I work with a small team of software developers scattered across the globe – I’m working in the UK while my colleagues are based in the Middle East and Central America. But it does create an amusing April Fools’ Day conundrum for our 14:00 UTC meeting: Can my Central American mate still play tricks on us?
Traditionally, April Fools’ follows one simple rule – the tricks end at noon.
So for our virtual meetup:
- In the UK, it’s 14:00. My noon is long gone, along with my right to play tricks.
- For our Middle Eastern teammate, it’s already 17:00. Their noon is ancient history.
- Meanwhile, our Central American colleague is still having breakfast at 08:00, with hours to go before their local trickery deadline!
Can our Central American colleague play a trick since it is before noon in their time, or are they prevented because it is after noon in ours?
Perhaps we need our own team constitution on this vital matter. Should we declare that April Fools’ ends at noon UTC, no matter where you are? Or should we embrace the chaos and award extra points for cross-timezone creativity?
Whatever we decide, I’ll be eyeing every notification, link, and screen share from my Central American teammate with healthy suspicion today. At least until their local church bells sound – which I definitely won’t be able to hear from 5,000 miles away!