pytz has so many timezones!

[J. Cliff Dyer]

Nicholas Bastin wrote:
>
> There is no central authority which defines global time zones.  The
> functional definition of a time zone is merely a geographical area of
> the earth that has adopted the same local time rules.
>

In fact, even the authorities who do define time zones don't always
have the final say.  In Xinjiang province in Western China, the
official time zone is the same as Beijing, even though Xinjiang is
about as far west of Beijing as Nevada is from DC, so the sun comes up
around "noon" and sets around "midnight."  So many people set their
clocks to unofficial Xinjiang time, three hours offset from Beijing.

In offering a "Xinjiang" timezone set to the unofficial time, you
might win some customers who see you as being on their side.  Xinjiang
is a muslim country, so you might also score points with muslims
elsewhere in the world who see their minority Uighur brethren as
oppressed by the authorities of Beijing.  On the other hand, you might
annoy the authorities in Beijing.  Which is just to say that choice of
time zone is not just a geographic issue.  There are political,
diplomatic issues to weigh as well.

Cheers,
Cliff