[Lnc-business] LP.org website transition botched (as predicted)

Kevin Ludlow ludlow at gmail.com
Tue Oct 25 23:35:15 EDT 2016 

No problem, Caryn.

I wouldn't even think days.  I would think A day.  Staff was tasked with
taking each page from the old Drupal system and importing it into the new
one.  As far as I know ALL pages were copied over.  They were copied into 1
of 6 (or so) different page templates that were created to serve different
formats of data.  So I'm certain we have everything.  Even if it hadn't
been copied over, we still have it and it would just need TO BE copied
over, but I don't believe this is the case.  I believe in those cases the
links structure may have changed.  We have been updating these so that all
incoming links to the old structure point to the appropriate new structure
and send out PERMANENT REDIRECT notifications to Google and such (so things
are updated).

~k

On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 10:28 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos <carynannharlos at gmail.com
> wrote:

> Thank you Kevin.
>
> That is why I was asking staff about them.  If we are talking a matter of
> days for that content - that is reasonable.  If moreso, not so much.
>
>
>
> --
> *In Liberty,*
> *Caryn Ann Harlos*
> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona,
> Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann.
> Harlos at LP.org
> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado
> <http://www.lpcolorado.org/>
> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus
> <http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org/>
>
>
>
>
> On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, Kevin Ludlow <ludlow at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Caryn,
>>
>> I genuinely am not trying to avoid those issues.  I know content is
>> there.  What I'm trying to convey is that from my point of view, if those
>> documents are "opaque" for another 12 hours, I'm okay with that.  I realize
>> you might not be, but this goes back to my volunteering work.  I have to
>> prioritize work that I am personally responsible for.
>>
>> So I will happily weigh in with staff and get links to them.  I can even
>> check the admin pages and see what the current URL is provided they have
>> been copied and not linked.
>>
>> But I really need to know if anything is actually not functioning.  This
>> is what my current workload is.
>>
>> I apologize if any of that sounds dismissive.  It's not my intent, but I
>> can't do specific projects for you and/or Chuck or the LNC or whomever else
>> right now as I need to make sure the site is fully functional.  If/when it
>> IS fully functional (which it very well may already be), then we can
>> address any missing pieces.
>>
>> ~k
>>
>> On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 10:15 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos <
>> carynannharlos at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Thank you Kevin for all your work.
>>>
>>> I can't though not desire answers on the minutes archives and LNC
>>> business list not being there.  That is essential for members and cannot be
>>> optional.
>>>
>>> Can staff answer when those can be restored?  This is an acceptable
>>> situation of opacity.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> *In Liberty,*
>>> *Caryn Ann Harlos*
>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska,
>>> Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann.
>>> Harlos at LP.org
>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado
>>> <http://www.lpcolorado.org/>
>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus
>>> <http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org/>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, Kevin Ludlow <ludlow at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Caryn,
>>>>
>>>> I've always gotten along with you just fine as you're very reasonable.
>>>>
>>>> In this case, I respectfully disagree that it's useful to deliver a
>>>> 6-page rant citing the "I told you so" lines when the decision has been
>>>> done, executed, and is live.  Further, I have been in this business for 20
>>>> years now.  We had roughly 2.5 hours of outages this morning between
>>>> roughly 7:45AM and 9:15AM EST.  This was only because of the unknown.
>>>> Staff has spent a lot of time testing this software.  It was rolled over
>>>> twice already and rolled back just to ensure we COULD roll it back if there
>>>> was a major problem.  The point being that we transitioned an entire
>>>> infrastructure from 6 services to ONE, the monthly cost savings should be
>>>> about $500 once everything is in place, and best I can tell nothing is
>>>> broken - there are just complaints that some things are missing (which
>>>> they're definitely not, but I'll concede that perhaps staff hasn't finished
>>>> adding links - I honestly don't know right now).
>>>>
>>>> There are no major problems that anyone has reported save for the
>>>> overloading this morning.  The page content was always intended to / has
>>>> been / and IS preserved.  If a link isn't immediately visible, then staff
>>>> can correct that if appropriate.
>>>>
>>>> IF there are broken links, namely as a URL may have changed and needs
>>>> to be forwarded now, I would really, genuinely like to know so I can fix
>>>> those problems.  I offered that to Chuck.  I offered it to you.
