It is time for a new webmaster for the IUSSCAA.org website.
I have been in this position for 8 years. Rick Matthews handled the position from the inception of the organization until that I relieved him in 2013. Prior to taking the position I had assisted Rick in various tasks and provided hosting and the domain for the association. I registered the domain in January 2002 so this marks right at 20 years of my involvement with IUSSCAA. It is time for new blood.
The duties of the position are fairly simple. There is an update that occurs at the beginning of each month in order to bring the membership list and the memorial list up to date. There is some maintenance of a MS/Access database, although most of that is handled by another person, currently Mike Kilpatrick. There are a couple of email blasts that occur in the fall. One in August or September in order to request article submissions for the current year's edition of the Cable and one in November (right around Thanksgiving) to distribute the Cable. There are occasional changes to the website and there is handling maintenance and policing of the photo libraries and the message board.
The photo libraries and the message board "live" on a different host than the website. They are both hosted on Bravenet web services and we pay an annual fee for them. Whoever has the webmaster position needs to have a credit card to put into Bravenet for billing purposes.
I had hoped to get the photos and the messages moved from Bravenet to our own local host during my tenure, unfortunately that has not happened. The photo library is almost unusable for new additions at this point because of changes that Bravenet has made to it's legacy products. The message board has to be regularly trimmed because we keep hitting up against our maximum of 10,000 posts. Perhaps my replacement will have better luck at getting the move of these 2 pieces over to our own server. I had also hoped to make the site more modern and responsive, I have not been able to find the time to do that.
The domain is registered out to 2029. It is currently registered at namesilo under my personal account. I would push it to whatever registrar and account that the new webmaster and the IUSSCAA director would want it at.
I also provide hosting for the association. I plan to continue to provide that as long as it is needed. Just an aside, when I first started with IUSSCAA Rick had the site hosted on a 3rd party host. I had a web server that I was running from my basement for my sites. Rick and I moved the site to my server at my invitation as a way for the association to save a couple of dollars and not be as reliant on a third party. I have continued to host the site as I have moved from host to host across the years.
So, if you would be interested in taking the position then either let me or Nick know and we can go from there.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you all these years. It is an honor to be associated with the legends of IUSS.
Russ,
You've done a great job, both in hosting and as webmaster. I have enjoyed working with you and seeing your efforts through the years. Bravo Zulu!
Russ, we have never served together that I recall but, your reputation proceeds you in every way. I don't get on here as much as I would like to and when I do, I always try and catch up. I'm greatfull for yours, Rick's , Ed's and Nick's involvement in this effort as I'm sure everyone else is. There are many others that are intrigal parts in the success of this venue like Mr. SOSUS himself, Ed "Smokey" Smock, our resident Historian, but it's folks like you that keep the fires burning! Best of luck in your future endeavors. There's no monthly retirement nor any VA compensation for your efforts, but rest assured, you will be missed. FW&FS, Mike
