amtriska / Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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I'm sure most of you have at least heard of Clients from Hell, and probably more than half of you are readers. I just read numerosign's blog post on why he thinks designers should stop reading it from earlier this year.
On one hand, I get what he's saying. Clients aren't designers, and they might not know that we don't like Papyrus, that good design costs money, or that paragraphs of centered text don't look good. Some of the posts on Clients From Hell are about this sort of thing -- like the person who wanted a handout to be "the size of a piece of paper." Surely not everyone knows to say "8.5 x 11" (or A4 in the UK), and most designers should understand.
On the other hand, the vast majority of the posts are about one of two things: clients trying to rip designers off, and clients asking for things that no reasonable adult would ask for. The person who claimed that the designer should pay for a jacuzzi he ordered to test the site was clearly one of these, as are the people who wonder why the animated GIFs aren't moving when they print them out or why you can't fax the texture of a piece of paper over the phone lines -- not to mention the countless clients trying to get freebies or refusing to pay their designers.
Furthermore, I think it's great to have a place to vent! I go there and browse when a client is giving me a hard time, just so I can see that it could be worse. It's not like we're saying any of these things to the client's face (at least, I'm not). Every profession has this stuff -- I'm remembering, for example, the popular ~100-page forum thread on a medical site titled something like "Tales From The ER." (Never have I heard so many descriptions of what can go up the human ass.)
I'm definitely going to keep reading it -- I find it hilarious. But what do you guys think of Clients From Hell?
Hellier wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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Outing your client is a douchebag move, regardless.
karmatosed wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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I second that 'douchebag' and raise you an unprofessional to be honest. Heck I've had some right doozey clients but never outed any because for me it's about a professional side I simply won't reveal online.
I also have usually found problems have come when I've been also lacking even from a communication or 'don't get involved with client' sense level. Trust me in my career I've got some stories but they stay with me and I learn from them.
In my opinion moaning about clients = less clients more moaning = viscious circle. If you get a name for blurting online it's not one you will be able to shift. If a client is giving me a hard time I now find ways to get it to be better rather than joining in moan fests - but I treat life like that now after some life lessons (was a time I'd have moaned with the best of them so I get it just not something I do anymore not judging those that do it).
lewis wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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I've never contributed anything there, I have too much respect for my clients. Although I've never had any clients that are as terrible as some of the ones on the site.
I check it out occasionally for a laugh and to see how other designers deal with difficult clients, what they say or their tone.
lesjames wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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I used to follow CFH but it got pretty old after awhile. It got to the point where every time I would read something I'd question whether or not it's true. I felt like everything was just sensationalized in order to keep me reading. It also makes designers seem elitist because we know better than everyone else and I can't stand elitism.
tinym wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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I have read some funny posts from there but I question the truth in a lot of them. The attitude of designers submitting some of these does seem to be pretty bad. I look at the site as a work of fiction. I don't think people are as clueless as some of the stories make them out to be. A lot of frustration can be avoided when the designer does his job educating a naive client.
Clervius wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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I like this one
While meeting with the buyer for a major retailer, we were showing them some Noah’s Ark themed stationary items that they had requested. The buyer liked the look of everything. but she had one recommendation:
“Is there any way we can make the orange in the color palette more Christian?”
"Well... we can pray over it. Would you like to do the honors?"
destiny wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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It is on the line of unprofessional and cathartic.
On one hand, the clients that have outright been disrespectful and uncooperative deserve to be on Clients From Hell because it will serve as learning experience for beginners and a way to vent.
On the other hand, while some of them are funny to us, they are insulting to clients. There's no way to justify making fun of clients who don't know design.
johnnyquest wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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I haven't read CFH in a long time, but is anyone really outing any one on there? From what I remember clients aren't mentioned by name. There's no harm in one fairly anonymous person venting their rage about another anonymous persons.
Apart from the inherent dangers of catharsis
brandclay wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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I go there for a laugh from time to time. To be honest, some of those stories are hard to believe. I could never write about one of my clients... reiterating what the people said above.
benek wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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I get a good laugh from it, even if some of them may be fake. I don't see much harm in anonymous venting like that. I'd feel very differently if the client was ever named.
There are definitely repeated themes and difficulties that we all face and it's nice to see that other people have the same (if not much worse) problems.
dbonnevile wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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I read it everyday, currently, and have RT'd more than a few. As I've moved away from client work and more towards graphic design products (books and app), I realize how much more I like books and apps than clients :).
If my book has scope-creep, it's because me and it decided nice and friendly together about it. If my app screams for a new feature, I'm more than happy to capitulate. Not so with so many clients!
amtriska wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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@Destiny: Yeah, I wish they'd post fewer of the "omg he wants comic sans!" types of complaints. None of us were born knowing typography.