>>>>
>>>> That said, we can start however necessary.  I have ostensibly worked on
>>>> this for 3.5 straight weeks.  That is not because of the website itself,
>>>> but rather the years of garbaged up infrastructure.  We would have rolled
>>>> the site out 6 weeks ago if not for all of that.  My point being that I've
>>>> been voluntarily taking on FAR more work than was entailed in the website
>>>> redesign itself because our infrastructure couldn't handle the modern
>>>> codebase (it is roughly 8 years out of spec).
>>>>
>>>> I would ask that you leave whatever issues you have with content alone
>>>> for the time being.  I'm not saying they won't be addressed, I'm saying
>>>> that it's not a primary concern.  The primary concern is ensuring that the
>>>> site is running so it can serve up any content.  IF there is a problem with
>>>> something not loading, we need to know that.
>>>>
>>>> Staff has copied over existing pages and so nothing is lost or
>>>> destroyed or anything of this sort.
>>>>
>>>> I need to convey though, that I am not on the clock for the people on
>>>> this thread.  I have been, and am continuing to volunteer a tremendous
>>>> amount of time to ensure this is completed smoothly.  I am happy to try and
>>>> fix things that are broken.  I'm very uninterested in listening to Mr.
>>>> Molton rant on about his discontent with the structure.  It's done.  That
>>>> ship sailed in February.
>>>>
>>>> So that's where I'm at.  By all means, please inform me of broken
>>>> pieces so we can look at and correct anything ASAP.
>>>>
>>>> ~k
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 10:01 PM, Caryn Ann Harlos <
>>>> carynannharlos at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Kevin,
>>>>>
>>>>> He was writing as a member to a busy elected to SERVE members.  That
>>>>> means sometimes we will hear things we don't want to and have to respond to
>>>>> very upset complaints.  No matter what anyone says  - high-handed responses
>>>>> are not appropriate IMHO.
>>>>>
>>>>> I didn't agree with Chuck's desire to see heads roll.  I said so
>>>>> respectfully,
>>>>>
>>>>> Can we start again?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> *In Liberty,*
>>>>> *Caryn Ann Harlos*
>>>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska,
>>>>> Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann.
>>>>> Harlos at LP.org
>>>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado
>>>>> <http://www.lpcolorado.org/>
>>>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus
>>>>> <http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org/>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, Kevin Ludlow <ludlow at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Caryn,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Chuck opened with whoever made the decision was a MORON and should be
>>>>>> FIRED.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I think my response was in line.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Regardless, I remain open to seeing links broken. I'm sure some still
>>>>>> exist. We launched the site this morning. Staff has spent weeks testing the
>>>>>> site and fixing links and such. I'm all for fixing dead links, but 6 pages
>>>>>> of complaints without any information is not helpful.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Also, I'm not a member of the LNC. I'm a volunteer only. So I don't
>>>>>> really owe anyone anything. I've delightfully put in a couple hundred hours
>>>>>> so far. That's the best I'm willing to do at this point given such a
>>>>>> response.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> K
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, Caryn Ann Harlos <
>>>>>> carynannharlos at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Kevin, that was an inappropriate response to concerns of a member
>>>>>>> IMHO- his concerns are valid and shouldn't be dismissed as "oh you
>>>>>>> Libertarians, you are a minority - we can safely ignore you."
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Where are the links to the LNC Business list, the old blog articles,
>>>>>>> and the past minutes?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Can we have the discussion without sarcasm and without putting down
>>>>>>> Libertarians as inconsequential?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> *In Liberty,*
>>>>>>> *Caryn Ann Harlos*
>>>>>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska,
>>>>>>> Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann.
