Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (RVUUF) Ashland, OR

Tue, Nov 15, 3pm-5pm. Are you curious about what's available on rvuuf.org and how to find it? Did you know that you can listen to sermons online, read current (& old) newsletters, enjoy UU jokes & puzzles, and locate books in RVUUF's library? Our web site provides access to upcoming and past Sunday services; upcoming events; committee & group descriptions; UUA news; and many important reports and documents. Do you have suggestions for improvements? There will be ample time for questions and discussion.

Note: you can just show up for the afternoon session -- even if you had not signed up earlier.
However, the evening session has been cancelled due to lack of signups.

A guided tour of RVUUF's web site -- for Leadership Development

Workshop #1: Understanding Governance and Systems at RVUUF Feb 19, 2011
This page: http://rvuuf.org/introduction-rvuuforg

why? [web site]

up-to-date, comprehensive information available anytime, anywhere

...

where? [to start]

Home page: type in rvuuf.org, or use a bookmark, or set as home page; search?

Visitors: Intro, Sunday Services & Sermons, RE, Minister, Directions, Contact

Anyone: Announcements, Upcoming Events, News, Recent Updates, Menus, Search, ...

Login-only: Librarian; Skills Entry or Skills Search

when? [events]

Calendar: RVUUF, UUA, PNWD; Announcements, Upcoming Events, News

private calendar: all RVUUF meetings & rentals

who? [groups]

Committees and Groups (alphabetical)

Council of Ministries (hierarchical, by ministry)

Contact, Email Lists, Staff, Minister; note: we do not publish member directory or personal contact info

what? [available documents, info, media]

Newsletters: RVUUF, UUA, PNWD

Governance: Annual Reports; Bylaws; Committee Charters; Endowment; Forms; Goals; Minutes; Org Chart; Policies and Procedures; Purpose, Vision & Mission -- plus, older versions

Sunday Services: descriptions, OoS, sermons

About Us: Brochures, History, News, Slideshows; Games, Humor; Privacy Policy; Maps & Area; Contact Us; Governance, Forms, Policies, Purpose; UU Beliefs, History, Principles, Chalice, Resources

databases: Skills Search; Library Catalog

how? [find more about rvuuf.org]

this Intro; Site Layout; Content; Browsers; Email Lists; Feedback; Login; Newsfeeds; Updating Content; Site History; Technology

[updated: 15-Feb-2011]

RVUUF's web site is affiliated with the Communication and Technology Committees.

1. Main Purpose: Maintain & evolve RVUUF web site

• as an important communications tool & comprehensive information source
• for different internal & external audiences
  • Members & Friends, Staff, Leadership
  • Visitors
  • local & broader communities

2. Accomplishments

• (previous year's goals)
• Updated weekly & monthly events from Order of Service (OoS), office calendar, newsletter
• Created Policies & Procedures page and updated Governance
• Upgraded Drupal system security & modules, including new Slideshow module
• Modified calendar to use repeating events
• Replaced "Welcome to RVUUF" introduction, added rotating photos on Home page
• Drafted policy on computer, network and data usage

3. What was not achieved

• (basically same as last year)
• Broad awareness and use of site by congregation
• Updating descriptions for all committees/groups, and staff
• Additional (member-only) features, such as forums, sermons
• Policy & procedures: communication; Procedures: computer, network and data usage

The reasons for these items are more social or organizational than due to technical or resource limitations -- some possible needs are identified under Goals (next).

4. Next year's goals

• (basically same as last year)
• Update routine content (from OoS, office calendar, newsletter) -- ongoing
• Maintain & upgrade system (probably: Drupal 7); backups -- ongoing
• Update committee/group pages -- ongoing
  [need] committee/group participation; perception of web site importance
• Increase awareness of web site: its content, organization and features,
  [need] interest from congregation in using site; committment from leadership in promoting it, e.g.,
  • Request leadership to mention web site in announcements;
  • Host a periodic "New to rvuuf.org" hands-on demo & small-group discussion, perhaps monthly during coffee hour in the Library or Gallery;
  • Collaborate with Green Sanctuary on using electronic media more to reduce RVUUF's paper footprint
• Document how-tos; train backup web & email administrators
• Develop broad Communication Policy & guidelines for all forms of media, covering issues such as audience, content, copyright, security, privacy; e.g., for electronic media: email use for announcements, committees, interest groups; web site use for publication, media and discussion
  [need] participation by other 'publishers'; Board encouragement, approval
• Update other sections & functionality, e.g.,
  • About Us, slideshows: [need] authors to provide content, photos; Comm Policy
  • Member-only access: [need] documents; individual acounts & training for everyone
  • Sermons: podcasts or videocasts? [need] collaboration w/ minister&Worship&sound team; Comm Policy
  • Forums: augment/replace email discussions? [need] member-only access; training; Comm Policy
  • ...
• Support other So. OR UU congregations (via multi-site) to improve their sites while reducing costs & administration
  [need] interest & authoring committment; training

