Just in case you wanted to get full measure from your Avatar, the instructions on the Web Site Profile page are misleading. I uploaded a bunch of different Avatars to learn the following:
The web site says that any uploaded pics will be re-sized to 200 pixels wide by 500 pixels high. Nope. It's backwards.
It might be 500 wide by 200 high. Well, for sure, a pic of those dimensions can be loaded and will be accepted. May be it is just me, but on my monitor, the stuff on the Forum is squished together. In a quoted post, the Open Quote punctuation appears over the quoted text. Likewise, an Avatar that is 500x200 leaks over on to the text of the post and obscures it.
For now, I am using 300x200 until the resolution is resolved.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Day 1
It is Thursday noon. No word of welcome yet. Various Board members have e-mailed congratulations. No greeting from the President to the new Board Members. Maggie has the Board section of the Forum on RSS feed so she will get e-mail notice if anything gets posted.
With apologies, I have to wonder. Where are all those 'touchy-feely' Board Members who used to lecture me on making them feel welcome? Call me crazy, but I thought we were all adults and no one needed their hand held. Boy, was I wrong about that . . .
The good news is that the Newsletter question got answered. There was a note on the Board section that said there would be a video available on WebEx with a tutorial. That turned out to be a video on YouTube which explains that using the Newsletter function is the same as doing Bulk Mail before.
With apologies, I have to wonder. Where are all those 'touchy-feely' Board Members who used to lecture me on making them feel welcome? Call me crazy, but I thought we were all adults and no one needed their hand held. Boy, was I wrong about that . . .
The good news is that the Newsletter question got answered. There was a note on the Board section that said there would be a video available on WebEx with a tutorial. That turned out to be a video on YouTube which explains that using the Newsletter function is the same as doing Bulk Mail before.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Oops
Well now, isn't that interesting.
I saw a post on the AKA Forum this morning and decided I might be able to Reply and make a point without getting Maggie in to too much trouble.
That prompted Maggie to get on the Forum and poke around. Suddenly, with no preamble, she is able to access the Board area of the Forum. So far so good, but a little warning and instruction would have been very welcome.
Observation One: There is no access to previous Board mail. There always used to be.
Observation Two: There is no access to to previous Board Actions. There always used to be.
He who controls the information controls the conversation.
There is a section on the Web Site (under the Resource Tab) that says "Board Only". She can't get in there yet.
But wait - there's more! There will no longer be Bulk E-Mail. Henceforth, communication with Members in the Region will be accomplished via the "Newsletter" function of the Forum/Web Site. What that means, only the Sitemaster knows for sure, and he ain't sharing yet.
So, using the Newsletter function could mean that Members will still receive the communication via e-mail. Or, it could mean that the Members will need to access the Web Site to get the information.
Wouldn't it be nice to know?
I saw a post on the AKA Forum this morning and decided I might be able to Reply and make a point without getting Maggie in to too much trouble.
That prompted Maggie to get on the Forum and poke around. Suddenly, with no preamble, she is able to access the Board area of the Forum. So far so good, but a little warning and instruction would have been very welcome.
Observation One: There is no access to previous Board mail. There always used to be.
Observation Two: There is no access to to previous Board Actions. There always used to be.
He who controls the information controls the conversation.
There is a section on the Web Site (under the Resource Tab) that says "Board Only". She can't get in there yet.
But wait - there's more! There will no longer be Bulk E-Mail. Henceforth, communication with Members in the Region will be accomplished via the "Newsletter" function of the Forum/Web Site. What that means, only the Sitemaster knows for sure, and he ain't sharing yet.
So, using the Newsletter function could mean that Members will still receive the communication via e-mail. Or, it could mean that the Members will need to access the Web Site to get the information.
Wouldn't it be nice to know?
Transition?
It is Wednesday morning, October 27. It is two weeks after 2010 AKA Annual Meeting. Today is alleged to be the day that transition from the old AKA Administration to the new Administration will take place. We are starting a pool for a time when and if the new Regional Director for Region One hears anything from the AKA.
The sum total of everything the new Regional Director has heard from the AKA is contained in the missive from the President in the post below.
Transition? What transition?
Oh, but this next is really cool. There is a new protocol for Board electronic communication. No more Board E-Mail. From now on the Board will write to each other in a reserved section of the Forum. Wow! What a great idea! I sure wish I thought of that. Oh, wait, I DID! It was a terrible idea then, but it is warmly embraced and put in to practice now. Sigh.
That begs another question. Will the new Board have access to old Board mail? Past Boards have had access to previous Board email. Or will the Newbies be kept in the dark about past decisions and who made them? Keep in mind, when the New Forum arrived, the old one disappeared. Will that happen with Board mail?
