PIcaRDMPCia
22-01-2005, 09:33
I've noticed something regarding just about every single forum I've ever visited(which is a lot.) Whenever the site goes through a major update, like, say, a switch to a different server, all of the older posts show their last post date/edit/what-have-you as being December 31st, 1969. Is there any real reason for why this happens?
PIcaRDMPCia
22-01-2005, 10:04
Would someone at least look at this thread? It has nothing to do with the NationStates forums. >_>
Would someone at least look at this thread? It has nothing to do with the NationStates forums. >_>
*looks at thread*
No idea.
Well, after a small bread crumb trail of searches, I came across the "Unix Epoch"...
This is a specific date and time from which the timestamp on many, many computer and internet applications is based...
The timestamp variable is stored as a single number, the number of seconds that are measured from that specific "zero" time point, and the programs that use this number usually convert it into something we can read (dates and times in the month/day/year hour:minute:second format)...
But anyways, internally, most timestamps are stored in this single numerical variable...
Well, the "zero" point of this measurement is Janurary 1, 1970 at 00:00:00 (I can't really figure out why, yet, though, must be some significant date to someone back when this system was devised)...
And apparently, when this number is null (non-existant), it defaults to Dec 31, 1969 (and most likely at 12:59:59, being the second directly before the zero point)
But don't quote me on any of the above... I've only been able to piece this together from some scraps of info, and I may very well be wrong... But, it makes some sense to me, anyways...