Website Woes
If you have got this far, you should have realised we have a new website. But factors outside of our control have hampered our efforts... This is a brief summary of the story so far.
It started last year when Chris Snell realised I had some technical skills regarding websites and was looking for help. I looked at the old website and found that the software used to build it was years out of date, was no longer supported, and had no upgrade path. It looked like it had been modified by the previous web developer which added complexity. Instructions for use were also somewhat lacking.
After some discussions, we decided the best way forward was to implement a new CMS system (Content Management System - a way of building websites without being a web developer). I researched what was available and decided on Joomla.
However we needed to take control of the ownership of the website which was still in the name of the previous web developer - who had moved abroad. Chris had enormous problems trying to regain ownership.
In the meantime the website got hacked in the autumn - I managed to repair it. Then it got hacked again early this year. I couldn't see the problem, so I replaced the website with a link to a test setup within my own website.
Chris managed to get some ownership of the website back so I tried loading Joomla. We ran out of space. After discussions I bought new hosting (the space on the web where a website exists) with another company, but the old company refused to release the domain name (nstg.org.uk). I then had to go through a process with Nominet (who control .uk domain names) and re-establish us as the owners.
This worked surprisingly well and the new hosting switched in very quickly. This meant I had to start building the website very quickly. Within 24 hours I started getting complaints that the old log-on details were not working.
We cannot carry the data from the old website to the new – this means we have lost the old forum posts and the for sale/wanted. Also there was no way of bringing forward the log-on IDs of the members.
To recreate log-on IDs for hundreds of members is impractical (but if there are any volunteers out there…) So I instigated a system where you use a contact form to request the log-on credentials. I will try and respond with 24 hours. To ensure the integrity I will vet all details against the 2010 members directory. If they don’t match I will pass them on to Chris who is the membership officer (so if you are not a member, don’t try it on!)
Paul Morris February 24th 2010
