April 2010 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:18941] FW: [smlist:5988] Update on some Web site issues and projects.
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 29 Apr '10

29 Apr '10

If you are not on the SM list, Steve just sent this out. Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 860 594 0220 hkramer(a)arrl.org From: Ewald, Steve, WV1X [mailto:wv1x@arrl.org] Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 12:52 PM To: smlist Subject: [smlist:5988] Update on some Web site issues and projects. Hello, Section Managers. Here's an update on some of the issues that we're working on regarding the ARRL Web site. When you log onto the ARRL Web's Home Page, please make sure that the link to your Section Web page is correct. If not, please let me know. We are working on the "Section Alert" capability for the new Web site. Also, we are aware of the problems with the Web site version of the Field Organization Appointment data base, and the Web experts on working on these, too. (http://www.arrl.org/field-appointments) As you may know, there is a problem with the numbering system when doing a search for appointees. The number that shows up as a result of the search request will often indicate more than there really are. We also also aware that when searching for an individual Field Appointee (who has multiple appointments) on the Web version of the on-line Field Appointment data base, only one appointment for that person is returned. With the former Web page, as you'll recall, all of the person's appointments were returned as a result of the search. Thanks, again, for keeping in touch! Please continue to send comments in my direction. I will distribute them to the proper staff members and Web site experts. 73, Steve Ewald, WV1X Supervisor, Field Organization Team ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 860-594-0265 sewald(a)arrl.org

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[arrl-odv:18940] Re: RE: Site Search
by Brian Mileshosky 29 Apr '10

29 Apr '10

Good observation, Dave. Please share what you learn tomorrow, especially if it's possible to cut over to Google now. 73, Brian N5ZGT On Wed, 28 Apr 2010, Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ wrote: > Brian et al, > > If you go to the regular Google search site, www.google.com and enter > into the search window the following: > > site:www.arrl.org > > followed by a space and the term you would like to search on, you will > get pretty good results that are limited to the ARRL site (not the > entire universe). > > For example, if you enter > > site:www.arrl.org 97.113 > > the results you see are all related to that section of the FCC rules and > appear to be reasonably complete. There is a possibility that this > search might turn up some broken links although that does not appear to > be the case in this specific example. > > I don't know the relationship between this and the timing of our being > able to use the Google search algorithm on our site's Web search > function, but I hope that question will be answered tomorrow. > > 73, > Dave K1ZZ > > > ARRL Director, Rocky Mountain Division On the web at www.RockyMountainDivision.org

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[arrl-odv:18939] Re:RE: RE: Site Search
by Grant Hopper 28 Apr '10

28 Apr '10

Good answer/solution. Might be a great thing to post on the 'front page' of our web site. 73, Grant Hopper, KB7WSD ARRL Northwest Division, Vice Director -----Original Message----- From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ [mailto:dsumner@arrl.org] Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 2:11 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:18938] Re:RE: Site Search Brian et al, If you go to the regular Google search site, www.google.com and enter into the search window the following: site:www.arrl.org followed by a space and the term you would like to search on, you will get pretty good results that are limited to the ARRL site (not the entire universe). For example, if you enter site:www.arrl.org 97.113 the results you see are all related to that section of the FCC rules and appear to be reasonably complete. There is a possibility that this search might turn up some broken links although that does not appear to be the case in this specific example. I don't know the relationship between this and the timing of our being able to use the Google search algorithm on our site's Web search function, but I hope that question will be answered tomorrow. 73, Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:18938] Re:RE: Site Search
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 28 Apr '10

28 Apr '10

Brian et al, If you go to the regular Google search site, www.google.com and enter into the search window the following: site:www.arrl.org followed by a space and the term you would like to search on, you will get pretty good results that are limited to the ARRL site (not the entire universe). For example, if you enter site:www.arrl.org 97.113 the results you see are all related to that section of the FCC rules and appear to be reasonably complete. There is a possibility that this search might turn up some broken links although that does not appear to be the case in this specific example. I don't know the relationship between this and the timing of our being able to use the Google search algorithm on our site's Web search function, but I hope that question will be answered tomorrow. 73, Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:18937] Brief Web Update
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 28 Apr '10

