Once again, please take a look at the test site and send me all your comments and concerns. Please don't get mad right away - I am just trying to do my best to make sure the site is manageable. I think we all deserve a good website. That's all I am trying to do! I don't have any ambitions or a set concept I am insisting on, I only propose some solutions to our common problems. I see the development of the new site as a joint process - and I need your help!

A lot of the features of the new website are completely unique and don't exist anywhere else, as far as I know. One example is the ability to view the site in an unlimited number of interfaces.
That way we can keep individual pages looking different in one view, yet have another view that is consistent, for example, with college publications. Another example of what a unified structure can give us is a news system. Each page comes with potentially unlimited number of news (these are separate pages, attached to the page which displays their headlines on top as a link to the full text of the news). Like pages, news can be updated from the tool, by e-mail, or from the web-form. Once we establish all levels of our new structure, we will set a rotation system that will make sure that certain news from lower levels, such as departmental news, can make it all the way up to the top!

I (obviously) do like the way new pages look. The two interfaces we are starting with are based on two Grinnell College colors (scarlet of the 'view book interface' and gray of the default lower graphics interface - it comes from the signage that is used on campus and is developed specifically to be the least irritating for people's eyes and faster loading for off-campus users with slower modems). Some of you might not like one interface or another. But my main point is, you don't have to: We can change it, or we can add another interface to the current ones. If it is reasonable, we can change anything, and we can do so often if we decide to, and relatively easily. Moreover, we can have more than 2 interfaces.

I understand that different people can have different graphic visions of the College. The look is very important, and I honestly like the ones I am proposing, but that is not the key. The key is the new structure, which means separation of content and design. The fact that all the tools are developed in-house allows us to accommodate most of your needs on an individual basis.
Once the site and software are finished and deployed, we will have the ability to maintain it from the software itself, from web-based forms as well as by e-mail!

I could write "War and Peace" here on our perspectives, if we manage to live through the tough period of conversion, but I have to stop, go work, and patiently wait for your feedback. I hope it won't be too angry. At least I am trying.

Q. How come it's the first time I hear about it? Why didn't you start a broader discussion earlier?
A. In the relatively short period of time that I had, I've tried to talk to as many people as I could identify. I am very grateful for invaluable feedback and support to my, formally PR, now Communication and Events, office, especially to Jackie Stolze; to John Stone and Todd Armstrong from faculty; to Nancy Baumgartner from Alumni; to Jim Sumner and Lisa Alexander from Admissions; to Angie Storie-Johnson and Linda Price; to Mark Miller from ITS; to Jennifer Krohn and Joyce Stern from Student Affairs, to Alex Wirth-Cauchon, David Berk, Munindra Khaund and Wayne Twitchell from IMTS. I got an important feedback from Dan Strong in the Gallery. But people, who literally saved my life, are Jim Powers with his graphic vision of the College, Yasir Mehboob, a student who is helping me develop the site, Mike Pifer from ITS, whose technical expertise proved indispensable, and Bev Garcia, whose experience and enthusiasm and dedication are priceless. If anything has been achieved at all, it was due to these people.

Q. What will happen to my page come October 1st?
A . it depends on what your page is. If it is a personal or a course page, nothing will happen, unless you will like our tool so much you will want to use it for your personal pages as well. We will have all the top levels pages converted to the new format. Moreover, we are planning to have all department and offices front pages converted as well. After that we plan to get your comments, adjust the look and feel of your page to accomodate your needs as much as posssible, and then help you convert the rest of your pages. Finally, ther last step will be for us to teach you how to maintain your pages.

Q. I am sorry, but what do words like 'interface' and 'naming and location' mean?
A. Interface basically means 'look' - a set of colors, fonts, graphics, layout of the page, etc. By naming and location convention we mean that for the software to find it, we need all the files be named the same way (e.g. index.shtml for the main file, index.cnt for the content file, etc.), located in a definite place, so that by URL (web address) we can tell exactly where the file is located. No more www.grinnell.edu/www/grinnell/www ... addresses!!! Those conventions are automatically done by the tool we've developped, and we will create template pages for you - so don't have to worry about it.
Q. Will all pages look the same?
A. No. They don't have to. Our job is to make sure all pages exist in a new format. After that we can sit down and modify your pages so that they will look as close to your personal tastes and needs as functionality permits.

Q. What are required interface elements that insure consistency? And what do we get for that? A. Obviously, it's a set of institutional graphic standards, such as logos. Also included are:
- The 'change style' button on each page that allows users to view your page in different interfaces, including text-only version.
- The search button.
- The 'signup for updates' button that lets users be notified when your page gets updated.
- The feedback/comments button that allows users to send feedback directly to you, and not just to College webmaster.

Q. So which part of the page can look different?
A. The content part of the page can be changed as much as you want.

Q. Which pages have to be converted?
A. On Academic department pages, the only page that has to be converted, as far as content goes, is the curriculum page - it has to be a link to the catalog. We do have a proposed department page structure, but it does not have to be followed. All other pages as far as content goes, are yours to change.

Q. O.K., but is there an area where we have a complete creative freedom?
A. Yes, pages for individual courses, as well as resources pages can have a free interface (sigh!)

Q. Who is going to create our new pages?
A. We will, and/or we will teach you how to do it.

Q. Who is going to maintain our new pages?
A. You will, and we will teach you how to do it. The new system allows you to maintain your content without ANY PRIOR HTML knowledge.

Q. What if I don't want to use your tools? What else can I use?
A. We are working on a way to incorporate Dreamweaver templates into our software. I'll be happy to work with the tools you use to try to incorporate them as well.