>>>>>>> Harlos at LP.org
>>>>>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado
>>>>>>> <http://www.lpcolorado.org/>
>>>>>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus
>>>>>>> <http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org/>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 8:19 PM, Kevin Ludlow <ludlow at gmail.com>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hey Chuck,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Thanks for the constructive feedback.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I'll delightfully take credit/responsibility for whatever and all
>>>>>>>> actions you've written about.  Please pardon Nick, Robert, Wes, and anybody
>>>>>>>> else in your crosshairs.  I'm sure they'll be relieved to be spared.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I'm not going to read that entire document you've sent as I've
>>>>>>>> spent the last 3 weeks trying to fix the party's infrastructure for the
>>>>>>>> website TO go live.  It was finished two days ago, it was launched last
>>>>>>>> night.  That was my call.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> What would be useful right now would be if you could point out the
>>>>>>>> broken links so that we can assign permanent redirects to them.  Any page
>>>>>>>> content that existed STILL exists.  This has been made clear over and over
>>>>>>>> again.  It's possible that some page links have not been forwarded, but
>>>>>>>> I've been monitoring logs on all 4 servers all day and have not seen many
>>>>>>>> 404s.  The downtime this morning wasn't actually from an outage, but rather
>>>>>>>> ME under-predicting the load our servers would take.  This is admittedly
>>>>>>>> because I didn't have any data to go on because -- well -- we've not really
>>>>>>>> ever kept any before.  I made the best prediction I could; I way
>>>>>>>> under-estimated.  The servers were scaled up and unless you're seeing
>>>>>>>> something different, the site has been running fine all day since about
>>>>>>>> 9:45am CST.  It was running before that just fine too, but the morning
>>>>>>>> surge in traffic overwhelmed it.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> So anyway, if you'd like to submit broken links, we'd love to set
>>>>>>>> up additional forwards.  Overall though, I'm pretty happy with the change.
>>>>>>>> I'm happy we've done it before the election - even if it wound up being
>>>>>>>> delayed from our proposed launch of September 29th.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The old site was very, very bad.  I know you're a tech guy all the
>>>>>>>> way.  I know words resonate with you and not colors and images and feelings
>>>>>>>> and emotions.  But you comprise a very, very, VERY small portion of the
>>>>>>>> American electorate and the new site was designed to appeal to people who
>>>>>>>> are visually oriented, not interested in reading walls of text, and might
>>>>>>>> have the attention span of a few seconds at best (eg: the vast majority of
>>>>>>>> people).  It was designed for people who might not care about the
>>>>>>>> Libertarian Party - in hopes that something grabs their attention and they
>>>>>>>> begin to care.  We don't need to "win over" existing Libertarians -- or at
>>>>>>>> least one would think, but it's honestly hard to tell these days.
>>>>>>>> Regardless, it was decided.  It's done.  You can hate it.  But I'd still
>>>>>>>> love your help in knowing where links are broken instead of mostly ignoring
>>>>>>>> another wall of text.  That would help ensure that it's in good shape.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> If you'd like to vent further, feel free to call me at 512-773-3968
>>>>>>>> to spare the group.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Sincerely,
>>>>>>>> Kevin
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 8:56 PM, Chuck Moulton <chuck at moulton.org>
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> LNC members,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Many of the problems I warned about have in fact come to pass.  It
>>>>>>>>> is Cassandra's Curse: always right but never believed.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> See the exchange from IPR quoted below (in the P.S.) for context
>>>>>>>>> and institutional memory.  I'll quote and discuss some of the highlights
>>>>>>>>> here.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> WARNING #1: TRANSITIONS CAN BE BOTCHED, LEADING TO DOWNTIME — AT
>>>>>>>>> THE WORST TIME IN THE ELECTION CYCLE FOR SUCH DOWNTIME: THE PRESIDENTIAL
>>>>>>>>> CAMPAIGN.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> This buggy transition was implemented 13 days before the
>>>>>>>>> presidential election.  That is the 13th worst day in a 4 year cycle to
>>>>>>>>> unveil a new a new website.  There were/are 1,448 better days to change to
>>>>>>>>> a new website in a 4 year cycle.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Whatever MORON decided to switch to a new website today instead of
>>>>>>>>> after the election should be immediately FIRED.  Do not pass go, do not
>>>>>>>>> collect $200.  FIRED.  I can't imagine a stupider, more incompetent,
>>>>>>>>> strategically insane decision than pulling the plug on a working website
>>>>>>>>> and trying out a new, buggy website immediately before a presidential
>>>>>>>>> election.  It is INSANE.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I like staff, but if Wes Benedict made this idiotic decision, FIRE
>>>>>>>>> HIM IMMEDIATELY.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I like much of the LNC, but if Nick Sarwark made this idiotic
>>>>>>>>> decision, SUSPEND HIM FOR CAUSE IMMEDIATELY (I'll gladly recuse myself as a
>>>>>>>>> member of the Judicial Committee if he appeals).
