BCSS Website - have your say

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Bill
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Re: BCSS Website - have your say

Post by Bill »

Not an unreasonable comment Chris and it is a not an inconsiderable sum and you are right many members who don't use the internet might think it better spent on other things however the board's responsibility is not just to the here and now, we have to think about the new members and the future and that is one of increasingly electronic interaction.

Increasingly more new members come via the website but via an antiquated system that involves paying and waiting for some one to complete the paperwork and add them to the db, then if they want to sign up to the forum as a member come back and do that etc etc, when it should be accomplished automatically with the completion of one online form. You cant buy a book or back issues at the same time as joining or renewing, we cant offer member discounts or electronic copies of their subscribed for journals etc. And lots more that we could or should do that we cant. I will happily say it (despite being somewhat responsible) what we have at present isn't very good and its more by luck than judgement it works as well as it does.

The membership database currently runs on db3 and needs an emulator to run under modern windows versions, this needs updating and linking to the website. And transferring all those records is not necessarily as simple as some think, as it also means many of the functions, reports and audits will have to be recreated.

We have gone done the volunteer route for too long, the move from standard coded website to a CMS site took several years to get up and running and even then it was launched before it was working properly and over a year on it still doesn't work properly. The time has come to start again and do it properly with as much future proofing as possible, to end up with a website that not only can deliver for members but that can also sell our hobby to others.

Bill
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rodsmith
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Re: BCSS Website - have your say

Post by rodsmith »

Bill wrote:As for branches, they are on the front page.
Fair point Bill, but you have to scroll down to get to them.
Rod Smith

Growing a mixed collection of cacti & other succulents; mainly smaller species with a current emphasis on lithops & conophytum.
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Chris in Leeds
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Re: BCSS Website - have your say

Post by Chris in Leeds »

Thanks for the reply and information around the reasons Bill
Chris
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Phil_SK
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Re: BCSS Website - have your say

Post by Phil_SK »

Bill wrote:The BCSS has appointed contractors
As the name of the company the BCSS had been in talks with is mentioned in the BoT minutes of 4th Feb it might be helpful for all to have a look at what is possible since Pedalo list many of their clients on their website. This really isn't a minor upgrade concerned with shuffling the order of links to make some more prominent. There is a potential opportunity to have something very different from what's there now. I'm assuming it is Pedalo that were finally appointed? http://www.pedalo.co.uk/portfolio/
Phil Crewe, BCSS 38143. Mostly S. American cacti, esp. Lobivia, Sulcorebutia and little Opuntia
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Bill
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Re: BCSS Website - have your say

Post by Bill »

It is indeed Pedalo Phil and no its not a minor upgrade, some website content plus forum and gallery content is about the only thing that is guaranteed to survive. The whole platform will probably be Wordpress based, easy to use, easy to update and very configurable.
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IanW
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Re: BCSS Website - have your say

Post by IanW »

Bill wrote:It is indeed Pedalo Phil and no its not a minor upgrade, some website content plus forum and gallery content is about the only thing that is guaranteed to survive. The whole platform will probably be Wordpress based, easy to use, easy to update and very configurable.
...and rife with security issues over the years :lol:

Is there any scope for a kind of plant directory? I've often felt one of the key issues with the BCSS website is that yes it tells us a lot about the society, but it really tells us nothing about the focus of the hobby itself. It would also be nice to have functionality for people to store data on their collections and so forth, but again, I don't know what kind of scope you're looking at here. What about moving the seed list online? Is that now a possibility? Your other points about online purchasing are promising, exactly the sort of thing that will make the experience better.

Also, is it staying on the same servers or is it possible to get a better hosting arrangement? I understand things like picture size limits and PM inbox limits because I understand the argument in the past was that these took up too much space if they were increased. Storage is cheap now, hence my question about hosting to see if these sorts of things will too be a thing of the past?

I agree with many of Phil's points about taking this opportunity to standardise things for branches etc. to provide a consistent setup to use and support.

I'm cautiously optimistic about this, I think the fact the BoT has finally signed off on this sort of change is a sign that there's finally recognition of the importance of moving the society forward into the digital age - this is a step change from past attitudes and is extremely positive. The only reason for my caution is that I hope the society has sufficient checks in place to ensure they're getting a reasonable deal out of this, aren't paying over the odds, and have signed up to a contract that covers all bases - I mentioned Wordpress' reputation for security issues over the years somewhat jokingly, but are the contractors under any obligations in terms of site security for example? Is there any ongoing obligation to make sure the site stays secure, or is someone in the society sufficiently placed to deal with this? There's a risk that if there is acceptance that there was not the capability to get things right doing things in house, that there may also not be the capability to tell whether external contractors are offering a fair deal or doing a good job.
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Bill
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Re: BCSS Website - have your say

Post by Bill »

Just a quick reply Ian yes Wordpress has gained a bit of a reputation for security issues caused by it popularity and failure to install security updates. However having moved the Haworthia Society to Wordpress there is no excuse not to update the current version as you can enable auto updates and even done manually the updates are very painless.

And to answer your question yes Pedalo will have an ongoing role in terms of site support. And part of the contract is to provide training on managing the system.
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Phil_SK
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Re: BCSS Website - have your say

Post by Phil_SK »

IanW wrote:I'm cautiously optimistic about this, I think the fact the BoT has finally signed off on this sort of change is a sign that there's finally recognition of the importance of moving the society forward into the digital age - this is a step change from past attitudes and is extremely positive.
I couldn't agree more. My concern now is that we, as a society, won't be imaginative enough in what we ask for. In the past, the limitations of what was possible have curtailed our ambitions but if that obstacle is overcome then we need to really have a good, long think about what we want - in our wildest dreams (to begin with).
Phil Crewe, BCSS 38143. Mostly S. American cacti, esp. Lobivia, Sulcorebutia and little Opuntia
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Re: BCSS Website - have your say

Post by makleodss »

My opinion is that society need to work on something like Cactus Wikipedia to create a database of described cacti, descriptions, cultivation advise and photos. That would attract loads of people not only in UK but all around the world.
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Chris L
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Re: BCSS Website - have your say

Post by Chris L »

Will a Wordpress site allow images to be shown from a Photobucket account? All of the images shown on our branch site (Manchester) are shown this way, and there are a lot (1,000s).

Is it easier than Joomla to make pages? We'd need dozens creating.

Do any other branches use Wordpress already that I can look at? I've seen the Haworthia site.
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