Timestamp Tooltips: Discord's Latest Experiment
For ages, we have gotten used to using sites like HammerTime to create timestamps to share in chats on Discord. But, in true Discord fashion, they are about to eliminate this third-party feature and add it directly to the platform (see a trend with our recent articles...)
Let's take a look at the latest Experiment!
What is a Timestamp?
Discord timestamps are useful tools for specifying a single date and time with users across multiple time zones. They work with the Unix Timestamp format and can be posted by regular users as well as bots and applications.
A timestamp is a dynamic string that automatically adjusts to show the time in that users timestamp.
When put into practice, this is a simple concept. I live in Scotland, a country that is located in the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) timezone, so the timestamp <t:1672073580:F> would display Monday, 26 December 2022 16:53 for me when pasted into Discord.
However, for someone in New York, USA (Eastern Standard Time [EST]), the exact same timestamp (<t:1672073580:F>) would display as Monday, 26 December 2022 11:53.
See how this is useful for Discord - people can schedule things like Server Events or meetings at a time, and send a timestamp so everyone knows exactly when the thing is happening. So, how do you make timestamps, and what is changing?
The Old Way: Third-Party Websites
The current (possibly old soon) is to use a website such as HammerTime.
HammerTime allows you to enter a time (in your timezone), and it will generate the timestamp for that specific time, and you can copy it into several different formats, depending on your preference.
Discord have decided that, again with their current theme of making everything user-friendly, that they want this popular and trending feature built natively into the platform...
The New Way: Native Support
Discord have recently launched an Experiment (meaning this feature is still in its Alpha phase and could very much still be removed) that adds native support for Timestamps.
This was discovered on GitHub, and dataminers such as advaith1 started posting screenshots of the new features.
In a very similar fashion to HammerTime, you simply input the date and time, and choose a format. However, perhaps more simple than HammerTime, instead of having to worry about even pasting anything, upon selecting the format of choice, Discord will automatically add it to your text box.
One possible disadvantage to Discord's method is that they have given times in blocks of 15 minutes. This means that you can only select from a preset variety of times. While this should be fine for most use cases, it is a downside as HammerTime allows you to input exact times, if - for example - you felt quirky and wanted to start a meeting at 4:02 p.m.
Opinions
I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on this. This will be the question in the outro card, but I'll ask it here too: Will you continue to use HammerTime, or switch to Discord's baked-in method?
Personally, I think both have their pros and cons. Having this feature directly baked into Discord is so much more conveinent, as it negates the need to switch to your browser and open a website; it's just there. However, HammerTime allows you to be far more precise with your time selections.
At the end of the day though, it is personal prefence, as both sites have their flaws, but functionally perform the same task.
That's all for today; I hope you enjoyed today's article. Make sure to join our official Discord server to continue the conversation on this topic, or even suggest articles for us to write in the future. I hope you have a very Happy New Year, and I'll see you all next year! Epic out! ✌️
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