5. Additional resources needed

• (basically same as last year)
• Collaboration with Communication Committee and 'publishers' on creating a broad and consistent Communication Policy
• Leadership help in overcoming the default "paper mindset" by
  • Promoting the web site to the congregation,
  • Contributing more information in electronic formats, and
  • Considering new ways of communicating and collaborating.
• (Other needs identified under specific goals above).

Chair: John Limb
Members: Janet Dolan, Walter Ensign, Roy Kindell, Adam Marx, Steve Weyer
Ministry: Administration

Background: The Technology Committee is one of the supporting committees fulfilling various functions of the Fellowship (Bylaws 14.1B). The chair is elected by the members of the committee for a period of three years, subject to confirmation by the Board (Bylaws 14.6). The Technology Committee is partly responsible for implementing the Ashland Facility Initiative of RVUUF’s Strategic Plan.

Purpose:

• To anticipate and meet the technological needs of RVUUF.
• To stimulate the effective use of new technology in fulfilling the Mission of RVUUF.

Responsibilities:

• Deploy and maintain all technology used by RVUUF, including telecommunications, data networks, computers, databases, web site, e-mail, social networking systems, telephone systems, conferencing systems, and audio/video/multimedia systems.
• Develop a unified policy with other relevant committees regarding the publication of material in all forms.
• Consult on technology issues for other RVUUF entities.
• Provide appropriate backup of electronically stored information
• Train backup operators and administrators of critical systems.
• Promote good design, security, training and documentation practices.
• Provide education and a limited level of technical support to RVUUF Members.
• Explore the use of new technology in the conduct of our Mission.

Membership:

• The committee will include those with a strong technical background in one of the areas of committee responsibility, as well as user representatives.

Policies:

• 700.x: Building Use (sound system)
• 704.x: Using Fellowship Computers, Networks and Data

Newsletter articles (PDF):
Dec 2010 Online Sermons; Accessing Internet at RVUUF
Nov 2010 Sermons on CD and online
Aug 2010 New Phone System
Jan 2009 Sound System

Chair: vacant
Members: Janet Dolan (Office Administrator); Louise Holmes & Ann H. (Newsletter Editors), Steve Weyer (Web Administrator), ...
Ministry: Administration*

Purpose: Communicate RVUUF information, events, and activities to the RVUUF community, visitors, and interested parties using many media.

*Note: Marketing & Public Relations is part of the Community Building Ministry; it is recognized that the website and newsletter are also vital methods for communicating with the wider community.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and update a website
• Create and distribute a monthly newsletter.
• Announce events and activities via email, bulletin boards, and Sunday Announcements and Order of Service
• Coordinate content and policies for print, email, web, video, audio and other physical and electronic media.

Policies: A communication policy will be developed.

Procedures: Communication procedures will be developed.

1. Main Purpose: Maintain & evolve RVUUF web site

• as an important communications tool & comprehensive information source
• for different internal & external audiences
  • Members & Friends, Staff, Leadership
  • Visitors
  • local & broader communities

2. Accomplishments

• Explained different site features through monthly newsletter columns and weekly Order of Service taglines (OoS)
• Updated weekly & monthly events from Order of Service (OoS), office calendar, newsletter
• Reorganized the Programs, Committees and Activities section of site to reflect current committees & interest groups (there were few content updates)
• Created Governance page, which includes Bylaws, Annual Reports, Strategic Plan, Org Chart, etc.
• Developed online catalog for RVUUF's Library (public access)
• Developed skills database to find volunteers (restricted access)
• Migrated email distribution lists to new server, software & administrator
• Upgraded system security & modules, including major upgrade to Drupal 6
• Configured system for "multi-site" hosting to reduce administration overhead; developed & supported The Omega Center site for Rich Lang

3. What was not achieved

• Broad awareness and use of site by congregation
• Updating descriptions for all committees/groups, and staff
• Additional (member-only) features, such as forums, sermons

The reasons for these items are more social or organizational than due to technical or resource limitations -- some possible needs are identified under Goals (next).