28 Apr '10

Hi, A new story about the Web has been posted here: http://www.arrl.org/news/more-improvements-to-the-arrl-web-site We will also feature this in the ARRL Letter. I am now planning to provide you with a detailed punch list tomorrow. I need one more day to make sure that we have captured everything and to synch up our list with Fathom's list. I will also put out some additional information to the SM list. I plan to take Jim Fenstermaker's suggestion that I just post the information to ODV as an Excel spreadsheet. That is how I have been keeping the list and I was cutting and pasting into the email. 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 Telephone: 860 594 0220 email: hkramer(a)arrl.org <mailto:hkramer@arrl.org> web: www.arrl.org/ <http://www.arrl.org/>

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[arrl-odv:18936] FW: Section News Link Now on Home Page
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 28 Apr '10

28 Apr '10

Also sent to SM List: Hi, A direct link to: [Section Name] Section News Should now appear under the Password Box on the Home Page: Please check to make sure that your Section is correct. 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 Telephone: 860 594 0220 email: hkramer(a)arrl.org <mailto:hkramer@arrl.org> web: www.arrl.org/ <http://www.arrl.org/>

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[arrl-odv:18935] Re: Site Search
by Brian Mileshosky 28 Apr '10

28 Apr '10

Harold -- 2 weeks have elapsed since the site was launched and since Google had its first crack at indexing the site. Are you or anyone else on staff able to look -- via a private link or whatever -- at the status of Google's progress to see if it's functional (relative to the "temporary" and "not very good" search function we have now)? Or does HQ have no insight in its progress and is having to depend on Fathom to say 'when' while members are getting frustrated in the meantime? This is sort of like the SS mug shipping issue where the small things stick in the minds of our members and distract from the big, good things. We don't want that sort of thing associated with our site. For the sake of our membership and their ability to search within the site they purchased, I'd rather have the 75% solution (Google -- and getting closer to 100% day-by-day) than the 15% 'bandaid' we presently have that doesn't seem to improve at all but is nevertheless casting impressions on our membership. Not knowing what else is on the website improvement to-do list, this is one thing I strongly encourage ARRL management to drive Fathom on (and I mean hard) since I'm betting it's the most visible problem to our membership on that to-do list. 73, Brian N5ZGT On Tue, 27 Apr 2010, Kramer, Harold, WJ1B wrote: > Hi, > > I am responding to Brian's email about the Search Engine. > > Here is the response from the folks at Fathom: > > It usually takes 2 weeks to a month for Google to fully index a new > website. Since the ARRL website is so content rich, I would allow at > least that before getting concerned. You'll only deal with this issue > now because the site is new. Over time, Google will re-index new > content as it's added. > > > I also understand that there is a temporary search function on-line now > while Google catches up with the site but that it is only a temporary > measure and not very good. > > > I have received a number of questions about the status of site fixes and > updates. I plan to issue the revised punch list again tomorrow to ODV, > Department Heads and the SMs like I did last week. Hopefully, this will > answer most of the questions that I have received and let you know where > we stand. > > 73, > > Harold "Spud" Kramer > Newly returned from the Idaho State Convention. > > > ARRL Director, Rocky Mountain Division On the web at www.RockyMountainDivision.org

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RE: [arrl-odv:18933] Site Search
by Jim Weaver K8JE 28 Apr '10

28 Apr '10

Harold The absence of decent site search on the new site has been raised quite frequently to me during the past several days. I can provide details if you wish, but may I suggest that we advise our members that the real search capability is pending for the reason you cited. Ohio SM KI8GW has said several people at a hamfest this past weekend were also upset over this. If there are any other little surprises with the site, let's let members in on what to expect. If this was done publicly, previously, many members and I missed it and it is worth repeating. Tnx, Jim Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director ARRL Great Lakes Division 5065 Bethany Rd. Mason, OH 45040; Tel. 513-459-1661 ARRL, The national organization for AMATEUR RADIO -----Original Message----- From: Kramer, Harold, WJ1B [mailto:wj1b@arrl.org] Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 4:59 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:18933] Site Search Hi, I am responding to Brian's email about the Search Engine. Here is the response from the folks at Fathom: It usually takes 2 weeks to a month for Google to fully index a new website. Since the ARRL website is so content rich, I would allow at least that before getting concerned. You'll only deal with this issue now because the site is new. Over time, Google will re-index new content as it's added. I also understand that there is a temporary search function on-line now while Google catches up with the site but that it is only a temporary measure and not very good. I have received a number of questions about the status of site fixes and updates. I plan to issue the revised punch list again tomorrow to ODV, Department Heads and the SMs like I did last week. Hopefully, this will answer most of the questions that I have received and let you know where we stand. 73, Harold "Spud" Kramer Newly returned from the Idaho State Convention. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.814 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2835 - Release Date: 04/25/10 14:31:00

