There are four main web related tools currently in use for the Midwest Chapter - the website, the blogs (which are part of the website), the mailing lists (Chapter-members and Chapter-board) and the wiki. Currently the webmaster works with all four, at least as a backup administrator if not as a primary role. Assistance from others includes:

• Assistant Webmaster (has full access to all tools - good for when the Webmaster gets hit by a bus)
• Blog authors and administrators (MIDLINE has a rotating editor, ConnectMidwest is mostly Clare)
• Website creators for annual conferences (changes year to year; can also include conference bloggers on ConnectMidwest)
• Mailing list administrators (usually the Membership chair with adminstrative backup from the webmaster)

Website

Most of the website duties involve updating individual pages, based on requests from the Board, updates that are made regularly, or if someone notices something out of date or needing correction. The webpages themselves are accessed directly (i.e. using an FTP client and web editing software) although they can be changed using a web-based interface - login at https://my.pair.com/. The email lists can also be managed from here.

Regular updates:

• Front page is updated when there are new issues of MIDLINE, when there is new chapter-related news, or when a new annual conference website is available (the old site stays up until then).
• Changes in Board or committee membership, or ad hoc committees
• Updates to annual awards applications and descriptions
• Updates to annual meeting area (links to it - the meeting organizers create the actual web presence)

Other:

• Changes to access control (i.e. new password protection for members only area) as directed by the Board
• Updates to policies, procedures, bylaws, etc when they're made
• New content areas as directed by the Board
• Revision of existing content areas as directed by the Board

Blogs

The Midwest Chapter has two blogs: MIDLINE (the quarterly online newsletter) and ConnectMidwest (ongoing topical news and annual conference coverage). Both are Movable Type blogs which live in our website but they function as a separate application so all work is done via the blog interface. Access the blog administrative functions at http://65.181.189.143/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/midwest7/managed-mt/mt.cgi.

Care and Feeding:

• Blog administrators need to monitor comments and moderate/allow legitimate ones to be posted (both blogs)
• We change the header graphics of ConnectMidwest from time to time to reflect the seasons or anything else. (changes to the Main Index and Archives templates)
• We change the number of recent items posted on MIDLINE in several places in the code, plus the editor creates the stories in reverse order, to simulate a table of contents. When published (and in the monthly archives) the table of contents appears at the right top of the page (changes to the Main Index template, the Atom and RSS 2.0 feed templates)
• ConnectMidwest gets changes made when a conference is upcoming and in progress depending on what the conference committee wants. Examples might be to put a Twitter feed widget up or to put a Flickr widget up for conference photographs tagged with the conference tag (changes usually to the Main Index template unless other pages are requested).
• Blog administrators occasionally need to go in and fix formatting in posts if something goes awry
• Blog administrators giveth or taketh away access to the blog as directed by the Board or others (i.e. conference committees)

Mailing Lists