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> If Kevin Ludlow made this idiotic decision, RESCIND THE FEBRUARY
>>>>>>>>> 2016 MOTION GIVING LUDLOW UNILATERAL AUTHORITY OVER THE LP'S MOST IMPORTANT
>>>>>>>>> ASSET IMMEDIATELY.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Everything we were told about a professional transition that does
>>>>>>>>> not suffer from the pitfalls I highlighted was a lie.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> It takes significantly more time for lp.org pages to load than
>>>>>>>>> before. The site has been down on & off all day long.  For a while people
>>>>>>>>> were directed to another domain whenever they went to a LP page:
>>>>>>>>> libparty.zocalodesign.com.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> WARNING #2: A LOT OF CONTENT IS REMOVED. LACK OF THAT CONTENT
>>>>>>>>> MAKES IT MUCH HARDER TO ENERGIZE PROSPECTS; GET DONATIONS, VOLUNTEERS, AND
>>>>>>>>> CANDIDATES; AND TRAIN LIBERTARIANS ON BEST PRACTICES.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> In fact (as predicted), a lot of content has been removed from
>>>>>>>>> lp.org.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> For example, as chair of the Judicial Committee I wonder what
>>>>>>>>> happened to the webpage listing bylaws mandated committee members?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Where is the link to the LP Business list?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Where are the LNC minute archives before 2015?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I could go on and on, but I cover this point more broadly in my
>>>>>>>>> next unheeded warning.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I was repeatedly assured that content would not be removed, except
>>>>>>>>> that the front page would be made less cluttered.  That was a lie.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> WARNING #3: BOTH CONTENT REMOVAL AND TRANSITIONS TO A NEW SYSTEM
>>>>>>>>> MAY LEAD SOME PAGES TO BE REMOVED OR MOVED, BREAKING LINKS TO PARTS OF THE
>>>>>>>>> SITE FROM ALL AROUND THE INTERNET AND MAKING US LOOK UNPROFESSIONAL WITH
>>>>>>>>> 404 ERRORS.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> The number of 404 errors is shocking!  Activists have been out
>>>>>>>>> there for months / years promoting our website by linking to it --
>>>>>>>>> especially during this presidential election.  Most of those links are now
>>>>>>>>> broken.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Just try clicking on many of these links:
>>>>>>>>> https://www.google.com/search?site=&source=hp&q=site%3Alp.or
>>>>>>>>> g&oq=site%3Alp.org
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I've been told the solution is just to report each broken link.
>>>>>>>>> That is ridiculous!  It is completely unprofessional for a website
>>>>>>>>> transition to be reactive instead of proactive -- especially given that
>>>>>>>>> broken links probably number in the thousands.  We were assured that this
>>>>>>>>> would be a professional transition, but that was a lie.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> WARNING #4: A NEW SYSTEM REQUIRES RETRAINING STAFF ON PROCESSES —
>>>>>>>>> TIME THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DEVOTED TO OTHER THINGS.  EVEN AFTER RETRAINING
>>>>>>>>> THERE WILL BE A LEARNING CURVE… EXTRA TIME FOR WEBSITE RELATED TASKS THAT
>>>>>>>>> COULD HAVE BEEN DEVOTED TO OTHER THINGS.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> In fact (as predicted), staff has mentioned that the website
>>>>>>>>> transition has taken staff time that could have been devoted to other
>>>>>>>>> matters in this busy election season.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Wes Benedict wrote:
>>>>>>>>> http://hq.lp.org/pipermail/lnc-business_hq.lp.org/2016/006577.html
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I hope we can get those things below implemented early in 2017,
>>>>>>>>>> however, and get back to LPedia and many other projects, but first
>>>>>>>>>> we're trying to roll out the new LP.org website.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> WARNING #5: INTERNAL SCRIPTS THAT CURRENTLY AUTOMATICALLY SHOOT
>>>>>>>>> DATA TO STATE AFFILIATES SUCH AS THE VOLUNTEER FORM, THE WANT TO BE A
>>>>>>>>> CANDIDATE FORM, THE INFO FORM, ETC. MAY STOP WORKING, WHICH WOULD DEPRIVE
>>>>>>>>> STATES OF A VALUABLE SOURCE OF LEADS DURING A TRANSITION PERIOD.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Do these all still work?  I don't know.  I can't currently test
>>>>>>>>> this as I am not a state chair right now.  I hope someone is testing this
>>>>>>>>> stuff.  Based on all of the other monumental errors highlighted above, I
>>>>>>>>> certainly don't trust whoever oversaw the website transition to have done
>>>>>>>>> this testing.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> You all made a monumental error when you voted on this website.
