[USPS-Webmasters] Check out http://www.usps.org/national/itcom/shared/pol...
Tom Fota
tom@fota.net
Wed, 30 Mar 2005 19:04:06 -0800
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_0035_01C5355B.40E5DF70
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
The decision to change style, fonts, or "gray out" past events no matter how
easy it is or not should be an aesthetic decision by the Webmaster, not
dictated by national policy. Our website has a consistent color scheme and
I'm not about to "gray out" past events on our yearly calendar because of a
policy or someone's idea of how it "should" be done. I thought that the
whole idea was to provide information and listing past events shows how
active a squadron is.
Our website has a link from the main page to the annual calendar. There is
a 2x7 table at the top of the calendar page with all of the months in it
including January of the following year. Each month at the top has a link
directly to that months events in the annual calendar. It makes no sense to
remove events in our annual calendar just because they are past events.
They are a chronology of all of the events occurring in our squadron that
year. Likewise for our calendar of classes. We list all classes for the
entire year. Anybody that cannot figure out that an event or class in
January or February has already occurred is probably not intelligent to pass
a boating course anyway.
I should mention that I have both left side and right side navigation bars
that appear on every page. The left nav bar is a static bar that has links
to all of the different areas of our website. The right nav bar contains an
"Upcoming" section that is changed as events occur and past events are
removed. I would consider our website out-of-date is those links were more
than 24-48 hours old. But I still list events in the main calendar that are
more than 90 days old.
Tom Fota
Webmaster
San Diego Sail & Power Squadron
www.sdsps.org
_____
From: usps-webmasters-admin@usps.org [mailto:usps-webmasters-admin@usps.org]
On Behalf Of Morey Waltuck
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 12:10 PM
To: BSURuss@aol.com; WMMILLER@aol.com; usps-webmasters@usps.org
Subject: Re: [USPS-Webmasters] Check out
http://www.usps.org/national/itcom/shared/pol...
Russ,
I hear what you are saying about keeping some past dates on the calendar,
but rather than highlight the next one or two, it is just as easy to change
the color of all past events to a duller color. On my calendar page where I
keep some past events, the font color of the future events is black and the
font color of past events is gray. It is very easy to scan down to the next
events.
--Morey
Morey Waltuck, N
Webmaster, Attleboro
mwaltuck@comcast.net
----- Original Message -----
From: BSURuss@aol.com
To: WMMILLER@aol.com ; usps-webmasters@usps.org
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 2:09 PM
Subject: Re: [USPS-Webmasters] Check out
http://www.usps.org/national/itcom/shared/pol...
In a message dated 3/30/2005 12:58:45 A.M. US Eastern Standard Time,
WMMILLER@aol.com writes:
Click <http://www.usps.org/national/itcom/shared/policy/weballdoc.doc>
here: http://www.usps.org/national/itcom/shared/policy/weballdoc.doc
Here is your first opportunity to review the revised rules for all websites
in USPS. Note we are stressing the subtitles section of the rules as well
as having the information on the website up to date. These rules will form
the basis of this years webawards program. There will be specific rules
posted, hopefully by the end of April.
Bill Miller
Website Coordinator
Bill,
Regarding the updated rule.....
1) Web site must be kept up to date - required
Any web site, which contains meeting, activities and/or pubic boating course
information that is 90 days or more out of date, may be removed from linking
to the national site. It is extremely important to keep websites up to date.
Any website found not current in their schedule dates for events and
educational programs will not be considered in any awards evaluations. Note
there is no grace period for the awards program. If past dates are listed
on websites they should be identified as past events, such as by change in
font style or color or within a shaded background such as in a calendar
format. Items that are date referenced, such as the VSC Decal should show
the present years version.
