Re: [Ntp] Finding leap-seconds.list

[Steve Allen <[e-mail]>]

On Fri 2018-11-09T10:47:47-0500 Danny Mayer hath writ:
> My understanding is that IERS is the body responsible for deciding when
> to declare a leap-second.

> The distribution of the information seems to be a vague process.

The IETF inherited this responsibility in 1988 from the original
responsible agency, International Time Bureau (BIH).  The process has
never been specified other than a leap second must be announced at
least 8 weeks in advance.  This made sense at the date of the original
recommendation 460 in 1970 because at that time BIH was publishing
Bulletin Horaire every two months.  No regulation required BIH nor
requires IERS to publish this information in a machine-accessible
format, and no there is no source of funds for publishing with a
robust technology.

This timekeeping tragedy-of-the-commons can be seen at least as far
back as 1925 when broadcast time signals were being used by navigators
of vessels, commercial clock setting operations, surveyors, and
geodecists around the world.  The IAU was paying all of the expenses
of running the BIH and wondering if maybe they could get the IUGG to
contribute some funds toward the understanding of why different time
broadcasts disagreed and studying ways of improving their
synchronization

http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1926BuBIH...2..123S&db_key=AST&page_ind=20&data_type=GIF&type=SCREEN_VIEW&classic=YES

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