Then again, posts like this one deserve to be shared: http://clientsfromhell.net/post/1014584272/we-need-to-talk-about-these-alleged-invoices
I've never contributed, but I'd be tempted if a client emailed me that. (Kidding. Public forum = inappropriate for private grievances. Funny, though.)
elizabeth wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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I read it everyday. :) I like Clients From Hell, but I'm like Lewis- I also have too much respect for my clients to pick apart their wording and lack of understanding of design.
One thing I don't like about Clients From Hell is that it's inadvertently helping to create those egotistical designers who sneer and criticize as every street sign and poster they see walking down a street. The snobs that mock and judge people for their ignorance in design.
mcatoms wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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@Elizabeth Perez I feel the same way. (The 2nd part, about the snobs and the mocking and judging)
I read CFH pretty regularly. I know that 50% or more is probably made up, but it can be pretty damn enertaining.
Plus, even if their story isn't true, the spirit of the story reminds me that none of us are alone in our fight against ignorance... ;-)
(Not talking about design ignorace.... just ignorance in general.)
karmatosed wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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"Plus, even if their story isn't true, the spirit of the story reminds me that none of us are alone in our fight against ignorance... ;-)"
This is a very thin line you have to tred as a designer - never believe that someone is ignorant just because they do not understand a colour goes with another colour or they think bevelling is the latest thing. We should educate not preach and trust me I've preached before and it never works just makes you look like a fool.
mcatoms wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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@karmatosed Agreed. That comment was meant as witty commentary on society in general. In this, I have obviously failed.
karmatosed wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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@McAtoms: Nah I get the witty comment however having trained several designers in my time it's one thing I'm very hot on so can have a sense of humour failure over it :P
ohiojuhnkl wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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The fact that no one would admit to talking badly about their clients on a public forum makes this question hard to answer.
msquared wrote this Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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Gotta chime in here… such a great forum for designers (Thank you Tara from ElasticMind for a valuable share).
Love this discussion. Really appreciate the perspective around putting ourselves as designers in a superior position over our clients simply because they don’t understand our industry lingo. I mean, when we go to the doctor’s… do you understand anything they talk about. The idea is to educate (share knowledge) in order to empower each other.
I believe the new frontier of business will be about treating each other as equals… meaning be the first one to do it… BE RESPECTFUL to your client first, give them the benefit of the doubt, extend seeing each other with more innocence & compassion and NO MORE jumping through hoops because the clients says something. Those days are over (for me personally). I love what I do as a designer. I know my strengths & weaknesses and I speak plainly to them. I think this builds trust.
And to the discussion of whether to out a client… from the perspective of “I am interviewing You, dear client, to see if YOU are suitable for my genius…” (you know the old advice when interviewing for a job, right? Act like you are interviewing the boss as much as the boss is interviewing you… same thing here).
If our clients are allowed to provide feedback about our service or product (in *any* industry) then why can’t we as designers also have the same privilege? Seriously, ask your self what does “unprofessional” really mean? Does remaining viewed as “professional” really have to equal being a doormat? See if you can get at it from another angle… see if it’s REALLY true… or if you have simply adopted and play by the old biz paradigm…
Would I out a client publicly? I’m not sure. It’s a huge risk. But you know what I’ve discovered about risk, being vulnerable (saying what’s really true for you)? People respect you for it. And any prospective client who views me as unprofessional for doing so, is not my right client! Each of us, as individual designers, cannot serve the entire world. And, not every client is OUR client. OUTing a client to me is simply another way of saying, this was not my ideal client.
I think you can “out” the client in a dignified way (not because they don’t know/understand our lingo, but because *they* are “unprofessional”). I’ve had clients not pay, remove my credits as designer from their design after it’s complete because “we break up” and who knows what they are speaking in confidence (much easier than posting a ‘nasty’ somewhere on an online forum).... why is this not OK to report? When will it be? What will we, as designers, need to change about how we conduct biz and engage with our clients for that to be different?
We can define how we’d like our industry to evolve by being that change in it. Any client who calls me “unprofessional” was never my right client. I can’t mold myself to fit into everyone else’s definition of professional… it’s a matter of staying true to ME, my gifts, talent, expertise, worth & value, instead of trading that off so I can be collectively grouped into the category of professional. Staying safe (the status quo) will not bring us into the next level of evolvement… as designers, as a community, as a planet!
CFH looks like a great place to commiserate with fellow designers who understand the process of design while working with those who don’t. It’s funny. It’s frustrating. I’ll be back for a chuckle when I need it.
But I’ll most likely be back here first.
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
Filename: posts/single.php
Line Number: 120
Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
Filename: posts/single.php
Line Number: 120
Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
Filename: posts/single.php
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
Filename: posts/single.php
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
Filename: posts/single.php
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
Filename: posts/single.php
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
Filename: posts/single.php
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
Filename: posts/single.php
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
Filename: posts/single.php
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
Filename: posts/single.php
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
Filename: posts/single.php
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
Filename: posts/single.php
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
Filename: posts/single.php
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: Warning
Message: strtotime(): It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/Los_Angeles' for 'PDT/-7.0/DST' instead
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It's always good for a laugh. Cheers me up :)