date from hell

what governs file dates? i have noticed for a long time that when i DL something, half the time the date/time reflects when the DL wrapped up and half the time it is some muy ancient date, presumably when it was created or ULed on the server where i found it.

just NOW, tho, i noticed that one such file CHANGES DATE when i move it locally! that is, it DLed with "16 aug" and the time i DLed it yesterday, but when i drag it to a new folder, it suddenly changes to "7 april"!! how does THAT work?!

worse yet, even now, a full day later, if i move it BACK to the original folder, the date changes back to 16 aug! what the...?! how is it even KEEPING that info?!

were it changing the OTHER WAY, i might conclude that dragging it somewhere triggered "date update". but even in the drag BACK, it's using yesterday's date (DL time); nothing to do with today's "drag time".

even if the downloader offered "use original filedate" vs "use filedate of completion" (haven't noticed that, tho i recall it from days using FTP), the changes are now between two dates which are BOTH in the past.

btw, if i drag it to a THIRD folder, it retains the "7 april" date. only back into the ORIGINAL (DL) folder does it magically revert to 16 aug.

is ANY of this normal?!

 

I have also noticed strange or counterintuitive behavior with file and folder dates and times, but thought the explanation
would be a mind bender.

This is a long article but does give some specific information:

TechRepublic: Build Your Skills: Learn to manipulate file time stamps in Windows

 

both the article in general, and the lines excerpted in particular, make perfect sense, but they are almost the OPPOSITE of what's happening in my case!

for starters, recall that i said the date was changing BACKWARDS with the file move! even now, if i juggle it, it's "16 aug" in the DL folder, "7 apr" in the second one. and nothing to do with the actual "copy date" or "drag date", which would now be 26 aug in any case.