Speaking of which, what about Board decisions? There is (or was) a spreadsheet of every decision/action taken in every Board Meeting. Board members had access to this spreadsheet. Is that still there? Is there a reason why only Board Members can see it? Is there a reason why mere AKA Members can't see what actions were taken and when they were taken?
Why the curiosity? There is a rumor that the Board officially made an official decision choosing a venue for the 2011 Convention before the Wildwood venue became available. When Wildwood suddenly became available for much less money, the rug was pulled out from under the venue they had chosen. The rumors I that have heard say it was Rick Kinnaird's Outer Banks proposal that had gotten the nod, but I am betting it was Roanoke.
Wouldn't it be nice to know?
The sum total of everything the new Regional Director has heard from the AKA is contained in the missive from the President in the post below.
Transition? What transition?
Oh, but this next is really cool. There is a new protocol for Board electronic communication. No more Board E-Mail. From now on the Board will write to each other in a reserved section of the Forum. Wow! What a great idea! I sure wish I thought of that. Oh, wait, I DID! It was a terrible idea then, but it is warmly embraced and put in to practice now. Sigh.
That begs another question. Will the new Board have access to old Board mail? Past Boards have had access to previous Board email. Or will the Newbies be kept in the dark about past decisions and who made them? Keep in mind, when the New Forum arrived, the old one disappeared. Will that happen with Board mail?
Speaking of which, what about Board decisions? There is (or was) a spreadsheet of every decision/action taken in every Board Meeting. Board members had access to this spreadsheet. Is that still there? Is there a reason why only Board Members can see it? Is there a reason why mere AKA Members can't see what actions were taken and when they were taken?
Why the curiosity? There is a rumor that the Board officially made an official decision choosing a venue for the 2011 Convention before the Wildwood venue became available. When Wildwood suddenly became available for much less money, the rug was pulled out from under the venue they had chosen. The rumors I that have heard say it was Rick Kinnaird's Outer Banks proposal that had gotten the nod, but I am betting it was Roanoke.
Wouldn't it be nice to know?
Monday, October 25, 2010
Kudos
Thank you to the new AKA Sitemaster for the code for the AKA animated gif. In the process of moving and upgrading the AKA Web Site, the code for the gif was changed from --http://www.aka.kite.org/images/aka_sanm.gif-- to --http://aka.kite.org/images/stories/logo/aka_sanm.gif--
Sunday, October 24, 2010
And then there was one . . .
As noted on Kitelife, at this AKA Convention's Saturday night Awards Banquet, there was only one person left standing when they did the "How many Conventions have you attended?" recognition. Only Ted Manekin is left.
Noticeably absent was Rick Kinnaird. One has to wonder why . . .
Oh, wait. Perhaps it is because Rick submitted a proposal for the 2011 AKA Convention to be held on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. To be sure, his proposal was novel. There was no 'host' hotel, there was considerable distance between housing and fields and workshop space. I never was persuaded there was enough space for fields.
The point should also be made, and is often lost in the shuffle, that it is a PROPOSAL, not a bid. Certainly, the final arbiters, the AKA Board, often treat the proposals as bids. They frequently make their choice based on finances and how much money can be made, well ahead of how suited a given venue might be for a Convention.
One would have thought that Rick's proposal was the leader of the pack if that was the standard.
In any case, no one ever got back to Rick. Rick was left in the dark. Rick was offended that he was never contacted by anyone for them to get clarification of any of his proposals for Convention. He was so offended that when it came time to attend his 33rd Annual AKA Convention, he passed.
One would think that after three decades of putting together Conventions, we would finally figure out which end wags and which end bites.
Oh well. When the AKA dwindles down to the few dozen people who deem themselves worthy of each others company, may they be very happy together.
Noticeably absent was Rick Kinnaird. One has to wonder why . . .
Oh, wait. Perhaps it is because Rick submitted a proposal for the 2011 AKA Convention to be held on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. To be sure, his proposal was novel. There was no 'host' hotel, there was considerable distance between housing and fields and workshop space. I never was persuaded there was enough space for fields.
The point should also be made, and is often lost in the shuffle, that it is a PROPOSAL, not a bid. Certainly, the final arbiters, the AKA Board, often treat the proposals as bids. They frequently make their choice based on finances and how much money can be made, well ahead of how suited a given venue might be for a Convention.
One would have thought that Rick's proposal was the leader of the pack if that was the standard.
In any case, no one ever got back to Rick. Rick was left in the dark. Rick was offended that he was never contacted by anyone for them to get clarification of any of his proposals for Convention. He was so offended that when it came time to attend his 33rd Annual AKA Convention, he passed.
One would think that after three decades of putting together Conventions, we would finally figure out which end wags and which end bites.
Oh well. When the AKA dwindles down to the few dozen people who deem themselves worthy of each others company, may they be very happy together.
Thought for the day
It is informative and interesting to observe how many people are unwilling or unable to meet the standards they so readily set for those around them.
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