[Nfb-web] Non X Catalyst Hosting on NFB Server

[Peter Donahue]

Hello Michael and listers,

	It's more a question of reliability than features. There has
been a rash of NFB Net outages since the beginning of the year and my
frustration and desire to do the best job I can for the affiliates whose
sites I manage continues to heighten. My patience with this situation is
beginning to wear thin; particularly when you consider that I manage
about 12 affiliate sites hosted on NFB Net and have multiple requests
from these affiliates to make changes to pages on their Web sites. I
edit their pages and attempt to post them only to discover that NFB Net
is down. 

	One affiliate has a state convention coming up this weekend and
I need to post information related to their convention including the
streaming links. I'm preparing the pages, but God only knows when I'll
be able to upload them due to these outages. Our Writers' Division has
asked me to post content to their site. I have it ready to go, but can't
upload it because NFB Net is down.

		We all appreciate what NFB Net offers in the way of Web
space and other resources. However as NFB Net grows the need to address
matters like these outages must be delt with. If this organization can
find $20,000,000 to build the Jernigan Institute we ought to be able to
find the funding to address this issue. No more crying poverty please.
If these outages continue to occur perhaps this topic should be one for
discussion at this summer's Webmasters meeting. I know Dave is doing all
he can on his end. Perhaps we all need to put our heads together to find
a solution to address this matter, one that is effective and that won't
be costly to implement. Yes it's important to be grateful for what we
have, but there comes a point where simply being grateful isn't enough. 

I've told some individuals privately that to me our Web sites are those
of Fortune 500 Companies; not just those of a non-profit organization. I
approach each project I've done for the NFb and others as if it were for
a Fortune 500 Company. As such companies do all they can to prevent
their Web sites from being down and unavailable to the public. One need
not have the big bucks of a Fortune 500 company to insure that their
organization's Web site will have 99.9999999%up-time. Perhaps this topic
needs more discussion, myths debunked, and potential solutions explored.
As a member of our Webmasters Committee I'm willing to do whatever
research is needed to find a remedy for these outages.

	And what about the philosophical end of things? I would be
extremely embarrassed as an affiliate president to refer members and
potential members and supporters to visit a Web site not knowing if it's
going to be available or not. That doesn't bode well for us and our
belief that the blind can succeed as computer and Web professionals.

	I noticed that  the NFB server in Baltimore is hardly down. I
only recall one instance when the NFB National sites were down and that
was for a few days last year. It was this that got me to wonder if non X
Catalyst hosting could be made available on the NFB server for
affiliates that prefer not to use X Catalyst allowing them to use
whatever design methodologies they chose for building their Web sites.

	Sorry for the rant. I'm trying to fulfill the requests turned in
to me by affiliates for their Web sites that need servicing. Here's
hoping we'll see the light at the end of the tunnel soon. All the best
for a great week.

A very frustrated Peter Donahue


-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-web-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-web-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Michael Hansen
Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2009 10:50 PM
To: NFB Webmaster's List
Subject: Re: [Nfb-web] Non X Catalyst Hosting on NFB Server


Peter,

The only reason why a site would have been hosted on the nfb.org server
instead of the nfbnet.org server was because that is were the x Catalyst
software was installed. What features or functionality are you looking
for that is not available on the nfbnet.org server?

Mike
---
Mike Hansen
NFB of Nebraska


On Sun, Mar 22, 2009 at 1:32 PM, Peter Donahue <pdonahue1 at sbcglobal.net>
wrote:
> Hello everyone,
>
>    During last year's webmasters workshop the plan offered by our 
> national office for affiliates wishing to host their Web sites via X 
> Catalyst was explained. Has a non X Catalyst hosting plan for 
> affiliates wanting to host their sites on the NFB Server been 
> considered, and what would be the cost? I'm envisioning something 
> similar to what is now offered on NFB Net, but the affiliate sites 
> would be hosted on the NFB Server instead of NFB Net. Just thought I 
> would ask.
>
> Peter Donahue
>
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