4. Next year's goals

• Update routine content (from OoS, office calendar, newsletter) -- ongoing
• Maintain & upgrade system (possibly: Drupal 7; different SlideShow module) -- ongoing
• Update committee/group pages -- ongoing
  [need] committee/group participation; perception of web site importance
• Increase awareness of web site: its content, organization and features,
  [need] interest from congregation in using site; committment from leadership in promoting it, e.g.,
  • Request leadership to mention web site in announcements;
  • Host a periodic "New to rvuuf.org" hands-on demo & small-group discussion, perhaps monthly during coffee hour in the Library or Gallery;
  • Collaborate with Green Sanctuary on using electronic media more to reduce RVUUF's paper footprint
• Document how-tos; train backup web & email administrators
• Develop broad Communication Policy & guidelines for all forms of media, covering issues such as audience, content, copyright, security, privacy; e.g., for electronic media: email use for announcements, committees, interest groups; web site use for publication, media and discussion
  [need] participation by other 'publishers'; Board encouragement, approval
• Update other sections & functionality, e.g.,
  • About Us, slideshows: [need] authors to provide content, photos; Comm Policy
  • Member-only access: [need] documents; individual acounts & training for everyone
  • Sermons: podcasts or videocasts? [need] collaboration w/ minister&Worship&sound team; Comm Policy
  • Forums: augment/replace email discussions? [need] member-only access; training; Comm Policy
  • ...
• Support other So. OR UU congregations (via multi-site) to improve their sites while reducing costs & administration
  [need] interest & authoring committment; training

5. Additional resources needed

• Collaboration with current 'publishers' on creating a broad and consistent Communication Policy; creation of a Communication Committee
• Leadership help in overcoming the default "paper mindset" by
  • Promoting the web site to the congregation,
  • Contributing more information in electronic formats, and
  • Considering new ways of communicating and collaborating.
• (Other needs identified under specific goals above).

rvuuf.org hosts a number of email addresses & lists to facilitate church communication. Some @rvuuf.org addresses are for individual roles; others are for announcements, committees and interest groups. A group address may sometimes be referred to generically as a "listserv" (though we are not actually using LISTSERV (brand) software).

Why use a rvuuf.org address? When someone's email address or ISP changes, or someone takes over a new role, or the membership in a group changes, these changes are stored centrally, once -- so that you don't have to remember who is currently in a role or in a group, or update your own email program's address book.

Where can I find a list of @rvuuf.org addresses? current list [updated: 17-Dec-2011]; any recent Member&Friend printed directory contains a listing inside the cover.

How do I contact the Email Administrator to change an email address, be added/removed from a list, ask questions, provide feedback, report problems, create a new list, make a list public vs. announce-only vs. member-only, etc.? See: mailadmin or Contact: Email Administrator; our Office Admin may need to verify your status when being added to a committee; new lists, esp. for discussion topics, will need to conform to our Email Policy (see below).

Who can send to a rvuuf.org address? Usually anyone (even outside RVUUF) can send email to our individual and group addresses. However, in the future, there could be special lists with just a few authorized senders:

• announce: important/urgent church-wide announcements sent to all Members&Friends
• announce2: for other misc. RVUUF announcements; you may choose not to receive these additional messages (i.e., opt-out) by contacting mailadmin
• a working or interest group could be configured so that only members of the group could send messages to the group

Why don't we publish email addresses directly in web pages, like john.doe @rvuuf.org? These embedded visible addresses are very easy for spammers to scan and harvest automatically, despite techniques intended to "obfuscate" addresses. We have chosen to list addresses elsewhere, and you can use the Contact Us form, available at the top of every web page; select Web Admin (there) to request that your role be listed as a contact "Category", e.g., "SomeCommittee Chair" (with your email address hidden).

Could we offer addresses for individuals and non-RVUUF interest groups, e.g., john.doe @rvuuf.org, bungee.jumping @rvuuf.org, etc.? Supporting individual email accounts and/or various group addresses may be technically possible, but that would increase the demands on our limited support staff (and mail server) -- plus we need to clarify church-related usage in our Email Policy.

