April 28, 2008
Where is Luke Skywalker when you need him?
We, the resistance, are fighting Lord Vader and the Empire, in the form of a company who shall remain nameless, but whose 'SOLUTION' to our 'NETWORK' problems is to hold our domain name hostage for an unreasonable amount of time. Yes, because we had the audacity to change our email address, we are locked out from processing any domain changes for 60 days. This despite our sending notes from our mom, report cards from third grade, and several DNA samples. So Luke, if you're out there we could sure use a hand. Heck, at this point we'd settle for help from Luke Perry, or Luke and Laura!
OK, so once upon a time we believed that by now we'd be firmly ensconced in our new home on the dubya-dubya-dubya. But alas, we are not yet there. Latest projections put us at May 22 - just in time to receive our Economic Stimulus checks and have a big ol' celebration!
In the meantime, we'll be busy in the garage, tuning up the Millenium Falcon.
The SPCA Web Team:
February 6, 2008
Holy Guacamole, Batman. What a year so far!!!
On the plus side: The web team lucked into a sweet deal on a new computer, and will soon be able to do much more, much faster. On the minus: Vista. Say no more.
Right now half of our software is on one pc, half on another. One is connected to the internet, one is not. But hey, both are black and silver, so it's not like they have nothing in common! Another thing they have in common is that we, the web team, are using them both to complete the long-anticipated switch to our new servers. Estimated completion date: February 8, 2008. Please please please please pretty please!!!
So here we are (again) asking for your continued patience (again) and promising (again) that we'll be updating the site soon. Again. Wait, that may have been one-too-many "agains". Then again, maybe not!
Thank you for all of your support in 2007, and your continued support in 2008! Updates really are COMING SOON!!!
The SPCA Web Team:
January 17, 2008
(Correction to January 16 update)
Good news! You can disregard the portion of our January 16 update that pertains to the loss of emails sent to info@spcauny.org. We were able to locate and retrieve them from the Network Solutions mail server, and are sorting through them as we speak. However, at this time we are still recommending you use spcauny@earthlink.net to reach us via email.
The SPCA Web Team:
January 16, 2008
Those of you who have visited the site recently may have noticed a change in the redirect function of our main page. Prior to January 10, 2008, anyone visiting the url "www.spcauny.org" would be directed first to a Geocities free site, where a "click here" link would then direct you to our current site. This was time-consuming and an annoyance, but necessary during the initial change-over process.
On January 10, 2008, we were able to put an automatic redirect in place. Now visitors to www.spcauny.org are directed instantly to our current location. This is the second phase of a three-part process. The final step will occur when no redirect (behind the scenes or otherwise) exists, and the domain name "spcauny.org" is hosted as a self-contained entity on our web servers. At that time, all web pages will display as "http://www.spcauny.org/pagename", instead of the current "http://www.myowncarnival.com/spca/pagename". (Please see the December 11, 2007 update for more information.)
If all these steps and phases sound like a technological and administrative nightmare... they are! Which brings us to the following...
When the redirect went into effect on January 10, all site functions appeared to be operating normally. Unfortunately, we discovered only yesterday (January 15, 2008) that this redirect rendered our info@spcauny.org email address nonoperational. At this time, it appears that any email sent to info@spcauny.org on-or-after January 10, 2008, is lost in cyberspace. Furthermore, this address will remain nonoperational until the final site relocation has been completed. I will update this space as soon as I have an estimated date of completion.
As the person who has orchestrated and overseen all changes to the SPCA's website, I would like to apologize to anyone who has attempted and failed to contact the SPCA of Upstate New York at this email address. I assure you that the error was mine alone, and no fault of the SPCA, its staff, board of directors, or volunteers. As the owner of My Own Carnival, it is my responsibility to ensure that all links on the site are functioning ones. In this case I dropped the ball. (Fortunately, several SPCA dogs believed this to be a game of "fetch", and retrieved it for me, LOL! Hey, you gotta keep a sense of humor, right?)
