[arrl-odv:19808] Website update
I have been asked to provide an update on the status of the website transition. As I reported on February 14, the website is now running on its new hardware configuration at Rackspace. Proxy errors are no longer a significant issue, although one still might occur occasionally if a request involves a large amount of data and there is a timeout. You may recall that late last year we contracted with Fathom for two enhancements, an audio RSS feed and a report generator. The audio RSS feed went live in early January, as previously reported, and yesterday the report generator did the same. So, those two projects are now completed. The report generator resolves one of the major issues that SMs had, namely the downloading of their appointee data. The only remaining work Fathom is doing for us is under the original agreement. Other than those related to forums, only four open tickets assigned to Fathom remain on the bugzilla list; everything else assigned to them has been cleared. With regard to forums, I have not been pressing staff to complete this project because of what appeared to be a consensus that we should not launch any major new features as long as there was a perception that major problems were not yet resolved. We are now much closer to being past that. However, don't expect dramatic or immediate progress on forums because of the time being devoted to the plan for electronic publishing of periodicals, as per Minute 41 of the January Board meeting. Bugzilla is used to record desirable enhancements as they are identified as well as problems to be fixed. Other than enhancements, there are currently 20 open tickets assigned to ARRL staff. Most new tickets are resolved soon after being opened, although some will require more work. For example, today a new ticket was opened when we discovered that our Page Editor is not compatible with the recently released Firefox 4. This is not an immediate problem - the solution for now is "Don't upgrade to Firefox 4." 73, Dave Sumner, K1ZZ
Dave, Thank you for this update. I'm glad to see that we're taking a balanced approach to making progress and while I'm sure we'd all love to see everything done yesterday, I for one appreciate the caution in biting off new projects. I get through to members better when they don't want to have discussions about why things on the web site aren't working (the discussions about VUCC fees are bad enough.) One thought I have about the forums, and making them as useful to league members as possible is that we consider a way to "regionalize" certain types of forums. I don't know if this means we create separate ones for each region, or set up some sort of filter that a member can use to hide 'non-local' content. And I don't recommend doing so on a Division basis, but more on a geographic one ie. all of the west coast, etc. or what ever makes sense. 73, Grant Hopper, KB7WSD Vice Director, Northwestern Division. On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 1:25 PM, Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ <dsumner@arrl.org>wrote:
I have been asked to provide an update on the status of the website transition.
As I reported on February 14, the website is now running on its new hardware configuration at Rackspace. Proxy errors are no longer a significant issue, although one still might occur occasionally if a request involves a large amount of data and there is a timeout.
You may recall that late last year we contracted with Fathom for two enhancements, an audio RSS feed and a report generator. The audio RSS feed went live in early January, as previously reported, and yesterday the report generator did the same. So, those two projects are now completed.
The report generator resolves one of the major issues that SMs had, namely the downloading of their appointee data.
The only remaining work Fathom is doing for us is under the original agreement. Other than those related to forums, only four open tickets assigned to Fathom remain on the bugzilla list; everything else assigned to them has been cleared.
With regard to forums, I have not been pressing staff to complete this project because of what appeared to be a consensus that we should not launch any major new features as long as there was a perception that major problems were not yet resolved. We are now much closer to being past that. However, don’t expect dramatic or immediate progress on forums because of the time being devoted to the plan for electronic publishing of periodicals, as per Minute 41 of the January Board meeting.
Bugzilla is used to record desirable enhancements as they are identified as well as problems to be fixed. Other than enhancements, there are currently20 open tickets assigned to ARRL staff. Most new tickets are resolved soon after being opened, although some will require more work. For example, today a new ticket was opened when we discovered that our Page Editor is not compatible with the recently released Firefox 4. This is not an immediate problem – the solution for now is “Don’t upgrade to Firefox 4.”
