Web Site Changes - The 9-12 Project of Central PA2024-03-29T00:48:14Zhttps://wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com/forum/topics/web-site-changes?commentId=3029713%3AComment%3A11164&feed=yes&xn_auth=noTheresa,
Yes, I have been re…tag:wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com,2009-05-23:3029713:Comment:111642009-05-23T20:40:33.309ZPeter Trippetthttps://wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com/profile/PeterandKarenTrippett
Theresa,<br />
<br />
Yes, I have been reading the Ning Developers network, and about their web programming API.<br />
<br />
I haven't completely given up on Ning, but as a developer, I usually like having more control.<br />
<br />
For example, I feel it is important to be able to back up the content on the site, and be able to quickly move to another site, in the event the site host (in this case, Ning) shuts down. Ning has realized this, and I found somewhere in their forums or blogs, that they are planning to add a backup…
Theresa,<br />
<br />
Yes, I have been reading the Ning Developers network, and about their web programming API.<br />
<br />
I haven't completely given up on Ning, but as a developer, I usually like having more control.<br />
<br />
For example, I feel it is important to be able to back up the content on the site, and be able to quickly move to another site, in the event the site host (in this case, Ning) shuts down. Ning has realized this, and I found somewhere in their forums or blogs, that they are planning to add a backup feature.<br />
<br />
I don't want to make a hasty decision, and disrupt everybody, just on a whim. I am planning to have a committee, consisting of both people with technical knowledge (maybe Bill Ames and myself), plus anyone else who is interested, specifically to discuss issues of the web site, email, and other internet issues. If you are interested, you are welcome to join! In the end, I would explain the issues to the entire group, and vote on it, before taking any action.<br />
<br />
-Peter Thanks for the follow-up.
Corktag:wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com,2009-05-09:3029713:Comment:95412009-05-09T18:52:35.979ZCorkhttps://wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com/profile/Cork
Thanks for the follow-up.<br />
Cork
Thanks for the follow-up.<br />
Cork The splash page is a good ide…tag:wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com,2009-05-08:3029713:Comment:94272009-05-08T16:53:32.890ZPeter Trippetthttps://wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com/profile/PeterandKarenTrippett
The splash page is a good idea. But, I think that we would have to figure out whether we wanted to use our own domain name on ning.com (which is possible for $5/mo) first, so we can decide on the correct way to set it up.<br />
<br />
I do agree that it would take some effort to set up our own site. However, there is no magic in ning.com's ability to keep spammers at bay - they simply require that you be a member of a social networking site, before posting comments or discussions on that site. Were we to…
The splash page is a good idea. But, I think that we would have to figure out whether we wanted to use our own domain name on ning.com (which is possible for $5/mo) first, so we can decide on the correct way to set it up.<br />
<br />
I do agree that it would take some effort to set up our own site. However, there is no magic in ning.com's ability to keep spammers at bay - they simply require that you be a member of a social networking site, before posting comments or discussions on that site. Were we to set up our own site, we would do the same. I have been a member of the anti-spam community for several years, so I have plenty of methods for dealing with forum spammers.<br />
<br />
I know that the host you mentioned seems to get alot of business. I am familliar with them, and their history. There are several reasons that I would prefer not to use them, but let's discuss that once we are more organized.<br />
<br />
I have had an email address posted on a public website for years. After it had been there only a few months, that address got 20 to 100 spam emails per day (unfiltered). However, I have been reporting such spam to blacklisting services. As I have done so, the amount of spam received at that address has dropped significantly over the years, and now amounts to 0 to 3 spam emails per day (unfiltered).<br />
<br />
I don't know who is receiving email sent to the @yahoo.com address posted on the site right now, and I don't know how good yahoo's filter is, or even if it has been activated for that address. For now, I thought it better to spare that person from having to deal with a large volume of spam.<br />
<br />
As to the bots - yes, they exist. And, yes some can read gifs or jpegs. I view this as a temporary solution. Once we get up and running, I would rather use a Contact Us form, with a Captcha, like most other organizations do.<br />
<br />
At any rate, once we get organized, I was going to suggest that we establish a Web Site committee, which would be tasked with discussing all these sorts of issues, and make recommendations to the Executive Committee. More information on the issue…tag:wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com,2009-05-08:3029713:Comment:94072009-05-08T15:17:58.447ZPeter Trippetthttps://wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com/profile/PeterandKarenTrippett
More information on the issue of comments or discussions that span more than one page...<br />
<br />
I have found a setting that will change the order of comments, on any of the features that allow them. This includes blogs, photos, videos, personal profile pages, groups, and events, <u>but does not inlcude forums</u>. If I change that setting, comments would be sorted so that the most recent comment would be displayed FIRST, after the original post.<br />
<br />
Does anyone think I should change that setting?
