Post

waisworld.org FAQ (John Eipper, USA, 09/19/10 5:53 pm)

 

(Sorry, the last e-mail was from JE, not from Roman Zhovtulya.  I'll have to do some learning to master our new high-tech system!)

Welcome to WAISworld.org!  Due to the bulk-mail volume limitations that have recently been placed on all Stanford e-mail accounts, we have decided to move the launch of our long-anticipated Web Portal ahead by several weeks.  There will be a transitional period (through about December 31), before we shut down our old website and settle definitively into our new e-home.  For now, the following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) should answer concerns WAISers may have.

1.  How do I post content and/or replies?  In the old days it was simple:  simply hit "reply" to JE, write whatever is on my mind (in an informed and scholarly manner, of course) and he does the rest.

A:  For now, this will not change.  All "replies" to waisworld.org e-mails will filter into a new e-mail account that I can access.  During the next several weeks, I will be "educating" WAISers on how to sign in to their waisworld accounts so that they can post material directly to the website.

2.   Do I need to sign in?

A:  Eventually, yes.  For now, no.  We ask all users to open an account, which can be done intuitively through the "log in" function of our homepage (waisworld.org).  Users can create a profile for themselves (on a voluntary basis, of course, as some WAISers prefer to maintain their privacy).  The best feature of the "sign in" will be that WAISers can reply to specific messages, and the postings will be organized in an easier-to-navigate hierarchical structure.

3.  Wait a minute:  does this mean that WAIS will become a free-for-all chat room?

A:  Not at all.  The even-handed, benignly dictatorial JE will still have to "click in" all e-mails and postings.  My (JE's) waisworld.org account will queue up incoming content, which I will edit and distribute just as in the old days.  The big advantage (and time saver!) for me will be that I'll no longer have to endlessly copy-and-paste e-mails to both send them out and subsequently post them manually to our public website.

4.  I was comfortable with the WAIS the way it used to be.  Can't we just maintain the status quo?

A:  Ah, but change is good!  Our existing low-tech arrangement of bulk e-mail/manual uploading was not, to use one of today's buzzwords, "sustainable" in the long run.  Most pointedly, neither Gmail nor Stanford's system will permit such volumes of e-mail to be sent.  Presently (19 September at 8 AM EST), my Gmail account has been suspended, and the same thing will happen (again!) if I attempt to send through Stanford.  
Moreover, the waisworld.org Portal has many features that bring us into the 21st century:  a better organization of postings, a more robust and useful search function, picture galleries, the ability to do live conferencing (this will be cool!), e-publishing and more.  I'll be highlighting many of these features in separate postings over the coming weeks.

Welcome, Intrepid WAISers, to WAISworld!  My thanks to Roman Zhovtulya of WebServiceCenter for the countless hours he and his team have devoted to making our new e-home special.  Pax et lux.

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