>>>>>>>>> Please do whatever you can to minimize the damage and triage the website
>>>>>>>>> that is being butchered before your very eyes.  I hope the lost content can
>>>>>>>>> be restored and the bugs can be fixed ASAP.  Even if everything is fixed
>>>>>>>>> within the next week though, the timing is still horrendous.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Chuck Moulton
>>>>>>>>> Life Member & Monthly Pledger, Libertarian Party
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> P.S. See below for context on this botched website transition and
>>>>>>>>> eerily accurate prophesies from people with a clue.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Kevin Ludlow wrote:
>>>>>>>>> http://hq.lp.org/pipermail/lnc-business_hq.lp.org/2016/004164.html
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> 1) Our website is a joke. I mean a real, horrible, laughable,
>>>>>>>>>> "maybe
>>>>>>>>>> it's 1996 and the www portion of the internet has just been
>>>>>>>>>> unleashed" joke. It's got ridiculous internal ads all over it.
>>>>>>>>>> It's
>>>>>>>>>> terribly organized. It uses bad images. It has an outdated font,
>>>>>>>>>> not
>>>>>>>>>> great font colors, and antiquated font-spacing and sizing. It
>>>>>>>>>> barely
>>>>>>>>>> functions on mobile devices. It's full of information it doesn't
>>>>>>>>>> need
>>>>>>>>>> to have. It conveys that we're not a serious organization.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Kevin Ludlow wrote:
>>>>>>>>> http://hq.lp.org/pipermail/lnc-business_hq.lp.org/2016/004283.html
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> We want to do all of these things. So I’m asking you, just stop
>>>>>>>>>> what
>>>>>>>>>> you’re doing for 30 seconds, reflect what could happen if we
>>>>>>>>>> actually tried to accomplish this one little task. What is the
>>>>>>>>>> WORST
>>>>>>>>>> that could happen? We fail? We’re in a very slightly worse
>>>>>>>>>> financial
>>>>>>>>>> position than we already are? But now consider what is the BEST
>>>>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>>>>> could happen? Maybe this tailspin of a cash hole we’re in stops.
>>>>>>>>>> MAYBE people would see that the LNC is doing something external.
>>>>>>>>>> MAYBE people would have their morale boosted just a little bit and
>>>>>>>>>> be more inclined to donate. MAYBE we could use it as a way to
>>>>>>>>>> leverage requesting donations from people.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Chuck Moulton wrote:
>>>>>>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-na
>>>>>>>>> tional-committee-meeting-streaming-now/#comment-1321872
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> What’s the worst that can happen? It’s not $20,000 wasted. That is
>>>>>>>>>> pretty stupid thinking there… accounting rather than economics.
>>>>>>>>>> The
>>>>>>>>>> worst that can happen is the site is much worse than before. A lot
>>>>>>>>>> of content is removed. Lack of that content makes it much harder
>>>>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>>>>> energize prospects; get donations, volunteers, and candidates; and
>>>>>>>>>> train libertarians on best practices. A new system requires
>>>>>>>>>> retraining staff on processes — time that coupd have been devoted
>>>>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>>>>> other things. Even after retraining there will be a learning
>>>>>>>>>> curve…
>>>>>>>>>> extra time for website related tasks that could have been devoted
>>>>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>>>>> other things. Will conversion of new visitors go up with a new
>>>>>>>>>> flashy styled website? Maybe, but it could also go down, which is
>>>>>>>>>> a
>>>>>>>>>> potential cost. This is especially likely when the focus is on
>>>>>>>>>> design/style rather than the technical features under the hood.