More information on the issue of comments or discussions that span more than one page...<br />
<br />
I have found a setting that will change the order of comments, on any of the features that allow them. This includes blogs, photos, videos, personal profile pages, groups, and events, <u>but does not inlcude forums</u>. If I change that setting, comments would be sorted so that the most recent comment would be displayed FIRST, after the original post.<br />
<br />
Does anyone think I should change that setting? I checked on this. The email…tag:wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com,2009-05-08:3029713:Comment:94062009-05-08T15:14:14.412ZPeter Trippetthttps://wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com/profile/PeterandKarenTrippett
I checked on this. The email feature on this web site is pretty low tech, and does not have the ability to add a signature. I sometimes even find it difficult, when I want to address an email to more than one person. I could not find any ability to add a signature to emails, blogs or discussions.<br />
<br />
However, I have read that ning.com will soon be introducing some sort of programming or scripting language, which may make it easier to add or change the behavior of features on this site.<br />
<br />
For email,…
I checked on this. The email feature on this web site is pretty low tech, and does not have the ability to add a signature. I sometimes even find it difficult, when I want to address an email to more than one person. I could not find any ability to add a signature to emails, blogs or discussions.<br />
<br />
However, I have read that ning.com will soon be introducing some sort of programming or scripting language, which may make it easier to add or change the behavior of features on this site.<br />
<br />
For email, another option would be to start emailing one another directly. Then you could use whatever email program you were familiar with, and be able to have signatures.<br />
<br />
Some may be concerned about privacy, and may not want to give out their email address. So, another option is to give everyone an address on our domain, so you would have an address that ended in @912centralpa.org. This address could be set up to automatically forward to your private email address, or I could create a separate email account with that address.<br />
<br />
We should probably discuss these issues once we have gotten organized. Peter:
I may have missed it,…tag:wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com,2009-05-08:3029713:Comment:93632009-05-08T09:40:39.612ZCorkhttps://wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com/profile/Cork
Peter:<br />
<br />
I may have missed it, but is it possible to add the ability to have a "signature" automatically applied whenever we add anything such as email, blogs, discussions.....<br />
<br />
Cork
Peter:<br />
<br />
I may have missed it, but is it possible to add the ability to have a "signature" automatically applied whenever we add anything such as email, blogs, discussions.....<br />
<br />
Cork I think it would be a good id…tag:wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com,2009-05-07:3029713:Comment:93212009-05-07T21:01:46.582ZWilliam Ameshttps://wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com/profile/WilliamAmes
I think it would be a good idea to have a splash page (or portal, if you will) under the new domain name, and then a link (or several links) to the ning site for members. We could post information for public consumption on that page, too.<br />
<br />
Creating a site that would duplicate ning's functionality would be a big PIA. I've managed a lot of forums and interactive sites, and they are difficult at best, nightmares at worst. They always get attacked by spammers, for one thing, trying to post links to…
I think it would be a good idea to have a splash page (or portal, if you will) under the new domain name, and then a link (or several links) to the ning site for members. We could post information for public consumption on that page, too.<br />
<br />
Creating a site that would duplicate ning's functionality would be a big PIA. I've managed a lot of forums and interactive sites, and they are difficult at best, nightmares at worst. They always get attacked by spammers, for one thing, trying to post links to porn and ED drugs. Ning seems to do a good job of keeping them at bay.<br />
<br />
As for hosting, I would recommend that the organization get their own hosting so that it's not controlled by one individual, should said individual ever have an axe to grind. GoDaddy, for example, offers hosting for about $3.00 a month. I think we can handle that. Also, having a dedicated site (as opposed to a masked domain on another site) would greatly benefit SEO.<br />
<br />
Regarding the posting of email addresses online, I haven't had much trouble with it, honestly. Do I get spam? sure, but it's no more than I get on any other account, and spam filters are working better and better these days. There are bots out there to defeat any attempt at masking an address, some even use OCR to read gifs and jpegs, so it's largely a quixotic endeavor. Some people have asked me if…tag:wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com,2009-05-06:3029713:Comment:91612009-05-06T02:55:09.647ZPeter Trippetthttps://wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com/profile/PeterandKarenTrippett
