Talk:Time in Indiana

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[edit] Removed duplicative paragraph

I removed the April 2006 - section because it appeared to entirely duplicate the last paragraph in the better section and in additon, the above paragraph was better written. Jon 15:34, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "down the middle"

"down the middle" and "eastern half of the state on Eastern Time, and the western half on Central time" are misleading. The dividing line was actually mostly along the western border of Indiana, with exceptions in the northwest and southwest "corners". Also, we might consider adding explanation in the "controversy" section that including Indiana in the eastern timezone extends it considerably west from where the natural dividing line would be (82.5deg W). This has the effect of pulling Indiana an hour ahead of nature (in broad terms, and without rehashing tired arguments). Adding DST to that creates an effective, localized "double DST". 3idiot 19:57, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[1] states that as of 1961, the dividing line was mostly down the middle. It was changed later to the western border with exceptions in the corners. They have a map showing the dividing line in the middle which I would very much like to have in the article, but the copywrite status of the map is unclear (the website is copywrited, but it looks like the map was copied from another location, who knows where. Anyway, take a look at that source and said map. It's a between a third and halfway down the page. The map is on the right, red and green. ~ ONUnicorn (Talk / Contribs) 20:17, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Here's a quote from that website, describing the boundary:

The 1961 Central zone began with St. Joseph in the north and went south through Marshall, Fulton, Miami, Howard and Tipton -- until it reached Hamilton. It swung west through Clinton to Tippecanoe and south again through Montgomery, Putnam and Owen. There, it veered east through Monroe, Brown and Bartholomew until turning south through Jackson and Washington and southwest through Crawford and Perry to the Ohio River.

Indianapolis (central), Fort Wayne (and the northeast), Richmond (the east) and the southeast Ohio River counties anchored the Eastern time zone in Indiana. The Chicago area (northwest), Terre Haute (west), Bloomington (west-central) and Evansville (southwest) were the major areas in Indiana's Central time zone.

~ ONUnicorn (Talk / Contribs) 20:21, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
Aha! I think what I meant to say is that the steady progression of the dividing line across the state is not clear from what is written. I very much like the map in your reference. If there's not one publicly available already, let's draw one.
I think the opening paragraph speaks to the present, and I don't hink "down the middle" is presently accurate.
I'll think some more on what specific changes I suggest and present them here later. Maybe that will be more clear than my just saying it needs changes.
3idiot 20:44, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
You're right about the opening paragraph, I didn't even think about it saying that in the opening. I have re-worded the opening so it's a little clearer.
Drawing a map (or maybe several) is a good idea for an article like this. Maybe we could start with some kind of clip-art that shows the counties and modify it (easier than drawing from scratch)?
I'll look forward to your changes. ~ ONUnicorn (Talk / Contribs) 19:15, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
[2]
This look right for 61-67? I still have to figure out the copyright info to tag it with. I just took the picture that's already on the page and colored some counties different colors.
3idiot 21:07, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
[3] And for 1967-2005?
Of note: When looking at [4] for reference, I noticed that it says "Two (2) counties near Cincinnati (Dearborn and Ohio)...observe Eastern Daylight Time." But it has Dearborn, Ohio and Switzerland colored. Need to reconcile that.
3idiot 21:31, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
I'm pretty sure it's the map that is wrong. Jon 14:23, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pulaski County

A Nebraska newspaper is reporting that Pulaski county will be moved back to Eastern timezone. (http://www.onelocalnews.com/akronfarmreport/ViewArticle.aspx?id=58704&source=2) But so far they are the only one doing so, and they are out of state. Jon 14:23, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Ok; lots of papers now reprinting this; so confirmed. I've split that paragraph into a new section (2007) since it's now confirmed the time zone boundary will be different for 2007 (post Daylight Savings Time) than in 2006. Jon 15:29, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] County map images are confusing

The maps of which counties observe what are somewhat confusing when the reader is not familiar with which counties are which. Specifically, with the part of the narrative that describes the changes occurring in 2006. A beneficial change would be for the maps to have letter labels on the counties that changed, with a key identifying them. Also, the third map shows two counties in the NW being added to the Eastern time zone, but the second map appears to show that they are already. If I read the text right (and I may not have), these two were observing Eastern time unofficially, so should really be shown in a different colour on the second map. -- Earle Martin [t/c] 17:44, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Current time zones vs historical time zones

This article seems to be written with the assumption that its target audience is someone who is not visiting Indiana today, but who is fascinated by the tiny details of the history of timezones in Indiana. I think it would be more useful if the article tried primarily to be a clear description of the current timezones (as well as any changes that are certain to happen in the near future), and it may be worth moving the history to a separate, secondary article. JNW2 (talk) 16:58, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

I understand your comment, but the article is not really about the current time zones, and the audience isn't necessarily travelers. The article is about the debate and the controversy surrounding the time zones. I realize it sounds petty to those not familiar with the issue, but this is a HUGE deal in Indiana. Elections have been won and lost many times over this issue. I understand what you are saying, but at the same time, what you are suggesting does not correspond with the article's summary. Personally, I believe a different title would be more appropriate. However, the title was established before I began contributing to this article. In my opinion, the article needs a title more representative of the article's first paragraph. Jstuck21677 (talk) 17:43, 29 April 2008 (UTC)