Our squadron elects to post our entire annual watch year meeting/social
calendar at the beginning of the year so members can plan ahead. I
generally highlight the next one or two upcoming events so members can
easily spot where they are on our calendar. I keep all of the past events
listed on our calendar for several reasons. The most important reason that
we show all events - past and upcoming - is to provide prospective members
with a clear, complete picture of our annual programming - which we feel is
quite good. Our squadron is active, and we want prospective members to
easily see that. Aside from making sense for that reason alone, in my
opinion this should be a squadron decision - not a USPS decision. Also, in
my humble opinion, I'm guessing that when I list past dates on our web
calendar ... our members are sharp enough to understand that those dates
have already occurred without me needing to explain how that works or
identifying them as such.
In short, I'm all for keeping current, and I believe a requirement for USPS
websites to keep updated on upcoming events makes sense. However, I frankly
feel that the decision to show past events is the local squadron's call -
not that of USPS and certainly not left up to the variable interpretation of
the individual reviewers. Anytime USPS unlinks a local squadron's website,
USPS is shooting itself in the foot by reducing promotional reach created by
our website network. This is important given our membership trend. I
realize that we don't need to expose prospective members to 'lousy' outdated
local websites as a matter of image. However, rather than threaten to
unlink websites for being out of date, I can't help but believe that there
would be some way to work with these sites to help them improve on this
criterion (rather than simply pulling the plug). This would help both the
local websites and USPS rather than coming across as punitive.
I realize that I'm raising a trivial issue. However, the reviewer in the
most recent evaluation apparently took exception to our practice vis-a-vis
ratings even though our website was meticulously up to date on upcoming
meetings, social events, and classes. Out of curiosity I compared our
site's rating on this criterion to other sites that were grossly outdated on
upcoming schedules and curiously found no consistent difference in ratings.
I'm attributing that to an inter-rater reliability issue. However, that
could be improved by tightening up the wording of the criteria as in this
case. I'm wondering when our evaluations are conducted next fall if I need
to somehow point out to the reviewer that summer events have already passed
in order to earn points on this scoring criterion. Just a suggestion.
Russ Wahlers
Hoosier Power Squadron - Indianapolis
------=_NextPart_000_0035_01C5355B.40E5DF70
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML xmlns:o =3D "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Dus-ascii">
<META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2900.2604" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY id=3Drole_body style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; =
FONT-FAMILY: Arial"=20
bottomMargin=3D7 bgColor=3D#ffffff leftMargin=3D7 topMargin=3D7 =
rightMargin=3D7>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3D578193502-31032005><FONT =
face=3DTahoma=20
color=3D#0000ff>The decision to change style, fonts, or "gray out" past =
events no=20
matter how easy it is or not should be an aesthetic decision by the =
Webmaster,=20
not dictated by national policy. Our website has a consistent =
color scheme=20
and I'm not about to "gray out" past events on our yearly calendar =
because of a=20
policy or someone's idea of how it "should" be done. I thought =
that the=20
whole idea was to provide information and listing past events shows how =
active a=20
squadron is.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3D578193502-31032005><FONT =
face=3DTahoma=20
color=3D#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3D578193502-31032005><FONT =
face=3DTahoma=20
color=3D#0000ff>Our website has a link from the main page to the annual=20
calendar. There is a 2x7 table at the top of the calendar =
page with=20
all of the months in it including January of the following year. =
Each=20
month at the top has a link directly to that months events in the annual =
calendar. It makes no sense to remove events in our annual =
calendar just=20
because they are past events. They are a chronology of all of the =
events=20
occurring in our squadron that year. Likewise for our calendar of=20
classes. We list all classes for the entire year. Anybody =
that=20
cannot figure out that an event or class in January or February has =
already=20
occurred is probably not intelligent to pass a boating course=20
anyway.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3D578193502-31032005><FONT =
face=3DTahoma=20
color=3D#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3D578193502-31032005><FONT =
face=3DTahoma=20
color=3D#0000ff>I should mention that I have both left side and =
right side=20
navigation bars that appear on every page. The left nav bar is a =
static=20
bar that has links to all of the different areas of our website. =
The right=20
nav bar contains an "Upcoming" section that is changed as events =
occur and=20
past events are removed. I would consider our website out-of-date =
is those=20
