Timezones

PickleFriend has three separate timezone settings, and they do different things. Mix them up and events show the wrong time, calendar entries land at odd hours, or game-day reminders fire late.

The three timezone settings

Setting	Where you set it	What it controls
Your (user) timezone	Profile → Timezone	How event times display on-screen to you
Group timezone	Group Settings → Ratings tab	The default timezone pre-filled when you create a new event in that group
Event timezone	Event create / edit form	The timezone stored with a specific event; drives the calendar feed and reminder delivery

Each one is independent. Changing one does not change the others.

Your profile timezone

This controls what you personally see. When an organizer schedules an event at 6:00 PM Pacific, your profile timezone determines whether your schedule page reads "6:00 PM" or "9:00 PM."

Set it once in Profile → Timezone — either pick from the list or press Detect My Timezone — and save. If it's wrong, times across the schedule and event pages will be off by the difference between your profile zone and the event's zone. Fixing it corrects the display everywhere without touching any event data.

Group timezone

Each group has its own timezone, set in Group Settings → Ratings tab under Group Timezone. When you open the event creation form for that group, the timezone field defaults to whatever the group is set to. This saves you from manually picking the zone every time you create an event.

The group timezone is a default only — override it per event at creation time if needed. Changing the group timezone afterward does not update events that already exist.

Event timezone

When an event is saved, the timezone field is stored with it. Two things depend on getting it right:

The calendar (.ics) feed. Times in the feed are computed from the event's stored wall-clock time (e.g. "18:00") interpreted in the event's timezone. Calendar apps then render those times in the viewer's own zone. A wrong event timezone means the calendar entry lands at the wrong absolute time for everyone.

Game-day reminders. The automated email fires 56 hours before the event's scheduled time, computed from the stored wall-clock date. An incorrect event timezone shifts the trigger moment.

Set the event timezone in the create or edit form. You can update it alongside any other edit after the event is created.

What happens when they differ

Your profile timezone and the event timezone often differ — that's expected. Say an Eastern-time organizer creates a 6:00 PM Pacific event. The event stores "6:00 PM, America/Los_Angeles." A player with their profile set to Eastern sees "9:00 PM" on the schedule page. Both are correct; the underlying moment is the same.

The calendar feed exports the correct absolute moment (UTC-anchored) regardless of your profile timezone. Your calendar app then displays it in your local time automatically.

The group timezone has no effect on display or feed output — it only fills in the default when the event form opens.

Practical checklist

• Players seeing the wrong time? Check that the event timezone matches where the event is held. Scheduling an Eastern-timezone event for a Pacific venue shifts times by three hours.
• Calendar entries landing at the wrong hour? Check the event timezone stored on that specific event.
• Reminders arriving at the wrong moment? Verify the event's date, time, and timezone — the reminder fires 56 hours before the stored wall-clock time.
• Your own schedule page showing wrong times? Update your profile timezone; this has no effect on what others see.
• Every new event defaulting to the wrong zone? Update the group timezone in Group Settings.

What's next

• Email preferences — control which emails you receive and manage your profile timezone.
• Group Settings — set the group timezone alongside rating and game defaults.
• Creating an event — where the per-event timezone field lives.
• Calendar subscription — subscribe to your schedule in Google Calendar or Apple Calendar.