Web Master Wanted

Web Master Wanted!

Late November saw the rollout of the ALL NEW TYC Website. Now we need someone to run it!

There are two parts to being the TYC Web Master; Club interaction and slightly-above-basic computer skills.

While I tried to address all aspects of site operation, some clubs (most notably Bremerton) have created a Web Team. It operates much like a committee with a Web Master (committee chair) and team members assigned to specific areas of the Club. This might be an idea worth looking at given the size and activity level of TYC.

Here's what's involved in running the site--

Club Interaction:

WM must be ACTIVE in the Club
WM must be able to interact with Elected and Appointed Officers, Club Manager, Board Members and Committee Chairs
WM must be able to attend major events such as Daffodil and should be available for regular meetings
WM should be available for board meetings and event planning meetings

Computer:

Cable Internet Connection is REQUIRED. Some of the files on the site are huge and even DSL can take 15 minutes to transfer a roster file. Dial-up is useless for this.

The site has been developed and maintained in Microsoft FrontPage. HOWEVER, it IS NOT a FrontPage site. There are no FrontPage Extensions in use and all updating is done as simple file transfers - just like moving a file from an email to a disk, files are moved from your computer to the server. [With web sites, this is referred to as FTP. If you're not familiar with FTP, I can teach it to you in 5 minutes.]

FrontPage will be the easiest method to continue the site, but since it's not a FrontPage site, any HTML editor can be used.

WM should be a decent typist.

WM should have a digital camera and be able to resize and edit digital photos.

WM should be competent in Microsoft Word. Additionally, I've used Microsoft Publisher quite a bit, especially the WordArt feature which I've used to create banners and headlines. These are then "copied" to the FrontPage page in use.

There is only one "tricky" aspect to the site. You know that little box in the upper left corner that scrolls upcoming events? Maintenance has to be done on this in pure HTML. Not familiar with HTML? To see what it looks like, do this right now, right where you are:

Right click on your mouse
Click "View Source"

The part that you have to maintain on the TYC site looks like this:

fcontent[1]="December Events Shipmates Meeting December 7"

fcontent[2]="December Events General Meeting December 7"

fcontent[3]="December Events Children's Christmas Party December 10"

fcontent[4]="December Events Lighted Boat Parade December 10"

fcontent[5]="December Events Tom & Jerry Party December 11"

fcontent[6]="December Events TYC Board Meeting December 21"

fcontent[7]="December Events Shipmates Board Meeting December 21"

Nothing to it! Just change December to January and change the dates. I'll teach you!

Speaking of that, I DO intend to be available on an advisory basis to get you through the first few months. And in constructing the new site, I paid special attention to keeping all the background stuff as clean and simple as possible. The file structure makes everything easy to find, and "seasonal" pages, such as the Leftover Cruise and Bunny Brunch have been saved as templates. Just plug in this years dates and details and they're done!

It's a very fun job (especially if you're an extroverted computer geek) and you'll get to meet lots of interesting people while traveling extensively around the slag pile. You'll be (mostly) welcome in committees and events and you'll have the perfect excuse to just walk up to a stranger and take their picture! I've enjoyed the experience and it's with some reluctance that I now pass the mantle of Web Command to the next holder.

Interested? Contact Tim Hummel or Randy Hanna and let them know!

Scott Lindstrom, ex-web guy