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Life.DCU
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22-11-2006 6:40pm#1
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Well most problems seem entirely random at the moment however a quick refresh usually sorts most of them. As Jess said the site has a nice design but the actual code and hence functionality is rubbish, ah well at least we all have an "official" forum to share our opinions on things.
Oh and they've been paid, just not in full given the fact they have yet to implement many of the features that were requested in the original contract.0 -
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I assume they mean report any problems APART from login ones to the Tech Support forum..silly Kev.
Well I would suggest you first try CSD and ask them. I assume you've tried logging in from machines other than your own home one?0 -
Nope, it refers to login because firstly it's in the "If you're having a problem logging in" section, which is emphasised with bold text. There's also another section below for if you find other problems. Cleverly enough, that one also refers you to the Technical Support Forum, for which I would need to login.
Anyway I was talking to John earlier and apparently it might be to do with changing my password on the forums, which I believe is something you recommended I do so I wouldn't worry about the insecurity of sending my proper DCU login password unencrypted over the net. According to John password changes can mess it up. Swell.0 -
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gizmo wrote:To be honest I think the whole thing should have been DCU owned in the first place. Giving it out to an external company was a rather large mistake in my opinion. That said I'd love to hear of the reasons why they chose this course of action.
I agree totally but unfortunately this is what was done and it's what we have so we have to live with it. The main reason I recall was that there would be a support agreement in place to look after things like fixing security holes, upgrading the software and, if there was ever a year when the SU, SPC and SCC had no computer literate members, there would still be people (front) around to look after it. Like I said, I disagreed then and I disagree now. It's too late to change it but I do think we can make the site work.
What is interesting is what happens after Front's contract ends. No-one in DCU seems sure whether the site reverts to DCU or whether Front will still own the code for the content manamenent system. It's quite possible that the code will revert to DCU and a group of students can start looking after it and making changes to it then. That's at least a year off though.gizmo wrote:The problem as far as I can see it is that the the current Admins just don't have the necessary knowledge to do this. Now don't get me wrong, thats not a criticism per say, in fact I'd say most people don't know how to but really a body needs to be put into place who are both trustworthy but also have the necessary skills and TIME to do the job properly.
Zing.
I've raised this point time and time again on life but to no avail. The people who have taken responsibility for the site have neither the time nor the knowledge to do so. You guys (students, clubs and socs people) need to keep poking them about this or the site will remain half-assed.Cy_Revenant wrote:The use of a proper forum would quickly and easily remedie this. As well as enabling the admins to quickly add new sections and remove old ones as Clubs and Socs come and go.
This is related to the problem above. Adding new clubs and socs to the site is easy enough but the people who took it on themsevles to do it didn't know how, didn't ask anyone and didn't push the issue. It sat for the last 3 weeks because one member of the SPC didn't talk to the other member of the SPC who knew the answer.andrew163 wrote:I agree with the above poster, a university-wide version of the CA forums would be perfect. Just a simple installation of phpbb or even vBulletin (its far better suited to large forums. More powerful administrative tools/hooks system/etc) would do.
Although I have a feeling that someone in some administration back office would find out about it and drag the idea to it's knees with red tape.
Anyone at all can set up a university wide site, there's no red tape, there's no bodies to go through, you just need to host it on another domain. The only problem is getting enough people to use it to make it work.
That's why we got the SPC, SCC and SU together to work together to set up Life. If all the clubs and socs used the site and the SU pushed their part and the forums, there are more than enough to achieve critical mass.andrew163 wrote:For the time being, would it be even possible for them to install one or two different themes on the life forums? The one that's up is hard to look at for more than five minutes at a time.
I brought this up already on life and was told that the previous SU prez mandated only one theme and to add more would need a change request, ie more money so it's unlikely for the moment. Ask though, tell people what you want or they'll never know 0 -
Right, that's being looked into tomorrow.markpb wrote:What is interesting is what happens after Front's contract ends. No-one in DCU seems sure whether the site reverts to DCU or whether Front will still own the code for the content manamenent system. It's quite possible that the code will revert to DCU and a group of students can start looking after it and making changes to it then. That's at least a year off though.
As for the committee in charge of Life, as I said I'm very much in favour of that and will continue said poking.
Regarding the possibility of Life becoming a student based project there is one problem with that. Life itself uses student data pulled from the college LDAP server (the one with your student details and hence why you have such a long name on the forums) and so giving that kind of access to a typical student would be rather risky I'd say.
Yep, the addition of extra skins is seen as a feature request and hence needs more monies. That said I've asked some web design friends and they've said that it may be possible to design the skin on our end and simply send it to Front to be uploaded. At the moment the skin change feature is enabled, there are merely no alternative to the stock one that is there at present. Again, I'll see if I can raise it with those in the know. 0 -
gizmo wrote:Regarding the possibility of Life becoming a student based project there is one problem with that. Life itself uses student data pulled from the college LDAP server (the one with your student details and hence why you have such a long name on the forums) and so giving that kind of access to a typical student would be rather risky I'd say.
Apart from the passwords, there's actually no other private information available to Front from the site. Usernames, real names, student numbers, classes, etc are all available to anyone in DCU if you know where to look.
