View Single Post
  #7  
Old July 11th 04, 05:18 PM
F.L. Whiteley
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Kilo Charlie" wrote in message
news:OqcIc.362$f9.94@fed1read02...
I know that the contest organizers are working their tails off trying to

get
things done each day including scores. We should remember that they are
volunteers too.

That being said I can say that the main reason that I visit the SSA site

is
to check on contest scores and it has been very frustrating not having

them
in a timely manner. It should not take more than a couple of clicks to
submit them and have them posted automatically. If it does then there is

a
problem even with the site under construction. Am I incorrect or hasn't

the
SSA website been "under construction" for months now. My web manager

wife,
BTW, tells me that well managed sites should always be under construction.

Is there something that we mere mortals can do to help make this a

smoother
process? I will be at the Hobbs Standard Nats and if I can provide some
assistance I'll gladly do so.

Casey Lenox
KC
Phoenix

Although that may be the case, web sites are often projects where 80 percent
of the results come with the first 20 percent of the effort. 80 percent of
the effort is needed to get that last 20 percent, the devil being in the
details.

However, I was able to format and integrate reports and images into the SSA
website for US team efforts without any real problem from far flung places
when John Seaborn wasn't available. On the other hand, these regional
reports are simply taken directly from Winscore and inserted into a single
table data cell. However, that's part of the problem also, as any
alteration to the asp code on the remainder of the page has the potential of
breaking the page. But the simple edits are something that can be done
remotely, by someone that's empowered and enthused. Perhaps someone could
support the Regionals and Nationals they way John supports the US team.
Hopefully, this support may not be needed on the next web site.

There are easier ways to do it without having to give another person server
access. Of course, that should be done at design time. I don't suppose it
ever occured to the SSA directors to issue a specification and hold a
contest for the best web site design and functionality, addressing the
issues that have been brought up over the years. A prize of $20-$25K would
have been less than the cost of staffing, at least for a year. Competition
often brings out the best.

Frank Whiteley