73,
Dave Sumner, K1ZZ
_______________________________________________ arrl-odv mailing list arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org http://reflector.arrl.org/mailman/listinfo/arrl-odv
Grant, thanks for the suggestion. I'd be interested in hearing from others on this point. Many subgroups within Amateur Radio are not defined geographically, but rather by specific interest. Dave From: Grant Hopper [mailto:kb7wsd.arrl@gmail.com] Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2011 2:53 PM To: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ Cc: arrl-odv Subject: Re: [arrl-odv:19808] Website update Dave, Thank you for this update. I'm glad to see that we're taking a balanced approach to making progress and while I'm sure we'd all love to see everything done yesterday, I for one appreciate the caution in biting off new projects. I get through to members better when they don't want to have discussions about why things on the web site aren't working (the discussions about VUCC fees are bad enough.) One thought I have about the forums, and making them as useful to league members as possible is that we consider a way to "regionalize" certain types of forums. I don't know if this means we create separate ones for each region, or set up some sort of filter that a member can use to hide 'non-local' content. And I don't recommend doing so on a Division basis, but more on a geographic one ie. all of the west coast, etc. or what ever makes sense. 73, Grant Hopper, KB7WSD Vice Director, Northwestern Division. On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 1:25 PM, Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ <dsumner@arrl.org> wrote: I have been asked to provide an update on the status of the website transition. As I reported on February 14, the website is now running on its new hardware configuration at Rackspace. Proxy errors are no longer a significant issue, although one still might occur occasionally if a request involves a large amount of data and there is a timeout. You may recall that late last year we contracted with Fathom for two enhancements, an audio RSS feed and a report generator. The audio RSS feed went live in early January, as previously reported, and yesterday the report generator did the same. So, those two projects are now completed. The report generator resolves one of the major issues that SMs had, namely the downloading of their appointee data. The only remaining work Fathom is doing for us is under the original agreement. Other than those related to forums, only four open tickets assigned to Fathom remain on the bugzilla list; everything else assigned to them has been cleared. With regard to forums, I have not been pressing staff to complete this project because of what appeared to be a consensus that we should not launch any major new features as long as there was a perception that major problems were not yet resolved. We are now much closer to being past that. However, don't expect dramatic or immediate progress on forums because of the time being devoted to the plan for electronic publishing of periodicals, as per Minute 41 of the January Board meeting. Bugzilla is used to record desirable enhancements as they are identified as well as problems to be fixed. Other than enhancements, there are currently 20 open tickets assigned to ARRL staff. Most new tickets are resolved soon after being opened, although some will require more work. For example, today a new ticket was opened when we discovered that our Page Editor is not compatible with the recently released Firefox 4. This is not an immediate problem - the solution for now is "Don't upgrade to Firefox 4." 73, Dave Sumner, K1ZZ _______________________________________________ arrl-odv mailing list arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org http://reflector.arrl.org/mailman/listinfo/arrl-odv
Ladies and Gentlemen:* the solution for now is"Don't upgrade to Firefox 4." ?????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *With _all_ due respect - _Surely, we jest. _ Firefox 4 was released on 3/22/11 - over 7 MILLION copies were download in the first 24 hours. Compare that to IE9's download rate for the first 24 hours of only 2.35 million. As of this morning, over 38 million people have upgraded/downloaded Firefox 4 - and that number is steadily increasing. Go to: http://glow.mozilla.org/ to watch. Internet Explorer's market share is declining and that of alternative browsers is increasing and Firefox holds the lion's share of the alternative browser market. And the national association of Amateur Radio's response to its members is: Don't upgrade? That "let them eat cake" response unfortunately exacerbates the ARRL's reputation amongst too many Hams as being out-of-touch and behind the times. Initial incompatibility is not a major embarrassment - it probably could have been caught before FF4 went live, but sometimes things are overlooked. I am certain the ARRL is not the only website with some issues, but no other major organization is relegating that incompatibility to the "whenever, whatever" bin. Again, with all due respect, if the "Don't upgrade ... " comment was not intended to be humor, FF4 non-compatibility should not be a back burner issue; it should be moved up to a priority and the issue noted on the website as one of which the staff is aware, but is in the process of fixing. Acknowledging the incompatibility, but noting our esteemed staff has recognized it and is at work on a fix would be viewed favorably by the members. No one has a real problem with a "it is broke, but we are going to fix it" response. "Don't upgrade" will not be viewed favorably. 73 *-----------------------------------------------------* ** John Robert Stratton N5AUS West Gulf Division Vice Director West Gulf Division Legislative Action Chair Office telephone: 512-445-6262 Cell: 512-426-2028 PO Box 2232 Austin, Texas 78768-2232 *-----------------------------------------------------* On 3/25/11 3:25 PM, Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ wrote:
I have been asked to provide an update on the status of the website transition.
As I reported on February 14, the website is now running on its new hardware configuration at Rackspace. Proxy errors are no longer a significant issue,although onestillmight occuroccasionallyif a request involves a large amount of data and there is a timeout.
You may recall that late last year we contracted with Fathom for twoenhancements, an audio RSS feed and a report generator.The audio RSS feed went live in early January, as previouslyreported, and yesterday the report generatordid the same.So, those two projects are now completed.
The report generator resolves one of the major issues that SMs had, namely the downloading of their appointee data.
The only remaining work Fathom is doing for us is under the original agreement.Other than those relatedto forums, only four open tickets assigned to Fathom remain on the bugzilla list; everything elseassigned to themhas been cleared.
With regard to forums, I have not been pressing staff to complete this project because of what appeared to be a consensus that we should not launch any major new features as long as there was a perception that major problems were not yet resolved. We are now much closerto being past that. However, don't expectdramatic or immediateprogress on forumsbecause ofthe time being devoted tothe plan for electronic publishing of periodicals, as per Minute 41 of the January Board meeting.
Bugzilla is used to record desirable enhancements as they are identified as well as problems to be fixed. Other than enhancements,there are currently20 open tickets assigned to ARRL staff. Most new tickets are resolved soon after being opened, althoughsome will require more work. For example, today a new ticket was opened when we discovered that our Page Editoris not compatible withthe recently releasedFirefox 4. This is not an immediate problem--the solution for now is"Don't upgrade to Firefox 4."