Good speed with your poking sir 0 -
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Ah yes, we've touched on this issue before however thus far I've been unable to get answers given mainly to the fact most of the groups involved are all gone home for Christmas. On the CSD issue, well I was informed that they would possibly get involved but only on the condition that they be able moderate the site themselves for "inappropriate" content. This, however, was seen as unacceptable and the idea was shelved. As with everything however I'm sure there is room for negiotations somewhere.dramabob wrote:At the last meeting of the Office of Student life, it was proposed that life be moved away from front and back to DCU - the catch is that I don't think CSD want any part of it.
Again not an ideal solution. Given the kind of software involved you really need someone who is permanently on call to do the job. Now I say on call given that they are not expected to be constantly at the site but rather are available to do work when it is required. This would mean that a suitable student could carry out the work rather than having to worry about paying someone for the privalege.dramabob wrote:It was also proposed to employ someone on a one day per week (or even month) to perform necessary maintenance.
That said I still believe the best course of action is to set up a small Life Maintenance Group of some sort which can handle these duties. I say group because if there are a few people with similar abilities then there would be a greater chance of someone being able to do the work on the stop rather than waiting. Again, this would mean students could fulfil the role.
Well there you go, see closing old threads isn't something a moderator should have to deal with but again, the only way you'd know about that is if you were either told or had experience in handling forums before. While we all have to start somewhere if we are to make sure that Life continues to grow we need moderators in place with time on their hands, an interest in forums in general, the necessary moderator experience in order to deal with any problems that arise and also the skills required to deal with these problems. While most of these things can be taught to people it really needs to be done before the academic year actually starts. Also, if I were a moderator I'd be FAR more interested in the amount of spam on Life rather than old threads, but hey, thats just me.dramabob wrote:And as for moderating the forums, I've spent the last hour closing old threads (when I should have been working on f*cking philosophy essay).
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gizmo wrote:Well there you go, see closing old threads isn't something a moderator should have to deal with but again, the only way you'd know about that is if you were either told or had experience in handling forums before. While we all have to start somewhere if we are to make sure that Life continues to grow we need moderators in place with time on their hands, an interest in forums in general, the necessary moderator experience in order to deal with any problems that arise and also the skills required to deal with these problems. While most of these things can be taught to people it really needs to be done before the academic year actually starts. Also, if I were a moderator I'd be FAR more interested in the amount of spam on Life rather than old threads, but hey, thats just me.
You putting yourself forward for the job of mod then Simon?;)
And yes i'll agree the amount of spam is overwhelming ... i'm one of those more responsible then most.
Its in stark contrast to last year when all in all it was quite a dour affair ... weirdly again I suppose I was responsible for quite alot of that too.
I guess the randomness of the drama forum has spread onto the general chat page and it can become a bit of a nuisance now and again as the more important issues are lost by in jokes and play acting so it certainly needs a mod - maybe not for Drama as randomness is what drama is about but certainly in general.
NUIG were lucky insofar as Paddy Reilly was a sabbat for 5/6 years and was an experienced user of forums.
He was mod on SIN for a few years and as a sabbat and because he became involved in nearly thread the discussions tended to keep on course. Unfortunately none of the sabbats are avid forum users - Charlene admitted at the beginning of the year she had no idea what she was at as far as a forum goes.
SIN remains very popular as well despite inhibiting people's randomness;)0 -
Hah, I'd be happy to put myself forward for it however only on the condition that the role of moderator is as well defined as it is as say here on Boards. While the job around here is fairly standard I have a feeling it would be slightly more complicated when every other forum user around you is working in the same campus. That said all it requires is a wee sit down and planning and all would be fine.griffdlk wrote:You putting yourself forward for the job of mod then Simon?;)
Also it should be pointed out that Life isn't just about the forums. The rest of the site requires regular maintenance too and that is why I believe an actual group or committee needs to be put in place which can handle any and all site wide moderation and technical support. Even the approval of content from societies needs constant care and it can't be left up to the same current individuals, who themselves have enough on their plates, to handle all of this too. Again, proper planning is all thats required and thankfully it looks like thats what going to happen.0 -
gizmo wrote:Hah, I'd be happy to put myself forward for it however only on the condition that the role of moderator is as well defined as it is as say here on Boards. While the job around here is fairly standard I have a feeling it would be slightly more complicated when every other forum user around you is working in the same campus. That said all it requires is a wee sit down and planning and all would be fine.
I would suggest that the guidelines for moderation are defined similarly to those on SIN or another 'successful' 3rd level forum - certainly not by taking example from UCD's newswire which is deserted the entire time.gizmo wrote:Also it should be pointed out that Life isn't just about the forums. The rest of the site requires regular maintenance too and that is why I believe an actual group or committee needs to be put in place which can handle any and all site wide moderation and technical support. Even the approval of content from societies needs constant care and it can't be left up to the same current individuals, who themselves have enough on their plates, to handle all of this too. Again, proper planning is all thats required and thankfully it looks like thats what going to happen.
Certainly planning is needed, and as you said, if time is taken out for a sit down then in the long run time will be saved and we might finally see the site run smoothly.0 -
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