>>>>>>>>>> When
>>>>>>>>>> content is removed it may piss off current donors and activists,
>>>>>>>>>> who
>>>>>>>>>> may reduce their donations and activism. Both content removal and
>>>>>>>>>> transitions to a new system may lead some pages to be removed or
>>>>>>>>>> moved, breaking links to parts of the site from all around the
>>>>>>>>>> Internet and making us look unprofessional with 404 errors. New
>>>>>>>>>> sites often start out with a few bugs and errors which can take a
>>>>>>>>>> while to track down… the site may look less professional in the
>>>>>>>>>> interim. Transitions can be botched, leading to downtime — at the
>>>>>>>>>> worst time in the election cycle for such downtime: the
>>>>>>>>>> presidential
>>>>>>>>>> campaign. Internal scripts that currently automatically shoot
>>>>>>>>>> data to
>>>>>>>>>> state affiliates such as the volunteer form, the want to be a
>>>>>>>>>> candidate form, the info form, etc. may stop working, which would
>>>>>>>>>> deprive states of a valuable source of leads during a transition
>>>>>>>>>> period. That’s just what I could come up with off the top of my
>>>>>>>>>> head…
>>>>>>>>>> there are probably a lot more.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Kevin Ludlow wrote:
>>>>>>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-na
>>>>>>>>> tional-committee-meeting-streaming-now/#comment-1321907
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I’ve launched many large scale sites just in the past year and
>>>>>>>>>> not a
>>>>>>>>>> single one of those sites had any of the problems you’re referring
>>>>>>>>>> to. They DID – when they were on our development and testing
>>>>>>>>>> servers
>>>>>>>>>> – but not when they went into production. That’s how web launches
>>>>>>>>>> are done professionally. A thorough maintenance schedule would
>>>>>>>>>> also
>>>>>>>>>> be implemented and the website would be designed for minimal
>>>>>>>>>> maintainability in the first place. …also in accordance with best
>>>>>>>>>> practices.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Kevin Ludlow wrote:
>>>>>>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-na
>>>>>>>>> tional-committee-meeting-streaming-now/#comment-1322226
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Furthermore, there is absolutely NO intention to remove
>>>>>>>>>> Libertarian
>>>>>>>>>> content from the website. This crowd has an astounding ability to
>>>>>>>>>> spin half-truths and bake them into something entirely different.
>>>>>>>>>> I
>>>>>>>>>> will clarify specifically what is meant by moving them around.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> The FRONT PAGE of a website (for a non-profit, business, or any
>>>>>>>>>> other organization) is NOT to leave people with walls of text. It
>>>>>>>>>> is
>>>>>>>>>> to create a fast and positive impression and to get a call to
>>>>>>>>>> action.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Having dozens and dozens of options is incredibly poor design,
>>>>>>>>>> thoroughly proven to be ineffective, and generally an archaic
>>>>>>>>>> website idea. The current website is not responsive; it does not
>>>>>>>>>> work
>>>>>>>>>> well (and not at all in some cases) on mobile and tablet devices.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Chuck Moulton wrote:
>>>>>>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-na
>>>>>>>>> tional-committee-meeting-streaming-now/#comment-1322257
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Great! Somehow in all your emails to the LNC (I read every LNC
>>>>>>>>>> business list email) you never mentioned anything about the
>>>>>>>>>> transition process. All you talk about is design/style.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> If you can manage a transition process well, that’s wonderful. It
>>>>>>>>>> certainly hasn’t been done in the past. The transition from FoxPro
>>>>>>>>>> to Raiser’s Edge was a disaster… it resulted in states not
>>>>>>>>>> receiving
>>>>>>>>>> working dumps for a year and a lot of records being screwed up
>>>>>>>>>> (e.g., deceased coming back to life, etc.). During the website
>>>>>>>>>> transition a decade ago, the LNC meeting minutes archive and the
>>>>>>>>>> Success 97 and Success 99 seminars were removed.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> See the IT Committee discussion and report (pp. 15-16, pp. 51-59):
>>>>>>>>>> https://www.lp.org/archives/lnc20061111.pdf
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> If there will be no transition hiccups, that’s wonderful news. You
>>>>>>>>>> still didn’t address all the scripts on the website right now and
>>>>>>>>>> the technical considerations Shane discussed.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I’m concerned about giving management of the transition job who
>>>>>>>>>> only
>>>>>>>>>> talks about design/style, wants to remove content (supposedly…
>>>>>>>>>> though I see you have now clarified that), and never mentions a
>>>>>>>>>> transition plan to minimize problems.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> It’s great that you’re finally talking about a transition plan!
>>>>>>>>>> It’s
>>>>>>>>>> not my fault it’s the first I’ve heard of it though.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> There are lots of people in the LP (myself included) who have seen
>>>>>>>>>> transitions mismanaged and are worried of a repeat of those
>>>>>>>>>> disasters. We’re not saying the sky is going to fall because of
>>>>>>>>>> you.
