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<div>Quickly some reactions to Marty’s comments from our CAP and ASU perspective.</div>
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<div>-Branding: We just recently launched our new website <a href="caplter.asu.edu">caplter.asu.edu</a> to conform with ASU web branding rules and regs. Our institute’s web team really pushed for ASU to accommodate things like different top navigation buttons
for us. We can probably do some things to help with the LTER brand but not a whole lot. We are stuck with some things. </div>
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<div>-Our website is driven to a large degree by a relational database of people, publications, events, and projects, although some pages are hard coded. We wouldn’t move to a LTER database to drive the website as our database resources are shared across the
institute since CAP people are in multiple projects, which makes my job easy because I don’t have to add new scientists to the database very often — they are already there.</div>
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<div>-We use WordPress because our institute’s web team has something against Drupel. ASU is pretty much using Drupel though.</div>
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<div>-If you need any web analytics, let me know and I will gather these and send them to you. I need to work on SEO (search engine optimization) again … fallen off my radar after doing so well for a while, although I see through an incognito search that we
still are on the first page when doing a Chrome search on “urban ecology”. BTW – a little SEO work can go a long way for your site, and CAP is proof of that (aka laziness sometimes but not often pays off!).</div>
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<div>Cheers,</div>
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<div>Marcia</div>
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<span style="font-weight:bold">From: </span>commcom <<a href="mailto:commcom-bounces@lists.lternet.edu">commcom-bounces@lists.lternet.edu</a>> on behalf of Marty Downs <<a href="mailto:downs@nceas.ucsb.edu">downs@nceas.ucsb.edu</a>><br>
<span style="font-weight:bold">Date: </span>Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 9:39 AM<br>
<span style="font-weight:bold">To: </span>Nicholas Oehm <<a href="mailto:oehmn@fiu.edu">oehmn@fiu.edu</a>>, commcom <<a href="mailto:commcom@lternet.edu">commcom@lternet.edu</a>><br>
<span style="font-weight:bold">Subject: </span>Re: [LTER-commcom] NCO web site and update<br>
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<div>Dear Commcom--</div>
<div>I started the e-mail below in response to Nick's inquiry, but by the time I finished, thought it would be useful to share with the whole committee. As always, thoughts and feedback welcome. </div>
<div>Marty</div>
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<div>Hi Nick, <br>
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<div>Good catch, thanks!</div>
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<div>Regarding a consistent web page design....A shared design (at least an optional one) is definitely under consideration as we grapple with the lternet redesign. I</div>
<div>I think there are a couple of considerations in trying to design (and sell) such a system:</div>
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<div>1) Many sites are embedded in institutions that have their own design and branding considerations. Is our goal to accommodate those or to give sites ammunition to push back? It probably depends on how valuable that branding is to the site and vice versa. </div>
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<div>2) Some sites have abundant resources (both skills and funds) to put into a web site. Others struggle to maintain a basic web site. We need a system that smooths the road for the latter, without tying the hands of the former.</div>
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<div>3) I am unsure about how (and how much) much individual sites use the database connections. Are they drawing on the biblio database to maintain their publication lists? Is that something they value? What about personnelDB for staff lists? A common design
would make database connections easier, but might give sites less control over how they display or how they include additional people on their personnel lists.</div>
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<div>Here's what I'm thinking at the moment -- and I welcome your input on this. If you've been pushing on this for a while, then I'm sure you've bumped up against other counter arguments and I'd love to hear those so we can shape a program that works as well
as possible for as many as possible.</div>
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<div>It's possible to do a multi-site installation of either Drupal or Wordpress so that sites could start with the same basic template and modify it from there. That would offer a significant "nudge" toward consistency (and a significant head start for new
and resource-poor sites) without tying the hands of resource-rich sites. </div>
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<div>If we phased it in gradually, as sites are doing their own redesigns anyway, it could be managed without too much negative impact on the web administrators. (I don't think I can force a web-redesign, which is a major investment of site effort on my timetable.)
If it were accompanied by a modest set of graphic and style standards, we could get a decent level of consistency without completely stifling creativity. </div>
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<div>Just how I'm thinking about it at the moment. We have yet to get our web developer on board, but I'm starting on an RFP for the lternet redesign anyway. We'll need that whether we end up going with an in-house developer or an outside firm for the redesign.</div>
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<div>Thanks, </div>
<div>Marty</div>
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<div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 7:59 AM, Nicholas Oehm Jr <span dir="ltr">
<<a href="mailto:oehmn@fiu.edu" target="_blank">oehmn@fiu.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br>
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<div style="word-wrap:break-word">Hi Marty.
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<div>Looks good! Only thing missing is one digit in the phone number at the top of the page. </div>
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<div>Any chance we will come up with a consistent webpage design for all sites to use? I have been advocating for many years to have consistent branding across sites. </div>
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<div>Best,</div>
<div>Nick</div>
<div>FCE </div>
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<div>On Jul 8, 2016, at 8:07 PM, Marty Downs <<a href="mailto:downs@nceas.ucsb.edu" target="_blank">downs@nceas.ucsb.edu</a>> wrote:</div>
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<div>Dear LTER Comm Com--</div>
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<div>We are soft-launching the NCO web site at <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nco.lternet.edu_&d=AwMFaQ&c=1QsCMERiq7JOmEnKpsSyjg&r=-bfRrG46KwZqNcV_4ELblg&m=dBWC-X0KeldJ8_Y93r4hFo_p72X7I0O_Sz7oQumFWQA&s=DaKwuKKRbNgUx3wjjt0jkMsDDNEgM7nZUGpzI_4jeDM&e=" target="_blank">
https://nco.lternet.edu/</a></div>
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<div>It is not currently linked from the lternet site, but it is public. I'd appreciate your thoughts -- bearing in mind that my main purpose for this site is simply to inform the LTER community about the NCO's goals and objectives, how we intend to operate,
who we are, and how to reach us. </div>
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<div>This is a baby step -- with no web developer on board at this time, it does not reflect our intentions with respect to the main web site. It's the just-the-facts-ma'am, no-frills face of the NCO -- NOT of the Network. That remains at
<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.lternet.edu&d=AwMFaQ&c=1QsCMERiq7JOmEnKpsSyjg&r=-bfRrG46KwZqNcV_4ELblg&m=dBWC-X0KeldJ8_Y93r4hFo_p72X7I0O_Sz7oQumFWQA&s=G5SD5cR3Gbye4pBSbvQXyCx97RlNC0Rgn1RXNXpAYQA&e=" target="_blank">
www.lternet.edu</a> -- and that's the next job.</div>
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<div>When <a href="http://Lternet.edu" target="_blank">Lternet.edu</a> and <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__Intranet2.lternet.edu&d=AwMFaQ&c=1QsCMERiq7JOmEnKpsSyjg&r=-bfRrG46KwZqNcV_4ELblg&m=dBWC-X0KeldJ8_Y93r4hFo_p72X7I0O_Sz7oQumFWQA&s=7q6BY4O04yGprVkbQHU6zEhGS3FyLBjCGV5D1ImM2F8&e=" target="_blank">
Intranet2.lternet.edu</a> are more functional, I hope that the need for this site will gradually disappear, but for now, it seemed important to share our basic operating principles. </div>
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<div>There is a great deal more we could do to liven the site up and I'll take that on over time. For now, I would very much appreciate your thoughts on content -- are there mis-steps in tone or content? Blind spots? What am I missing that is important to include? <br clear="all">
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<div>Also -- I had hoped to organize a video abstracts training before ESA, but given summer schedules and the variety other activities under way, that won't be possible. I do still hope to get resources out on the topic before ESA, but not in time to organize
the training I had envisioned., </div>
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<div>Hope you're all having a great summer.</div>
<div>Marty</div>
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<div dir="ltr">Marty Downs
<div>Communications Officer</div>
<div>LTER Network Communications Office (LTER NCO)</div>
<div>t: @USLTER</div>
<div>f: USLTER</div>
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<div><span style="font-size:12.8px">National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS)</span><br>
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<div><span style="font-size:12.8px">University of California, Santa Barbara</span><br style="font-size:12.8px">
<span style="font-size:small">Office: <a href="tel:805-893-7549" value="+18058937549" target="_blank">
805-893-7549</a></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:small">Cell: <a href="tel:617-833-7930" value="+16178337930" target="_blank">
617-833-7930</a></span></div>
<div><a href="mailto:downs@nceas.ucsb.edu" target="_blank">downs@nceas.ucsb.edu</a></div>
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<span class="">_______________________________________________<br>
Long Term Ecological Research Network<br>
commcom mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:commcom@lternet.edu" target="_blank">commcom@lternet.edu</a><br>
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-- <br>
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<div dir="ltr">Marty Downs
<div>Communications Officer</div>
<div>LTER Network Communications Office (LTER NCO)</div>
<div>t: @USLTER</div>
<div>f: USLTER</div>
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<div><span style="font-size:12.8px">National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS)</span><br>
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<div><span style="font-size:12.8px">University of California, Santa Barbara</span><br style="font-size:12.8px">
<span style="font-size:small">Office: 805-893-7549</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:small">Cell: 617-833-7930</span></div>
<div><a href="mailto:downs@nceas.ucsb.edu" target="_blank">downs@nceas.ucsb.edu</a></div>
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