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[arrl-odv:18933] Site Search
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 27 Apr '10

27 Apr '10

Hi, I am responding to Brian's email about the Search Engine. Here is the response from the folks at Fathom: It usually takes 2 weeks to a month for Google to fully index a new website. Since the ARRL website is so content rich, I would allow at least that before getting concerned. You'll only deal with this issue now because the site is new. Over time, Google will re-index new content as it's added. I also understand that there is a temporary search function on-line now while Google catches up with the site but that it is only a temporary measure and not very good. I have received a number of questions about the status of site fixes and updates. I plan to issue the revised punch list again tomorrow to ODV, Department Heads and the SMs like I did last week. Hopefully, this will answer most of the questions that I have received and let you know where we stand. 73, Harold "Spud" Kramer Newly returned from the Idaho State Convention.

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[arrl-odv:18932] Re: Searching on ARRL website
by Bob Vallio 27 Apr '10

27 Apr '10

Amen, Brian. I did numerous searches earlier this evening, with the same results. This, and other problems, have gone on for way too long. I believe that Katie Glass is our employee, and is working diligently on these issues. What resources is Fathom applying to them? Bob -- W6RGG On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 10:18 PM, Brian Mileshosky <n5zgt(a)swcp.com> wrote: > Harold et al -- > > A number of weeks ago I had raised questions about searching on the ARRL > website. Being proud of all the information on the website is one thing, > but being able to search it effectively seals the deal. > > The response received from Fathom was that after a few weeks the search > engine will have crawled and indexed the site, and searching will improve. > They also mentioned that text will appear in the search results rather than > just page titles (which may have nothing to do with what I'm searching for). > They also made some comments on the advanced search capabilities Google > does so well. > > It's been more than a few weeks, and I find even our basic searching to be > worst than the old website. > > Specifically: > > -- Search any term and there's no consistent semblance of information. Just > page titles, many times having nothing to do with the search term itself. A > search on "repeater coordination" brought back the following results (page > titles): 60 Meter FAQ, AM Phone Operating and Activities, Amateur Auxillary, > Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, etc. None having to do > with my search term. A search on "Field Day" brought back the following > results: Yesterday Once More, RF Radiation and Electomagnetic Field Safety, > Rquirements for Field Instructors, etc. Again, none having to do with my > search. I can't believe that zero pages pertaining to Field Day and > repeater coordination have been indexed by now. > > -- Search results come back with a page title and a "Learn More" link > below. Results should also show a snippet of information from within the > page that was returned showing how the search term was used, such as how > Google returns its search results. This allows users to pass up pages that > obviously don't contain the term or phrase context they are looking for. > > -- There's no clear indication that search results come back sorted in any > fashion, such as relevance, or date. The results largely seem to be > displayed randomly. > > -- What's up with the "Learn More" link? I asked this in my first email, > and it appears to be nothing more than a redundant link to the specific > search result. Either feature it or lose it. > > -- Searching "Duke City" and selecting the Hamfest category yields nothing, > even though there is a Duke City Hamfest on record happening in my city this > August. > > -- Searching "Field Day" and selecting the Contests category yeidls nothing > about Field Day. > > It's my understanding that Google is being used for our internal searching, > just as it was on the old website. I'm hoping that the poor results, lack > of text snippets, etc is due to bad configuration somewhere and that Fathom > indeed put the hooks into the site to allow Google to properly index and > display results effectively like so many other organization websites. From > what I see work still needs to be done...and if I see it, you can bet that > this is something on the minds of our members who paid not only for > appealing presentation of information, but an effective way to search > information within it. > > And if Google isn't used for our search engine, I'd advocate that it > becomes it once again. There's a reason why Google has become synonymous > with searching information effectively. > > Can someone please comment on these issues, what's being done to resolve > them, and in what timeframe? > > I hope Jon Bloom doesn't get dumped on with this, as I'm sure he's beyond > spread thin with other web-related things. Since Fathom responded to my > initial inquiry about searching and those solutions are still outstanding, I > hope that they will be expected to follow through or otherwise make things > right in this regard -- using their own resources, rather than their > customer's. > > 73, > Brian N5ZGT > ARRL Director, Rocky Mountain Division > On the web at www.RockyMountainDivision.org > >

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