>>>>>>>>>> We’re saying the sky has fallen in the past, we have documented
>>>>>>>>>> evidence of this, and you don’t seem as on top of the process as
>>>>>>>>>> we
>>>>>>>>>> would hope to prevent similar problems. (You also seem to lack the
>>>>>>>>>> institutional memory to be aware of these past issues.) That’s a
>>>>>>>>>> matter of you not communicating your transition plan and
>>>>>>>>>> experience,
>>>>>>>>>> not a matter of us being overly pessimistic.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Kevin Ludlow wrote:
>>>>>>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-na
>>>>>>>>> tional-committee-meeting-streaming-now/#comment-1322261
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I’m sorry you’ve had people half-ass these efforts in the past. I
>>>>>>>>>> definitely cannot say I’m surprised. I focus on style because to
>>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>>> external world, style IS the most important thing. This in no way
>>>>>>>>>> means I neglect the engine, but in 20 years of delivering
>>>>>>>>>> projects,
>>>>>>>>>> nearly 100% of clients will respond positively to a broken system
>>>>>>>>>> that looks amazing over a badass functioning system that looks
>>>>>>>>>> ugly.
>>>>>>>>>> It’s just psychology. Again, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t all get
>>>>>>>>>> done.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-na
>>>>>>>>> tional-committee-meeting-streaming-now/#comment-1322267
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I’ve found libertarians have a different psychology than much of
>>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>>> world. The tech saavy folks will feel talked down to or ignored if
>>>>>>>>>> you only talk about style, ignoring tech under the hood. The
>>>>>>>>>> ideological folks will feel defensive if you malign content. I
>>>>>>>>>> fall
>>>>>>>>>> in both categories, as do others on this thread.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Just something to keep in mind for the future.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Stewart Flood wrote:
>>>>>>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-na
>>>>>>>>> tional-committee-meeting-streaming-now/#comment-1322926
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> So they’re creating a new website committee and giving it
>>>>>>>>>> authority
>>>>>>>>>> to screw everything up without having to go back to the LNC to get
>>>>>>>>>> approval on which one of their pals they give the money to?
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Chuck Moulton wrote:
>>>>>>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-na
>>>>>>>>> tional-committee-meeting-streaming-now/#comment-1322930
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Yes, they created a new committee with unlimited power over the
>>>>>>>>>> website. Then they spent the whole time debating an irrelevant
>>>>>>>>>> $10,000.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Chuck Moulton wrote:
>>>>>>>>> http://independentpoliticalreport.com/2016/02/libertarian-na
>>>>>>>>> tional-committee-meeting-streaming-now/#comment-1322938
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I am hugely concerned about giving any one person carte blanche
>>>>>>>>>> over
>>>>>>>>>> the website.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>> ========================================================
>>>>>>>> Kevin Ludlow
>>>>>>>> 512-773-3968
>>>>>>>> http://www.kevinludlow.com
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> *In Liberty,*
>>>>>>> *Caryn Ann Harlos*
>>>>>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska,
>>>>>>> Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann.
>>>>>>> Harlos at LP.org
>>>>>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado
>>>>>>> <http://www.lpcolorado.org>
>>>>>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus
>>>>>>> <http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> ========================================================
>>>>>> Kevin Ludlow
>>>>>> 512-773-3968
>>>>>> http://www.kevinludlow.com
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> *In Liberty,*
>>>>> *Caryn Ann Harlos*
>>>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska,
>>>>> Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann.
>>>>> Harlos at LP.org
>>>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado
>>>>> <http://www.lpcolorado.org>
>>>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus
>>>>> <http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> ========================================================
>>>> Kevin Ludlow
>>>> 512-773-3968
>>>> http://www.kevinludlow.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> *In Liberty,*
>>> *Caryn Ann Harlos*
>>> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska,
>>> Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann.
>>> Harlos at LP.org
>>> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado
>>> <http://www.lpcolorado.org>
>>> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus
>>> <http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> ========================================================
>> Kevin Ludlow
>> 512-773-3968
>> http://www.kevinludlow.com
>>
>>
>
> --
> *In Liberty,*
> *Caryn Ann Harlos*
> Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona,
> Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann.
> Harlos at LP.org <Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org>
> Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado
> <http://www.lpcolorado.org>
> Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus
> <http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org>
>
>
>
>
>
>


-- 
========================================================
Kevin Ludlow
512-773-3968
http://www.kevinludlow.com
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