The Union Website

[exnihilo]

Ah, the now typically hostile response from the Association. You sent the email because people need to be spoon-fed. Fair enough. But those not on the list got nothing. The information couldn't also be on the website? Is it an either/or situation?

[munchingfoo]

A few points Mr Fellows:

1. Given that the main University e-mail system is predominantly webmail based, even to read an e-mail students have to "look online for the polling times".

2. If you feel that union website isn't visited or isn't useful as a place to store information don't you think it reasonable to take action, either disband or improve.

3. It would have taken a few seconds extra to place the information in an e-mail AND place it on the website. I put it to you that not doing so is more lazyness than anything else.

4. None of this is really relevant. Please, re-read my initial post. It is simply saying that the union website is inadequate, something which you obviously believe; "It wasn't on the Union website, simply because if we had put it there and not in an email, no one would have looked there for it"

[hr]

Tired Freudian references aside - your mother played my mighty skin flute like a surf crowned sea nymph trying to rouse Poseidon from his watery slumber!

[Steveo]

I think the Association needs to stop being so bloody cheap about it and pay for a decent website - with no ads.

[hr]

Set your goals way too high so I can laugh when you fail.

[Monster Sink]

I think the Association needs to put more emphasis on its officers to keep the website up to date. It seems the structure is there, but the content isn't. Can it be that hard to update a website? Isn't there a wysiwig editor or something that would make the sabbs' jobs easier?

[Bizarre Atheist]

The website is very easy to update with a wysiwyg, MS Word style editor. An example of how easy it is how the list of candidates was updated as they were nominated.

A better example is that a moron like me can do it, and though I admit that yourunion.net/debates is rather superior to yourunion.net/charities, I did learn the ropes in approximately half an hour.

[hr]

http://www.charities-campaign.org.uk

[enola48]

I am sorry but I am sick and tired of people complaining about not being told things in one form or another.

If we e-mail we are told it must be on the website, if we use the website then the sinner is a must. Facebook seems to be the only reliable form of communication and we have had a ton of complaints about that.

Whatever we do, we have failed to find a form of communication that no one complains about - and however many forms of communication we use people complain that they knew nothing about the event and wanted another from of communication. Maybe it would be best if we phoned everyone up and popped round to their flats to make sure they got the message.

The reason that one form or another of communication is missed out is not deliberate and it is not out of laziness it is because for the last week a very small elections officer committee have been running around like headless chickens desperately trying to get everything done and sometimes we ran out of time or forget something.

We are all fallable - if you feel you could do it better feel free!

[munchingfoo]

First of all:


ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Is everyone replying from the union, with the obvious exception of Bizarre(thank you), retarded? This is about the website being shit, not the lack of communications.

Appart from that, do you know (enola in particular) how silly what you have written is?

The website is a non-intrusive form of communication. In order for someone to gain information from the website, they must choose to look there for it. Please, PLEASE, feel free to alert me to one person ever who has complained about the union website being used to host useful information.

The complaints about facebook were due to excessive spamming, an intrusive form of communication.

Once an e-mail had been composed even the most brain dead of university level students with little to no experience could have copied the contents of that e-mail onto the website with a few seconds (minutes if you include upload/download latency)

I found the info I needed, I have no complaints about the overall commincation of this data. Just simply the specific communication of this data(and others) through the medium of the union website.

[hr]

Tired Freudian references aside - your mother played my mighty skin flute like a surf crowned sea nymph trying to rouse Poseidon from his watery slumber!

[Adam Fellows]

Quoting exnihilo from 09:54, 19th Mar 2007
Ah, the now typically hostile response from the Association. You sent the email because people need to be spoon-fed. Fair enough. But those not on the list got nothing. The information couldn't also be on the website? Is it an either/or situation?

I would counter by saying that those who opted out of the Students' Association link-up, detailing what is going on with the Association, also wouldn't bother to look at the website anyway, and also wouldn't bother to vote. It would be interesting to look at the figures of those who do opt out, because I don't think most people are aware they can.

And can I ask how was my reply hostile? Fairly sharp yes, but only because like enola48 I'm getting a little tired of criticism for a snap decision at stupid o'clock in the morning to do with something that, had circumstances been different, neither of us would have needed to deal with with.

The elections happened, there was a much higher-than-normal turnout, there were no crises. Yes I do think the Association website is underused as it currently stands, we could have used the Union website to put up the information about polling, but we as an EOC felt that such a passive form of communication would not have gotten the message out there properly, especially when a *constant* complaint is that people aren't aware of elections. Well thanks to Facebook and the emails, people knew. There were links for more information, but duplicating information seemed unnecessary at that late stage in campaign week.

[hr]

http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37100367

[Adam Fellows]

Quoting munchingfoo from 11:15, 19th Mar 2007
A few points Mr Fellows:

1. Given that the main University e-mail system is predominantly webmail based, even to read an e-mail students have to "look online for the polling times".

Students should read their emails at least once every 24 / 48 hours (depending on who you ask). There is no such compunction to look at the Union website.

2. If you feel that union website isn't visited or isn't useful as a place to store information don't you think it reasonable to take action, either disband or improve.

I do, I really do, but it's a work in progress. A lot of people who volunteered to get more info on the website simply don't have the time to update constantly at our beck and call, and the rest of us who have access may be able to use the WYSIWYG layout but I've found playing with the code often leads to better results.

3. It would have taken a few seconds extra to place the information in an e-mail AND place it on the website. I put it to you that not doing so is more lazyness than anything else.

It wasn't high on our priorities, as the information had gone out in other ways. I challenge you to run an election and to not forget to do certain things in favour of others.

4. None of this is really relevant. Please, re-read my initial post. It is simply saying that the union website is inadequate, something which you obviously believe; "It wasn't on the Union website, simply because if we had put it there and not in an email, no one would have looked there for it"

The normal web team had nothing to do with the elections information - we had the ability to put it up ourselves, and there were better ways of getting the message out there. Yes they were intrusive, but they were better from the perspective of seeking out people who might not necessarily be aware of the elections. Our choice, not the web teams.

It's also a common source of amusement from University staff members as well that they get lots of emails from students asking them about things that can be found on the website. Just because it's on the website doesn't mean people will want to find it for themselves.

[hr]

http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37100367

[exnihilo]

Personally, I'm not talking about any snap decision, I'm talking about the general want of information on the website.

[Adam Fellows]

Quoting exnihilo from 20:07, 19th Mar 2007
Personally, I'm not talking about any snap decision, I'm talking about the general want of information on the website.

You asked before if the information was in an either/or situation. It can actually be both, but *this* time it was based on a snap decision not to. About the rest of the website, you'd have to ask those responsible for the various sections about it all.

[hr]

http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37100367

[exnihilo]

Well, yes, and as I was that's why I characterised your response as hostile. Still, not to worry, it's not like I actually care that much.

[Guest]

Quoting exnihilo from 13:33, 18th Mar 2007
Worth bearing in mind, also, is that a website with content can be checked by any student (or staff member) at any time, according to their own wishes and can, equally, be ignored. Emails, less so. You either unsubscribe or block them and then you're cut off from that stream of information (something most postgrads would be happy to be - until there's a separate 'union' for them), and that information only comes to you when the Association decides it should.

In short - emails suck, a decent website is the best option, and one that so many other institutions seem to manage - by keeping it simple and up to date, not by piling on mountains of worthless, pointless rubbish.

Also worthy of note: Webmail is unreliable - there's been a lot of mails taking hours to arrive lately, and I know I failed to recieve the mail informing me of a uni accomodation offer this year. I had to ask about it to find out - it's not the best.