# Unimportant question about server time

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [November 18, 2002, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235 "2002-11-18T01:44:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 13\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235/1 "2002-11-18T01:44:04Z")

</div>

Has the server time been reset recently? For the longest time it was a few minutes ahead of my computer and office clock times. Today it’s about eight minutes slow in comparison.

Just curious, no biggie. Is it just me?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235/2 "2002-11-18T02:17:04Z")

</div>

I concur. It’s now running about 3m15s slow of real time.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235/3 "2002-11-18T03:50:55Z")

</div>

Are we anal or what? Let’s hear it for the Daytime Posters!

😃

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235/4 "2002-11-18T03:57:36Z")

</div>

Hey. At least I didn’t put error bars.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235/5 "2002-11-18T05:01:07Z")

</div>

Observation: the time on the server seems different.  
Question: Did someone change the time on the server, or has the time been changed on all the other clocks in the world?

That’s a deeply philosophical question, and I don’t think I have the necessary expertise to answer it. Paging Donald Davidson!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![femtosecond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@femtosecond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femtosecond)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235/6 "2002-11-18T14:51:31Z")

</div>

Perhaps NASA’s plan finally succeeded, to reverse the Earth’s rotation by orbiting it backwards, like Superman did.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235/7 "2002-11-18T16:21:50Z")

</div>

Ah, good – my question has been treated with the proper seriousness. 😃 I knew I could count on you jokers.

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Derleth \*  
> **Are we anal or what?**

You say that like it’s a bad thing . . .

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235/8 "2002-11-18T16:23:55Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by femtosecond \*  
> \*\*Perhaps NASA’s plan finally succeeded, to reverse the Earth’s rotation by orbiting it backwards, like Superman did. \*\*

I didn’t _hear_ it slowing down, so I think you must be wrong.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235/9 "2002-11-18T18:06:43Z")

</div>

Well it’s even slower now.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235/10 "2002-11-18T18:13:08Z")

</div>

The clock of course. Not the Earth.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235/11 "2002-11-18T19:08:58Z")

</div>

Actually, the earth is a bit slower as well.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235/12 "2002-11-20T18:42:49Z")

</div>

Nah, just the people on it.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![femtosecond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@femtosecond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femtosecond)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unimportant-question-about-server-time/137235/13 "2002-11-21T12:55:53Z")

</div>

No, really, at Earth’s current natural\*\*\*\*\* deceleration, the average length of a day increases by about 0.002 seconds per century. That’s about 630 femtoseconds per second. ( \<- Achernar, NO! Don’t even think about it. :))

\*\*\*\*\* ‘Natural’, hrmpf, that’s what they want us to think. They can’t fool me. But the board feels faster, too. Why do I now imagine Jerry whizzing around the server room in an accelerated timeframe, like Mr. Spock in the Star Trek episode “Wink of an Eye”…