[mme42]

Keep in mind that this thread was started in 2001. I have no idea how vBulletin handled the time then, but I definitely wouldn't be surprised if it's different. In recent versions you can set the default time zone offset in the admincp.

ACP > vBulletin Options > Date and Time Options > Default Time Zone Offset

Then for wording (The time is now....) that's a phrase which can be edited:

[all_times_are_gmt_x_time_now_is_y]

Personally, I'd stick with GMT for the wording if you have users from different countries as it's the most universally known zone. Then, for your default offset, select the time zone where most of your users are from.

If you wanted to edit the wording you could use something like "All times are EST, time now is(2)" In other words, you'd replace "GMT" with the desired zone and remove the "(1)" which inserts the offset amount from GMT. But, I'd stick with GMT myself.