On the Year 2000 issue

[Don Wells]

[NOTE: this is a re-posting of a message originally posted by me five
days ago; I have been warned in private Email that there may have been
distribution problems which prevented this message from reaching all
readers of sci.astro.fits/fitsbits. -Don]

Dear Friends of FITS,

Peter Bunclark of RGO raised the "DATE-OBS='31/12/99'" issue in a
posting to sci.astro.fits/fitsbits on 1996-06-24.  This question was
discussed extensively in sci.astro.fits over the succeeding three
weeks.  It appears that all major arguments have been put forward.

This issue is important. We need to have a solution in operation by
1999, and we would all feel better if it were settled even sooner.

Two solutions were proposed in sci.astro.fits. We could implement either 
   1) a new data value string definition for the 'DATExxxx' keywords, or
   2) a new set of keywords to replace the 'DATExxxx' ones.
Both of these options would have both good and bad consequences. 

We (the worldwide FITS community) need to choose either (1) or (2).
Preben Grosbol (former Chair of the IAU FITS Working Group, Chair of
the European FITS Committee) suggested to me and Ernst Raimond
(vice-Chair of IAU-FWG) in private Email a procedure to identify the
better of the two options:

  1) Chairmen (and other experts) will be asked for their opinion
     concerning the 'legal' state and impact of changing the 
     definition of the 'date value string'.

  2) The IAU FITS Working Group (which includes chairmen of local FITS
     Groups) will be asked two questions: a) which proposal they prefer,
     and b) if they would vote against either of the two proposals.

  3) A general e-mail poll with the same questions will be conducted
     through sci.astro.fits/fitsbits.

  4) Based on the results, one proposal will be selected for consideration 
     by the three local FITS Committees.

Ernst and I consider this proposed procedure to be a good approach.  I
expect that we could complete this procedure by the time of the
ADASS'96 meeting in Charlottesville on September 22 (we are well aware
that many people will be on vacation in August).

If any of you want to suggest modifications to the proposed procedure,
or to raise objections to it, please send me private Email by next
Thursday August 1. I intend to ask Preben to carry out the procedure.

For the record, I would be able to vote for either (1) or (2) if the
details of the two proposals are suitably arranged.

Regards,
Don Wells (Chair of IAU FITS Working Group)
--
  Donald C. Wells         Associate Scientist         dwells at nrao.edu
                    http://fits.cv.nrao.edu/~dwells
  National Radio Astronomy Observatory                +1-804-296-0277
  520 Edgemont Road,   Charlottesville, Virginia       22903-2475 USA