Should a RVUUFian have his/her own email address? Yes. Although some RVUUFians share an email address with a partner/family, it would be best if each individual had his/her own separate email address -- this could reduce confusion in sharing an Inbox (e.g., user1 deletes messages intended for user2), maintain more confidentiality, reduce likelihood of a full Inbox when away, and in the future, enable more fine-tuned web login on rvuuf.org to access more sensitive documents & info (each user corresponds to a unique email address, with certain roles & permissions). You can obtain an additional email address from your ISP account provider (usually), and from free services such as Yahoo, Google, AOL, MSN, etc. (Whether to use web-based "webmail" or to configure your email client application to handle multiple email accounts will be left for you and/or your tech support guru to decide).

What is our email policy? Our email policy & guidelines (current RVUUF policy) will be updated and formalized as part of a more clear, comprehensive, and consistent RVUUF Communication Policy that could cover all internal & external communications involving different media & purposes -- email announcements & discussions, all forms of static & interactive web site content, print (flyers, newsletters, Order of Service inserts), radio & podcasts, TV & videos, advertisements, public presentations, .... Stay tuned. Volunteer for the Communication Committee.

How are our email lists implemented? We are currently using Google Apps, which is handy especially if you have your own domain and are a non-profit. With fewer lists (or a different host), we might have used MailMan; we also considered forwarding group addresses to Google Groups. As noted earlier, we are not using "LISTSERV".

What's next? In addition to maintaining current email groups and adding other relevant interest groups, and creating a Communication Policy, we plan to explore other ways to facilitate discussion, e.g., forums where email could be used to post content & send notifications about new items, but the discussion itself would be organized & archived on the web site (email is not really the best medium to facilitate long or complex discussions esp. involving file attachments).

Questions? mailadmin [Contact: Email Administrator]

If you consider RVUUF your spiritual home, and would like to be better informed about current announcements and what's happening daily at RVUUF -- and more widely around the UU world (e.g., PNWD, UUA, UUSC) -- you might consider making rvuuf.org the Home page in your web browser, i.e., what you see initially when you start your browser or click the Go Home command/button. (For description of our Home page itself, see Layout). Exactly how to set the home page varies somewhat for each browser (and operating system). Here are sequences of commands (separated by :) which refer to menu/tab/text selections in the latest versions of several browsers:

Windows

Firefox: Tools : Options : Main : Home Page: http://rvuuf.org
(also check/select When Firefox starts: Show my home page)

Internet Explorer 7.0: Tools : Internet Options : General : Home Page: http://rvuuf.org

Mac OS X

Safari: Safari : Preferences : Appearance : Home page: http://rvuuf.org
(also check/select New windows open with: Home Page)

Firefox: Firefox : Preferences : Main : Home Page: http://rvuuf.org
(also check/select When Firefox starts: Show my home page)

rvuuf.org: Did You Know? Online Library Catalog
(appeared in Jun 2008 newsletter)

How do you find spiritual information and inspiration? Are you interested in reading more RVUUF authors? On a quest for enlightenment?

Due to the dedicated efforts of our Library Committee, "mouse potatoes" need wander no further than a web browser to discover gems in the RVUUF library collection. At the bottom of the main navigation menu (left menu on any page), click Library Catalog.

To find books, pamphlets, DVDs, etc., create a request in the top part of the window -- select a Category from the menu, or type part of a Title or Author, then click the Submit button; for more advanced searches, you can restrict more than one field at once, or you can change the comparison test used. You don't even need to enter a request if you would like to peruse everything.

Your search results appear below the request area, sorted alphabetically by Title, initially; to sort by a different field, click on the Author or Location heading in the results columns; reverse the sort order by clicking on a heading again -- the triangle suffix points up(ascending) or down(descending). If the list of results is long (more than 20, currently), it will be broken up into pages, which you can navigate at the bottom via first, previous, next, last or a page number; you can revise your request to narrow the number of items.

Click on an item to see a few more details -- maybe its Media type, or Publication Year. An item may belong to more than one Category; however, one of these is its Location -- where your fingers will leave your keyboard to tiptoe along a physical shelf. Now, remember to check the item out -- you still need to use the paper notebook, -- enjoy it, and don't forget to return it for others to discover.

If you have feedback or comments about the library in general or library catalog content (typos etc.), Contact Us: Library; if you have suggestions about the query or results format, Contact Us: Web Administrator.

If you notice anything incorrect or out-of-date on our site, or if you have photos, graphics or new information -- or technical skills -- to contribute, please Contact: Web Admin. Additional info under Content and Feedback.

Group/committee leaders: after checking your section under Committees & Groups, be sure to read the article about suggested updates.