OSCA Internet Communications
OSCA Board E-mail
Through Magma, OSCA has e-mail alias service for the domains of: osca.ca, oldottawasouth.ca & oldottawasouth.com. OSCA board members each have an alias @osca.ca and website content areas (and webmaster) each have an alias @oldottawasouth.ca. Oldottawasouth.com will be dropped in July 2002 but there are still a few aliases there.
OOS Website Description
Management
The website is organized so that there are five levels of user: Admin, Content Manager, Business Member, Member and unregistered User. The best description of this is in the document called:OOS Functional Description.doc.
Admin users have control over users records and one of them should also receive any e-mail directed to
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. Those users also have access to management of all content.
It is expected that a number of people will be designated as Content Managers for the different content areas. By taking on responsibility for a content area a person gets offered access to edit/delete/create content for that area. One CM for an area should get the e-mail alias for that area directed to her/him. The changing or adding of anything to the website allows the notification of the change to the person overseeing that area. Such notification may, as enabled by website admin, also be made available to Members of the website on their choice of that service (called Publish to E-mail or PTE).
Content Management
General
Content can be created as static html files or within the database. Initially it has been faster and easier to move static html over from the old site so at least 50% of the new site is static content. Our intent has been to move that old content into the database for better control & integration.
Creation of new content involves:
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- Creation/modification of a Sidebar (shown as a navigation frame at left side of any page) to point to the new page.
- Creation, if it doesn’t already exist, of the Sidebar to be shown beside the new Page.
- Creation of the new Content Page with designation of its Sidebar.
Events
Events can be created by Members and above. The Events CMs and Admin users can approve Events created by Members and Business Members. Events must be approved before they will be displayed.
Photo Gallery
A Photo Gallery is being created soon. We expect to have access and approval similar to Events but that is yet to be decided.
User Management
The Admin person has control over the user list and can add/delete/edit and change user status on any member.
The Member list is currently made up of some 70 or more confirmed Members and some 150 and more unconfirmed members, whose names, e-mails and telephone numbers came from the OSCA membership list. The unconfirmed members have now had two chances to sign on and confirm their membership. At some point the unconfirmed members should be deleted from the Membership list, if only to speed up administration access to the list.
The Webmaster
Considering these functions, it makes sense to me and, in fact, the website was designed in order to facilitate, one person being the "Webmaster". That person would have, or share, the Administrative function on the website and would handle the domain name registration details, the web and e-mail hosting details and any ftp access to the website.
There is another document that lists the passwords and details of the "external to the website" administration that a web master would need to do. Currently the e-mail address
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is listed to receive any notices about those externals.
Design Documents
I have printed and bound two sets of the main design documents for OOS.ca for the use of new people. They are:
- Site Map OOS 2001
- OOS Community Website RFP
- OOS Website Functional Description
- Publish to E-mail
- OSCAR – Website Integration
- OOS Website Content Description by Jake Morrison by Jake Morrison by Jake Morrison by Jake Morrison by Jake Morrison and Sue Potter by David Kennedy
Only the first two were approved by the Website Committee. The third and fourth are built into the code that runs the site although not all details have been implemented. The fifth was tabled at a Website meeting in late Oct, 2001 but not acted upon. The final one is based on the first with extensions in the area of OSCAR and Maps.
I hope you enjoy working with the website. It’s been a lot of fun dreaming it up.
Sincerely,
Jake Morrison