73,
Dave Sumner, K1ZZ
_______________________________________________ arrl-odv mailing list arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org http://reflector.arrl.org/mailman/listinfo/arrl-odv
John, this only affects those of us on staff who use the Page Editor to manage our website. It has nothing at all to do with anyone else. Sorry if I didn't make this clear. 73, Dave K1ZZ From: arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of JRS Sent: Monday, March 28, 2011 11:37 AM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:19811] Re: Website update Ladies and Gentlemen: the solution for now is "Don't upgrade to Firefox 4." ?????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With all due respect - Surely, we jest. Firefox 4 was released on 3/22/11 - over 7 MILLION copies were download in the first 24 hours. Compare that to IE9's download rate for the first 24 hours of only 2.35 million. As of this morning, over 38 million people have upgraded/downloaded Firefox 4 - and that number is steadily increasing. Go to: http://glow.mozilla.org/ to watch. Internet Explorer's market share is declining and that of alternative browsers is increasing and Firefox holds the lion's share of the alternative browser market. And the national association of Amateur Radio's response to its members is: Don't upgrade? That "let them eat cake" response unfortunately exacerbates the ARRL's reputation amongst too many Hams as being out-of-touch and behind the times. Initial incompatibility is not a major embarrassment - it probably could have been caught before FF4 went live, but sometimes things are overlooked. I am certain the ARRL is not the only website with some issues, but no other major organization is relegating that incompatibility to the "whenever, whatever" bin. Again, with all due respect, if the "Don't upgrade ... " comment was not intended to be humor, FF4 non-compatibility should not be a back burner issue; it should be moved up to a priority and the issue noted on the website as one of which the staff is aware, but is in the process of fixing. Acknowledging the incompatibility, but noting our esteemed staff has recognized it and is at work on a fix would be viewed favorably by the members. No one has a real problem with a "it is broke, but we are going to fix it" response. "Don't upgrade" will not be viewed favorably. 73 ----------------------------------------------------- John Robert Stratton N5AUS West Gulf Division Vice Director West Gulf Division Legislative Action Chair Office telephone: 512-445-6262 Cell: 512-426-2028 PO Box 2232 Austin, Texas 78768-2232 ----------------------------------------------------- On 3/25/11 3:25 PM, Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ wrote: I have been asked to provide an update on the status of the website transition. As I reported on February 14, the website is now running on its new hardware configuration at Rackspace. Proxy errors are no longer a significant issue, although one still might occur occasionally if a request involves a large amount of data and there is a timeout. You may recall that late last year we contracted with Fathom for two enhancements, an audio RSS feed and a report generator. The audio RSS feed went live in early January, as previously reported, and yesterday the report generator did the same. So, those two projects are now completed. The report generator resolves one of the major issues that SMs had, namely the downloading of their appointee data. The only remaining work Fathom is doing for us is under the original agreement. Other than those related to forums, only four open tickets assigned to Fathom remain on the bugzilla list; everything else assigned to them has been cleared. With regard to forums, I have not been pressing staff to complete this project because of what appeared to be a consensus that we should not launch any major new features as long as there was a perception that major problems were not yet resolved. We are now much closer to being past that. However, don't expect dramatic or immediate progress on forums because of the time being devoted to the plan for electronic publishing of periodicals, as per Minute 41 of the January Board meeting. Bugzilla is used to record desirable enhancements as they are identified as well as problems to be fixed. Other than enhancements, there are currently 20 open tickets assigned to ARRL staff. Most new tickets are resolved soon after being opened, although some will require more work. For example, today a new ticket was opened when we discovered that our Page Editor is not compatible with the recently released Firefox 4. This is not an immediate problem - the solution for now is "Don't upgrade to Firefox 4." 73, Dave Sumner, K1ZZ _______________________________________________ arrl-odv mailing list arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org http://reflector.arrl.org/mailman/listinfo/arrl-odv
Just to close the loop on this - it is now OK for those of us on staff who edit website pages to upgrade to Firefox 4. That bugzilla ticket has been closed. I upgraded this morning and performed a minor page edit just to make sure I could do it. Sorry, again, for not being more precise in my update of last Friday. 73, Dave K1ZZ
Quick work - thanks Dave. 73 *-----------------------------------------------------* ** John Robert Stratton N5AUS West Gulf Division Vice Director West Gulf Division Legislative Action Chair Office telephone: 512-445-6262 Cell: 512-426-2028 PO Box 2232 Austin, Texas 78768-2232 *-----------------------------------------------------* On 3/30/11 8:28 AM, Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ wrote:
Just to close the loop on this -- it is now OK for those of us on staff who edit website pages to upgrade to Firefox 4. That bugzilla ticket has been closed. I upgraded this morning and performed a minor page edit just to make sure I could do it.
Sorry, again, for not being more precise in my update of last Friday.
73,
Dave K1ZZ
_______________________________________________ arrl-odv mailing list arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org http://reflector.arrl.org/mailman/listinfo/arrl-odv
participants (3)
-
Grant Hopper -
JRS -
Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