We appreciate your continued patience throughout the changeover. Until our hosting issues are resolved, we ask that you use the spcauny@earthlink.net address for all email correspondence. The email address spcauny@myowncarnival.com can be used as well.
As always, questions, comments and concerns regarding our website can be directed to my attention at spcauny@earthlink.net or by calling 518-307-1870.
Brenda Fallon, on behalf of the SPCA Web Team:
January 14, 2008
Is it the middle of January already??? Oh my!
Our web team is hard at work on behind-the-scenes updates. Sarah is dealing with all the technical issues, which is a job nobody in their right mind ever wants - but she drew the short straw. Marla is gathering the info and coordinating the what-should-go-where portion of things. Buckeye Bob is debugging code and working on our ecommerce feature, which we hope to have ready as soon as we move to our new server. Brenda is drinking huge amounts of coffee and muttering, as if the amount of work she has to deal with is insufferable. In reality, she is in her jammies, watching The Today Show.
By far the most popular feature of our new website is the Animals for Adoption page. This is wonderful news, as adoption is at the heart of our mission! The down side is that our web team has been struggling a bit to keep up with the changes! Over the next two days, we will be updating all the current adoptables. Going forward, we are looking at having a set day (or two) each week that we update this section. Looking at current web traffic patterns, it seems as if Tuesdays and Saturdays would be the likeliest update days. We'll keep you posted both here and on the Animals for Adoption page.
As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions! Send us an email at spcauny@earthlink.net and let us know what you think!
The SPCA Web Team:
December 14, 2007 (later)
New splash page up! Comments (compliments and critiques alike!) welcome at spcauny@earthlink.net
December 14, 2007
New - and already obsolete, LOL! When I started designing this site, I didn't realize just how BUSY the SPCA is! New puppies, new kittens, new events - wow! It quickly became apparent that a narrow (only 700 pixels) page with a couple of pictures here and there was not going to cut it!
Watch for our newer, wider and busier front page soon!
Brenda
December 11, 2007
Hello, friends of the SPCA of Upstate New York!
As you've probably noticed, we're in the process of revamping and revitalizing our web site. We've completed Phase 1, which was the cosmetic portion of the change. Or as we like to call it, the fun and easy part!
Over the next few weeks we'll be working on Phase 2. That's where we move everything to new servers. It's also where we run into the occasional hitch, blip, or broken link. So if you navigate to a page that doesn't exist, don't be alarmed! Wait five seconds and try again. (Okay, wait TEN seconds and try again.)
Changing our Domain Name Server ("DNS") will not impact 90% of what you see on the site. However, it will provide significant benefits to both the SPCA and our site visitors. Here's a glimpse at what a new DNS will allow us to do:
- Faster Load Times. When the site is fully its own entity (and not hosted on a third-party server) all file paths will be shorter and easier to access.
- Online Payment Processing. You talked, we listened! Once the transfer is completed, we will be able to accept online donations from anyone wishing to pay with Visa or Mastercard.
- Security. Currently, site visitors see a looong file path in the address bar. It looks something like "http://www.myowncarnival.com/spca/yaddayaddayadda", right? That's because right now, My Own Carnival is "guest hosting" the SPCA site on our server. While this is not a problem per se, it does bring up credibility concerns. In this day and age, savvy surfers are rightfully concerned when redirected to a third-party site. Once we're on our new server, all file paths will clearly indicate "http://www.spcauny.org/yadda". Well, not actually yadda, but you get the idea!
- Better email management. We will have multiple email addresses at our disposal, which will allow messages to be directed to the appropriate party. No more sorting through one inbox, trying to figure out who gets what!
- Cooler, better "stuff"! We'll always keep the main site a fairly lo-tech environment. Not everyone has a cable modem or DSL, and we don't wish to alienate our Dial-Up friends! But those of you with a T1 line in your back yard and an iPhone in your pocket will soon have a lot more bells and whistles with which to amuse yourselves. (After all, don't we just love our bells and whistles?)
Sincerely,
Brenda Fallon
Owner, My Own Carnival
Web Designer & Host for the SPCA of Upstate New York, Inc.