OK, I'll bite and probably be the first devils' advocate here, BUT, it sounds to me like the email list portion was not given a higher priority over the rest of the functioning of the package. Are we too deep into this system to backout and try another, possibly, a commercially supported, but FREE to use, open-source package ? If so and without the old email system in place, then I see the pianotech list grinding to a slow trickle. Only the most patient and dedicated persons are going to continue with the new system. From an ex-PTG member, Duaine On 06/29/2011 08:13 PM, Ron Berry wrote: > > I have been following the recent discussions on Pianotech regarding the new my.ptg.org <http://my.ptg.org> system. > First I need to talk about how we got here. The Board was looking for a system to integrate the member information, > the accounting, and the web site. They were faced with major upgrades of servers and software whether or not they went > to a “cloud based system.” The Member Max software which runs the member data and the regular web site was chosen by > staff and Board. That part of the equation seems to have worked fairly well. There have been login issues because of > the attempt to have Single Sign On with both www.ptg.org <http://www.ptg.org/> and my.ptg.org <http://my.ptg.org>, but > things are working there reasonably well. The fact that so many members don't know how to log in or what their > credentials are makes us believe that many of them were not logging in to the member area of the old site. I still > have a login issue with IE9, but it's not unusual for things to break when new IE versions come out. > > > Higher Logic was chosen because it is a social media site that integrates with Member Max. There are features that set > up committee forums just by assigning committees to the members' record. This will keep past work from committees even > when the committee membership changes. > > > There were many parts of the implementation of these two sites where I was not involved until after things had been > basically set up. I did look at Higher Logic in the early stages, and it looked quite capable of doing what we need. > The set up is very complicated, and a small change one place can cause other problems you didn't expect. A quote from > Andy Rudoff: “All software is broken until you prove that it works.” I am still waiting for something about this > software to wow me. In many ways we are being Beta testers for Higher Logic and Member Max. > > > I personally tend to read the forums in Gmail either on my computer or iPhone. It seems to work better to respond > within the web forum. I completely understand about losing work that you have typed. I am composing this in Open > Office and will paste it in. The problem for anyone making software like this is that you are competing with > Microsoft, Apple and Google who have infinite resources. Gmail is a remarkable environment, and making all that work > within a web based system is amazing. I really think that many of you prefer the email versions, because you can use > any email reader and customize it the way you want it. Higher Logic gives you one web interface to view data. I do > agree that the web format does not make good use of screen space. With email I have a dense amount of information that > I can scan quickly. Since Higher Logic does not have snippets of the message it is harder to tell what is there. If I > am scanning through all the current messages one by one, then at Higher Logic they all end up on one page, and that is > easier. > > > I am very concerned that the momentum that was built up over the years of Pianotech and CAUT emails has come to a near > halt. Too many of the messages are about the system itself and not enough about pianos. I know that every person on > the lists values the list and that is why they are passionate about them. Some of your messages have talked about how > you want quick and seamless communication. I would totally agree. Just as you should not be aware that you are playing > a piano when you are making music, you shouldn't have to think about the computer when you are expressing your ideas. > > > Apostrophe issue > > The mangling of apostrophes in Don Mannino's post was not just a Higher Logic issue. It is an HTML issue. They were > mangled on my Gmail display on my iPhone although the windows computer showed them properly in Gmail. I have dealt > with that issue for years on the older system on the convention registration page and on the chapter web sites. That > said, a piece of commercial software should be able to deal with it. I understand that people are frustrated and > notice every issue because they don't like the software. > > > Archives > > Transferring the archives over to the new system is a process that PTG has to pay for. That is why there will only be > two transfers. We did a test, and there are many archives at my.ptg.org <http://my.ptg.org> in Pianotech Archives and > CAUT Archives. Before the old server is closed down, the full archives will be imported. The search function for them > on my.ptg.org <http://my.ptg.org> works well and will be an advantage. On the old server I used Google to search the > archives in the past. I have submitted a search request to Google during this transition but they seem to not archive > pages from a mail.domain. Since the very beginning of this project, I have said that the highest priority is the > Pianotech archives. Yet they will end up being one of the last pieces to be fixed. > > > I had intended to be out of the webmaster job in March, but I was asked to stay on another 6 months to ease the > implementation. I have found it somewhat frustrating to be expected to fix things when I don't have the access to fix > them. We are in the process of transferring much of the regular maintenance of the site over to Home Office staff. > > > Don Mannino's recent post is very well thought out and direct. Communication with Board members is what needs to > happen. We have the convention coming up and positive criticism and solutions will be the key. The Pianotech meeting > at the convention should be one not to miss. I will also be available at the convention outside the registration area > to help you. > > > > -- > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Ronald Berry Piano Service > Indianapolis, IN > 317-255-8213 > ron at berrypiano.com <mailto:ron at berrypiano.com> > http://www.berrypiano.com > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Ask me about Healthy Chocolate! > http://www.berrygoodchocolate.com > > Public Key > http://www.berrypiano.com/key/Ron_Berry.txt > -- Duaine Hechler Piano, Player Piano, Pump Organ Tuning, Servicing& Rebuilding Reed Organ Society Member Florissant, MO 63034 (314) 838-5587 dahechler at att.net www.hechlerpianoandorgan.com -- Home& Business user of Linux - 11 years
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