[USPS-Webmasters] 2004 Website Awards

Fri, 28 Jan 2005 19:25:07 -0800

At Last, a sane exchange in this ongoing flood of e-mail. The web site
is not high on my list of endeavors. We consider ourselves lucky to have
a site at all. I can tell you this is not the way to attract Volunteers.
Lt/C Ellie Naill, S

Ellie Naill
Century 21 Les Ryan Realy
114 Lake Street
Cloverdale, CA 95425
(707) 481-3457  cell
(707) 894-5232  office

-----Original Message-----
From: usps-webmasters-admin@usps.org
[mailto:usps-webmasters-admin@usps.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Wise
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2005 8:17 AM
To: 'Patricia Meredith'; 'Jeff Geltz'; 'Mark Galbraith';
WMMILLER@aol.com; bray@apian.com; karl.peters@gisps.org; KPolt@aol.com;
usps-webmasters@usps.org
Subject: RE: [USPS-Webmasters] 2004 Website Awards

Perhaps the concept and purpose of the Website Awards have outlived
their usefulness.  Originally, they were intended to foster more and
better websites by our squadrons, with the intent of spreading the "good
word" of USPS to the great boating unwashed.  Over time, they've turned
into a competition with subjective judges making subjective rulings,
using subjective criteria, about what many regard as art.  Just as many
of us would question the value of a Salvador Dali, others see it as
covering the hole in the wall.

District and squadron web sites tend to be the personal expressions of
individuals in our squadrons who volunteer their time and talents in an
effort to help the organization, and who take personal pride in their
accomplishment.  Having some mysterious committee passing subjective
judgments on their work, and issuing certificates of achievement to
those who meet their consensus of art seems counter-productive.

Attendant to any subjective process are the biases of the judges.  For
example, I was once instructed by a member of the Website Awards
Committee that "real website developers don't consider sites developed
using MS Front Page to be worthy of consideration."  Maybe so, but given
a squadron who has no professional website developers as members, isn't
a Front Page website listing when and where the next Public Boating
Class more valuable than no site at all?  

If the IT committee really wants to help, perhaps a mentoring or
technical support program, or even "volunteer webmasters" for squadrons
who have no one with time and talent to develop a site might be useful.
An ITCOM who want to sit in judgment of those who volunteer to be
webmasters doesn't seem to be contributing to our goals of increasing
membership and reaching out to the boating community.  

Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: usps-webmasters-admin@usps.org
[mailto:usps-webmasters-admin@usps.org] On Behalf Of Patricia Meredith
Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2005 10:58 PM
To: Jeff Geltz; Mark Galbraith; WMMILLER@aol.com; bray@apian.com;
karl.peters@gisps.org; KPolt@aol.com; usps-webmasters@usps.org
Subject: Re: [USPS-Webmasters] 2004 Website Awards

yup, I saw it coming too.  This is a VOLUNTEER group.  Doing the web
page is fun for me.  I don't care what score it gets, because I like to
play with it.  The important thing is that the site helps your squadron,
and USPS.  Don't get all hung up on your score. What would be the point
of appealing the score?  If you want some extra points, I'll be glad to
give you some of mine.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jeff Geltz" <jgeltz@comcast.net>
To: "Mark Galbraith" <mgg4@pacbell.net>; <WMMILLER@aol.com>;
<bray@apian.com>; <karl.peters@gisps.org>; <KPolt@aol.com>;
<usps-webmasters@usps.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2005 9:48 PM
Subject: RE: [USPS-Webmasters] 2004 Website Awards

> I could see this coming...
>
> Seems to me that these folks spent a good deal of time putting order 
> to
what
> is admittedly a subjective process.
>
> I think all of us would have liked higher scores.
>
> Take the feedback, learn from it, and focus on next year.
>
> If you choose to do otherwise, don't feel you need to drag the rest of
us
> through the process.
>   -----Original Message-----
>   From: usps-webmasters-admin@usps.org 
> [mailto:usps-webmasters-admin@usps.org]On Behalf Of Mark Galbraith
>   Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2005 1:32 PM
>   To: WMMILLER@aol.com; bray@apian.com; karl.peters@gisps.org; 
> KPolt@aol.com; usps-webmasters@usps.org
>   Subject: Re: [USPS-Webmasters] 2004 Website Awards
>
>
>   The biggest issue I have with the criteria is that it doesn't seem 
> to
have
> been applied equally by all of the evaluators.  For example, the 
> Diablo
site
> was graded a zero in animated graphics.  That may be because I don't 
> use them.  I feel they detract from the message on the page by 
> distracting
the
> eye and making it more difficult to focus on reading the information.

> I prefer to keep my pages simple and easy to read.
>
>   The criteria states: "Moving graphics are a lot of fun, but can slow
down
> displaying a webpage. This is separate from actual downloading time, 
> and
can
> contribute to how long it takes for a visitor to see your page. If
present,
> do the graphics add to the visual appeal and interest in the website?"
>
>   I guess not having any of these moving graphics caused the evaluator
to
> mark us as a zero in this category.  It seems, that not having any of
these
> graphics would mean that I have satisfied the requirement of "If
present".
>
>   I still would like to know how to go about appealing the score 
> given. There are other areas where I feel the evaluator was being 
> overly
critical.
>
>   --
>   Mark Galbraith
>   Webmaster, Diablo Sail and Power Squadron
>   WMMILLER@aol.com wrote:
>
>     The discussion regarding the scoring for the 2004 Webawards has 
> been very interesting and enlightening.  The rules for the 2004 awards
program
> were reviewed with some diligence to assure the resulting evaluation
scoring
> would be fair and as objective as possible.  Most of the items were
carried
> over from previous years and modified if felt appropriate.  As a 
> result
we
> have learned many things regarding how websites are used by the
squadrons.
>
>     Based on the information we derived from the input of the 33
evaluators
> for last years program and emails such as this recent thread have been
put
> into the changes that are being developed for the 2005 awards program.
>
>     Thanks to all of you who have participated in the 2004 program and
have
> given us your thoughts.  Keep it coming.
>
>     Bill Miller
>     Webawards Chairman, 2005
>
>
>   --
>   Mark Galbraith
>   mgg4@pacbell.net
>

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