next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects
Index of Subjects
Hi all!
On Sat, 7 Aug 1999, Andrew D. Wright wrote:
> Um, has anyone checked lately that 'auto-mailed' letters are? Last
> week, for instance, I went into the Volunteer intake form and did a test
> application - which cheerfully told me that a volunteer administrator
> would get email notice of my application and get back to me - and not only
> was said notice not mailed but the information fields were trashed so no
> records were kept for me to read should I decide to check them manually
> (which I do once in a while, cynic that I am). David Potter and Michael
> Smith fixed this back in the beginning of June after it had been broken
> for a couple of years and it must have broken again shortly after their
> repair.
>
> From what I've been discovering in the office, I would make no
> assumptions about scripts working without first checking them. (Advice)
Well, its never been known to fail, however, I just ran two tests and it
works just fine:
<snip>
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 09:50:30 -0300
From: editors@chebucto.ns.ca
To: aa051@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: CCN IP Application for Test Information Provider
Thanks for your application to become an information provider (IP) on
Chebucto Community Net.
</snip>
> > The long and short of it is that the IP creation process has not come to a
> > halt: John Dow has simply not passed through IP Training.
> >
> > When a IP Editor does so Bob Adams indicates this in the IP Database and
> > usually notifies ccn-ip that they have completed training so that the
> > appropriate editor can then (if everything else is complete) issue the
> > create IP command and the IP comes into being.
>
> I know this is heresy of the blackest sort, but may I respectfully
> submit for your consideration the following suggestion that perhaps our
> IP creation and administration needs to be revisited?
There's nothing (in my view) particularly heretical about this at all.
There are a plethora of things which could use improvement in the IP
administration process and about which there has been repeated discussion.
As just one example in this particular area of IP Training, there is a
fundamental discrepancy between the way that IP Training works (by
training *individuals*) and the way that the IP Database was designed (to
track *IPs*). Thus when an *individual* has been training this is recorded
in the IPDB as an *IP* having received training. If there are multiple IP
Editors or if editors change over time there is no way of determining
(other than checking Bob Adams personal records if he happened to have
trained them) who, in fact, was trained.
Correspondingly if an individual was formerly trained as part of a site
that used to be on the CCN (and then left or went belly up or whatever)
there again is no record of that person's having been trained. This
discrepancy has been at the root of all sorts of problems as we try to
unravel what happened in the past and hack a solution around it.
There are many other examples of where the administrative process could be
improved.
Specifically in relation to training, Bob Adams can speak much more
knowledgeable about this than I, however, there are several general
points:
1) It was decided in the very earliest moments of the (at the time) CFN
that IP training was a good idea so that a) IPs knew what they were doing;
and b) CCN admin people wouldn't have to answer many of the same questions
over and over.
2) Since that time there have been several major overhauls of the IP
Training Process. Bonny Lee (when she was Team Leader of IP Training)
re-vamped it completely, and then Bob Adams did them same changing it from
a classroom activity to an on-line activity.
3) Candidate IP Editors are informed of IP Training both:
A) Through the IP Registration process (take a look at
file://localhost/csuite/info/Services/IPsupport/IPTraining.html) which
says:
Information Provider Training
_________________________________________________________________
In order to install and update information, an Information Provider
needs to have an understanding of the basics of HTML formatting, file
management, the install function, and the Revision Control System.
We offer free Information Provider training sessions conducted on-line
and at your own pace. If you have sent in the signed Information
Provider Agreement and received a confirmation of your application,
please register for the session of your choice.
______________________________________________
B) And in the IP Response Letter which says (in part):
<snip>
** IP Training **
Please forward this message to each IP editor in your organization.
If they are new to computing and CCN they should first register for User
Training. Each IP Editor should complete the lines below and forward it to
training@chebucto.ns.ca.
If they already have computing skills, they should each send a message to
training@chebucto.ns.ca requesting they be registered in IP Training.
Each should include a description of computing background and other
relevant information such as experience on CCN, internet experience, and
skills in HTML editing.
</snip>
Thus people (if they bother to read ;->) are informed about the process
(twice).
4) If people feel they already have the necessary skills and want to make
a case that they should skip IP Training they're free to pitch their case
to IP Training (as indeed many have done) who have the jurisdiction to
waive training. There have been exceptions made in the past either to
fast-track applications or because the skill set of the applicant was
clearly sufficient.
They do, however, have to ask for this to happen ;-> (usually to
<training@chebucto.ns.ca> or if they send a note to
<ccn-ip@chebucto.ns.ca> they are referred to the former address).
5) IP Training is not an onerous task for anyone who knows virtually
anything about HTML and the Internet. Lots of people have breezed through
it in 24-48 hrs.
Correspondingly, there are lots of people (as I'm sure we are all aware
;->) who have taken IP Training, received lots of mentoring from CCN
Editors and others, etc. and are still making fundamental HTML coding
errors, don't know the faintest thing about even what a majordomo list is
(let alone that they are administering one) or are ignorant of fundamental
things about how sites work and are administered on the CCN. Ergo,
requiring people to take some sort of training or display some competence
is an on-going good idea.
5) With respect to FTP and its implementation on the CCN, I'll let Bob
Adams speak to this directly, however, we have exchanged Email on
precisely this point in the past and its my understanding that he has
modified the training approach precisely to accommodate these changes for
people who are using the system in this way. He can fill you in on
details.
> This fellow Dow wants to put