links were more than 24-48 hours old. But I still list events in =
the main=20
calendar that are more than 90 days old.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3D578193502-31032005><FONT =
face=3DTahoma=20
color=3D#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3D578193502-31032005><FONT =
face=3DTahoma=20
color=3D#0000ff>Tom Fota</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3D578193502-31032005><FONT =
face=3DTahoma=20
color=3D#0000ff>Webmaster</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3D578193502-31032005><FONT =
face=3DTahoma=20
color=3D#0000ff>San Diego Sail & Power Squadron</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3D578193502-31032005><FONT =
face=3DTahoma=20
color=3D#0000ff><A=20
href=3D"http://www.sdsps.org">www.sdsps.org</A></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3D578193502-31032005><FONT =
face=3DTahoma=20
color=3D#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft>
<HR tabIndex=3D-1>
</DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><FONT face=3DTahoma><B>From:</B>=20
usps-webmasters-admin@usps.org [mailto:usps-webmasters-admin@usps.org] =
<B>On=20
Behalf Of </B>Morey Waltuck<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, March 30, 2005 =
12:10=20
PM<BR><B>To:</B> BSURuss@aol.com; WMMILLER@aol.com;=20
usps-webmasters@usps.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [USPS-Webmasters] Check =
out=20
http://www.usps.org/national/itcom/shared/pol...<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=3Dltr=20
style=3D"PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px =
solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DGaramond size=3D3>Russ,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DGaramond size=3D3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DGaramond size=3D3>I hear what you are saying about =
keeping some=20
past dates on the calendar, but rather than highlight the next one or =
two, it=20
is just as easy to change the color of all past events to=20
a duller color. On my calendar page where I keep some =
past=20
events, the font color of the future events is black and =
<FONT=20
color=3D#808080>the font color of past events is =
gray</FONT>. It is=20
very easy to scan down to the next events. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DGaramond size=3D3><BR>--Morey<BR> <BR>Morey =
Waltuck,=20
N<BR>Webmaster, Attleboro <BR><A=20
=
href=3D"mailto:mwaltuck@comcast.net">mwaltuck@comcast.net</A></FONT></DIV=
>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=3Dltr=20
style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV=20
style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
<A title=3DBSURuss@aol.com =
href=3D"mailto:BSURuss@aol.com">BSURuss@aol.com</A>=20
</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=3DWMMILLER@aol.com=20
href=3D"mailto:WMMILLER@aol.com">WMMILLER@aol.com</A> ; <A=20
title=3Dusps-webmasters@usps.org=20
=
href=3D"mailto:usps-webmasters@usps.org">usps-webmasters@usps.org</A> =
</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, March 30, =
2005 2:09=20
PM</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: =
[USPS-Webmasters] Check=20
out <A=20
=
href=3D"http://www.usps.org/national/itcom/shared/pol">http://www.usps.or=
g/national/itcom/shared/pol</A>...</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT id=3Drole_document face=3DArial color=3D#000000 =
size=3D2>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 3/30/2005 12:58:45 A.M. US Eastern Standard =
Time, <A=20
href=3D"mailto:WMMILLER@aol.com">WMMILLER@aol.com</A> writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px =
solid"><FONT=20
style=3D"BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=3DArial =
color=3D#000000=20
size=3D2><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#000000 size=3D2>
<DIV><A=20
=
title=3Dhttp://www.usps.org/national/itcom/shared/policy/weballdoc.doc=20
=
href=3D"http://www.usps.org/national/itcom/shared/policy/weballdoc.doc">C=
lick=20
here: =
http://www.usps.org/national/itcom/shared/policy/weballdoc.doc</A>=20
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Here is your first opportunity to review the revised rules =
for all=20
websites in USPS. Note we are stressing the subtitles =
section of the=20
rules as well as having the information on the website up to =
date. =20
These rules will form the basis of this years webawards =
program. =20
There will be specific rules posted, hopefully by the end of =
April.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Bill Miller</DIV>
<DIV>Website Coordinator</DIV></FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>Bill,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Regarding the updated rule.....</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; =
mso-outline-level: 1; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .25in =
.5in"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial"><SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-list: Ignore">1)<SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT: 7pt 'Times New =
Roman'"> =20
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><B style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN =
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New =
Roman'">Web site=20
must be kept up to date</SPAN></B><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New =
Roman'"> -=20
