourself a programmer and you don't know what time it is in UTC?!"

Answer 5

Typing UTC time into Google will tell you the current SE time.

Answer 6

Very good idea!
despite dealing with UTC is not such a big deal for me.
I (must) use it often at work and free time, but I would prefer having it at the top of the page :-)

Answer 7

Some more Greasemonkey User Scripts:

in the top bar, after the links and before the search box

// ==UserScript==
// @name           Stack Exchange Clock
// @namespace      http://stackexchange.com/
// @description    Display UTC clock on Stack Exchange sites.
// @include        http://stackoverflow.com/*
// @include        http://serverfault.com/*
// @include        http://superuser.com/*
// @include        http://stackapps.com/*
// @include        http://meta.stackoverflow.com/*
// @include        http://*.stackexchange.com/*
// ==/UserScript==

/* Generate the current time string in UTC. */
function get_time() {
    var today = new Date();
    var h = today.getUTCHours();
    var m = zero_pad(today.getUTCMinutes());
    var s = zero_pad(today.getUTCSeconds());

    return h + ":" + m + ":" + s + " UTC";
}

/* Add a leading zero if required. */
function zero_pad(number) {
    if (number >= 0 && number < 10) {
        return "0" + number;
    }
    return number;
}

/* Update the time display. */
function update_time() {
    var stamp = document.getElementById('utc-clock');
    stamp.innerHTML = get_time();
}

/* Generate the HTML element for the stamp and insert,
   wrap time in a link so that it matches nearby styles. */
var time_url = "http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=current%20time";
var time_block = document.createElement("span");
var inner_s = "<span class='lsep'>|</span> ";
inner_s += "<a id='utc-clock' title='Current Time' href='";
inner_s += time_url + "'>...</a>";
time_block.innerHTML = inner_s;

var target = document.getElementById('hlinks-custom');
if (target) {
    target.parentNode.insertBefore(time_block, target.firstSibling);
}

var f = function() { update_time(); }
window.setInterval(f, 1000);

in the footer after the feedback link

// ==UserScript==
// @name           Stack Exchange Clock
// @namespace      http://stackexchange.com/
// @description    Display UTC clock on Stack Exchange sites.
// @include        http://stackoverflow.com/*
// @include        http://serverfault.com/*
// @include        http://superuser.com/*
// @include        http://stackapps.com/*
// @include        http://meta.stackoverflow.com/*
// @include        http://*.stackexchange.com/*
// ==/UserScript==

/* Generate the current time string in UTC. */
function get_time(prefix) {
    var today = new Date();
    var h = today.getUTCHours();
    var m = zero_pad(today.getUTCMinutes());
    var s = zero_pad(today.getUTCSeconds());

    return prefix + h + ":" + m + ":" + s + " UTC";
}

/* Add a leading zero if required. */
function zero_pad(number) {
    if (number >= 0 && number < 10) {
        return "0" + number;
    }
    return number;
}

/* Update the time display. */
function update_time() {
    var stamp = document.getElementById('utc-clock');
    stamp.innerHTML = get_time("current time: ");
}

/* Generate the HTML element for the stamp and insert,
   wrap time in a link to match the style of the menu items. */
var time_url = "http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=current%20time";
var time_block = document.createElement("span");
time_block.innerHTML = "| <a id='utc-clock' href='" + time_url + "'>...</a>";

var target = document.getElementById('footer-sites');
if (target) {
    target.parentNode.insertBefore(time_block, target);
}

var f = function() { update_time(); }
window.setInterval(f, 1000);

Answer 8

A Problem

I'm all for such a feature, but there's only one problem: if the timestamp is calculated server-side, this breaks caching!

Caching is one of the most important parts of making Stack Overflow run fast, so doing that might not be so good in the long run.

Of course, an alternative is to calculate the timestamp on the client. However, the time on client computers may be incorrect.

Answer 9

Since the roll out of the new top bar, the universal time for all Stack Exchange sites has moved from the activity drop down to the top right of the achievements dropdown: