What is SLT? Second Life Time explained

SLT means Second Life Time. It is the clock the whole of Second Life runs on: event start times, store sales, hunts, group gift rotations and Linden Lab announcements all use it. SLT is simply the time in California, the US Pacific time zone, where Linden Lab is based.

SLT in one sentence

SLT is Pacific Time: UTC minus 8 hours in winter (PST) and UTC minus 7 hours in summer (PDT). When it is 12:00 noon SLT, it is 20:00 in London in winter and 21:00 in Berlin.

Why SLT changes twice a year

Pacific Time follows US daylight saving time. Clocks move forward on the second Sunday of March and back on the first Sunday of November. Europe changes its clocks on different dates (the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October), so for a few weeks each spring and autumn the gap between SLT and European time is one hour smaller than usual. If an event seems to start an hour early or late in March or late October, this is why.

Some countries, such as Japan, Brazil and Turkey, do not use daylight saving time at all, so the gap to SLT changes by one hour when the US switches.

SLT compared with your time

These are the usual gaps. Add the hours to an SLT time to get your local time.

New York: 3 hours ahead of SLT, all year.
London: 8 hours ahead (7 hours for a few weeks in spring and autumn).
Berlin, Paris, Madrid: 9 hours ahead (8 hours for a few weeks in spring and autumn).
Istanbul: 11 hours ahead in winter, 10 hours ahead in summer.
São Paulo: 5 hours ahead in winter, 4 hours ahead in summer.
Tokyo: 17 hours ahead in winter, 16 hours ahead in summer. Tokyo is often already on the next day.

Example: a party at 6 PM SLT on Friday starts at 05:00 on Saturday morning in Istanbul in winter, and at 11:00 on Saturday in Tokyo.

Where you see SLT

In the viewer. Most viewers, including the official Second Life viewer and Firestorm, show the current SLT time in the top bar.
In the events list. Times on the official Second Life events list are in SLT.
In store notices and group notices. "Sale ends at midnight SLT" means midnight in California.
On WhatSL. Every time on this site is given in SLT, and your own local time is shown next to it in brackets, worked out by your browser. The clock in the top bar always shows the current SLT.

Midnight SLT: the daily reset

Many things in Second Life change at midnight SLT. Daily deals end, Midnight Mania boards reset, some group gifts rotate and many 24-hour sales start or stop. If you live in Europe, midnight SLT is in the morning, which makes it easy to catch new daily gifts before work. In Asia it is in the afternoon.

Tips for planning around SLT

Set a second clock on your phone or computer to "Los Angeles". Your device then handles daylight saving for you.
When you write an event or sale notice, always add "SLT" to the time. Residents read notices from every time zone.
When an event list shows a date, check the date in SLT, not only the hour. Late evening SLT is already the next day in most of Europe and Asia.
On WhatSL, look at the local time in brackets next to each event. It is converted for you.

You can see what is on right now in SLT on the events page and the home page.

Frequently asked questions

Is SLT the same as PST?

SLT is the same as US Pacific Time. In winter that is PST (UTC−8). In summer it is PDT (UTC−7). People often write PST all year, but the clock in Second Life follows daylight saving time.

What time is midnight SLT where I live?

Add your normal gap to SLT: midnight SLT is 08:00 in London, 09:00 in Berlin and 11:00 in Istanbul in winter. In summer it is 10:00 in Istanbul because Turkey does not change its clocks.

Why does my event appear one hour off in March or October?

The United States and Europe change their clocks on different weekends. For a few weeks the usual gap is one hour smaller, so check the time again during those weeks.