<EM>required</EM> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-outline-level: 1"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New =
Roman'">Any web=20
site, which contains meeting, activities and/or pubic boating course =
information that is 90 days or more out of date, may be removed from =
linking=20
to the national site. It is extremely important to keep websites up =
to=20
date.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Any website =
found not=20
current in their schedule dates for events and educational programs =
will not=20
be considered in any awards evaluations.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Note there is no grace =
period for=20
the awards program.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> =
</SPAN><FONT=20
color=3D#ff0000>If past dates are listed on websites they should be =
identified=20
as past events, such as by change in font style or color or within a =
shaded=20
background such as in a calendar format.</FONT><SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Items that are date =
referenced, such=20
as the VSC Decal should show the present years version.</SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-outline-level: 1"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New =
Roman'"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-outline-level: 1"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New =
Roman'">Our=20
squadron elects to post our entire annual watch year =
meeting/social=20
calendar at the beginning of the year so members can plan =
ahead. I=20
generally highlight the next one or two upcoming events so members =
can=20
easily spot where they are on our calendar. I keep all of the =
past=20
events listed on our calendar for several reasons. The =
most=20
important reason that we show all events - past and upcoming - is to =
provide=20
prospective members with a clear, complete picture of our =
annual=20
programming - which we feel is quite good. Our squadron is =
active, and=20
we want prospective members to easily see that. Aside from =
making=20
sense for that reason alone, in my opinion this should be a squadron =
decision - not a USPS decision. Also, in my humble opinion, =
I'm=20
guessing that when I list past dates on our web calendar ... our =
members are=20
sharp enough to understand that those dates have =
already occurred=20
without me needing to explain how that works or identifying them as=20
such. </SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-outline-level: 1"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New =
Roman'"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-outline-level: 1"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New =
Roman'">In=20
short, I'm all for keeping current, and I believe a requirement for =
USPS=20
websites to keep updated on upcoming events makes sense. =
However, I=20
frankly feel that the decision to show past events is the local =
squadron's=20
call - not that of USPS and certainly not left up to the variable=20
interpretation of the individual reviewers. Anytime USPS =
unlinks a=20
local squadron's website, USPS is shooting itself in the foot by =
reducing=20
promotional reach created by our website network. This is =
important=20
given our membership trend. I realize that we don't need to =
expose=20
prospective members to 'lousy' outdated local websites as =
a matter=20
of image. However, rather than threaten to unlink websites for =
being=20
out of date, I can't help but believe that there would be some way =
to work=20
with these sites to help them improve on this criterion (rather than =
simply=20
pulling the plug). This would help both the local websites and =
USPS=20
rather than coming across as punitive. </SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-outline-level: 1"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New =
Roman'"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-outline-level: 1"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New =
Roman'">I=20
realize that I'm raising a trivial issue. However, the =
reviewer in the=20
most recent evaluation apparently took exception to our practice =
vis-a-vis=20
ratings even though our website was meticulously up to date on =
upcoming=20
meetings, social events, and classes. Out of curiosity I =
compared our=20
site's rating on this criterion to other sites that were grossly =
outdated on=20
upcoming schedules and curiously found no consistent difference =
in=20
ratings. I'm attributing that to an inter-rater reliability=20
issue. However, that could be improved by tightening up the =
wording of=20
the criteria as in this case. I'm wondering when our =
evaluations are=20
conducted next fall if I need to somehow point out to the reviewer =
that=20
summer events have already passed in order to earn points on this =
scoring=20
criterion. Just a suggestion.</SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-outline-level: 1"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New =
Roman'"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-outline-level: 1"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New =
Roman'">Russ=20
Wahlers</SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-outline-level: 1"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New =
Roman'">Hoosier=20
Power Squadron -=20
Indianapolis</SPAN></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BODY></HT=
ML>
------=_NextPart_000_0035_01C5355B.40E5DF70--