Some people have asked me if it would be possible to change the behavior of forum discussions. Some discussions have several replies, causing the discussion to be displayed on multiple pages. For those discussions, you must scroll to the bottom of the screen, and click on a page number to find a reply that has been moved off the first page. Some people find this behavior inconvenient, and have asked if it could be changed.<br />
<br />
I checked in the settings, and there are only two choices that affect…
Some people have asked me if it would be possible to change the behavior of forum discussions. Some discussions have several replies, causing the discussion to be displayed on multiple pages. For those discussions, you must scroll to the bottom of the screen, and click on a page number to find a reply that has been moved off the first page. Some people find this behavior inconvenient, and have asked if it could be changed.<br />
<br />
I checked in the settings, and there are only two choices that affect how forum discussions are displayed. The first is "Threaded", which is how it is set now, where you can follow all the conversations under a discussion, and you can see visually who replied to who. The other is "Flat", where all replies are simply listed in one chronological list, just like they are for Blogs. Note that the Flat setting would not prevent the replies from spanning multiple pages.<br />
<br />
I prefer the Threaded view, because it is more conducive to carrying on conversations. In the Flat view, it would be hard to determine who the post was replying to. But I wanted to let you know what is available, in case anyone had other preferences.<br />
<br />
Please let me know! Joe,
The steering committee…tag:wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com,2009-05-05:3029713:Comment:91102009-05-05T18:32:20.116ZPeter Trippetthttps://wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com/profile/PeterandKarenTrippett
Joe,<br />
<br />
The steering committee is currently meeting, to determine the group's structure, including what the definition of a 'member' is. Once we have the organization, we can, as a group, figure out how to fund the group's activities, including the web site (if needed).<br />
<br />
At least two members of the group already have web hosting plans, and have offered to allow the group to use them, for now, to host the web site, should we decide to move.<br />
<br />
Also, please keep in mind, that it would take time to…
Joe,<br />
<br />
The steering committee is currently meeting, to determine the group's structure, including what the definition of a 'member' is. Once we have the organization, we can, as a group, figure out how to fund the group's activities, including the web site (if needed).<br />
<br />
At least two members of the group already have web hosting plans, and have offered to allow the group to use them, for now, to host the web site, should we decide to move.<br />
<br />
Also, please keep in mind, that it would take time to develop and establish a new site. I don't want to make this decision lightly, and rush into it.<br />
<br />
-Peter Theresa,
To clarify:
There…tag:wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com,2009-05-05:3029713:Comment:90962009-05-05T16:39:40.122ZPeter Trippetthttps://wesurroundthemcentrecounty.ning.com/profile/PeterandKarenTrippett
Theresa,<br />
<br />
To clarify:<br />
<br />
There is web software out there that allows us to create a site that is both a content site, and a networking site. In addition, we can add custom features, such as a web version of our lending library, that keeps track of which books are owned by each member, and who has borrowed them!<br />
<br />
As to the size - my web host, costing less than $10/month, gives me 8000GB/month of bandwidth, and over 400GB of disk space. Ning limits us to 100GB of bandwidth, and 10GB of space. After…
Theresa,<br />
<br />
To clarify:<br />
<br />
There is web software out there that allows us to create a site that is both a content site, and a networking site. In addition, we can add custom features, such as a web version of our lending library, that keeps track of which books are owned by each member, and who has borrowed them!<br />
<br />
As to the size - my web host, costing less than $10/month, gives me 8000GB/month of bandwidth, and over 400GB of disk space. Ning limits us to 100GB of bandwidth, and 10GB of space. After that, ning charges us $10/month for each additional 100GB of bandwidth, or 10GB of space. I also don't see a way to determine how much space or bandwidth you have already used.<br />
<br />
Now I don't think we are in danger of exceeding ning's limits, but I wanted to point out that disk space (and bandwidth) is not a concern, if we decide to move to another host.<br />
<br />
Finally, it would be hard to create links between another content-related site, and our social networking site. If we still wanted to control who has access to the other site, users of such a cross-connected site would have to log in twice!