We're going to use this script for updating timestamps on Try, but it can be used with a local database during development as well.
Usage:
Commands:
ruby db_timestamp_updater.rb yesterday <date> move all timestamps by x days so that <date> will be moved to yesterday
ruby db_timestamp_updater.rb 100 move all timestamps forward by 100 days
ruby db_timestamp_updater.rb -100 move all timestamps backward by 100 days
The script moves all timestamps in the database by the same amount of days forward or backward. No need to change the script if we add a new column in the future.
The more simple solution would be just to move timestamps in several tables (topics, posts, and so on). I didn't want to go that way because it could generate additional work in the future. For example, if we add a new column with a timestamp and users can see that timestamp we'd need to add that column to the script. Or, for example, if we move a post's timestamp to the future but forget to move a timestamp of topic timer or user action it can cause weird bugs.