Recent updates to the way dates and times are stored in the MySQL database by WordPress are causing quite a stir at the Support Forums. When I ran a few upgrades the other day, the new code had a lot of bugs, so my site hit the shitter for a bit. Everything is running smooth again though after a few more updates.

WordPress had been storing dates and times according to the server time that your site ran on and now they’ve switched over to using GMT for everything. Both ways need an offset unless of course you live in the same time zone as your server or your time zone is GMT.

By using the server time, you first had to figure out where your server was located, which could be a real bitch since a lot of people have their sites setup through some sort of hosting company. After you found that out, you had to compute your offset from that time. If you ever moved your site to another server, you’d need to do that process again.

With GMT, all you need to do is figure your offset from GMT, no matter where your server is located. If you move your site to another server, find your offset from GMT again and change the setting.

I like GMT better!