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Alternate contact information is a Necessity !

Forums: Suggestions and Feedback
Created on: 09/08/16 12:35 PM Views: 7580 Replies: 25
Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 12:35 PM

In June, 2013, Jim Ekins wrote:

Quote:

We need a way for admins to collect alternate contact info (names, phone nos., email addresses) of classmates' children, younger siblings, others, in the event of relocation, changing email or phone numbers, illness, or death. But that information should not be seen by all classmates. Why can't Profile Generator allow certain custom-made questions/fields to be populated with information that is viewable only by admins? That feature is supported by the address field and other preconfigured fields. Why not custom fields?

Please consider this improvement -- This is a critical missing component of ClassCreator.

Please consider either doing what Jim suggested (allow Profile Generator to create custom fields that can be marked as NOT viewable to other classmates) or else have an input text box on the Details page for users to enter alternative contact information that will not be seen by anyone other than the administrator.

We can note that the current Alternate Contact Info fields cannot be used for this, as the system will send mail to these addresses.

As Jim pointed out, classmates may re-located, get new e-mail addresses, etc.

My class (1970) is part of the aging group of Boomers. People are retiring, moving, downsizing, and, of course, dying. As we prepare for our 50th reunion, it will be VERY useful to have alternate contact info, such as children's e-mail addresses.

Please consider making this improvement -- the sooner the better !

Thank you !

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Edited 09/08/16 12:37 PM
Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 2:38 PM - Response #1

I will circulate the idea internally. Thanks


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Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 4:56 PM - Response #2

Fred,
Each member has an "Admin Notes" text box in their details page. We've used that for just what you're suggesting - alternate contact info, summer/winter phone numbers and addresses, children's email addresses, etc, in addition to the 'official' contact info in their details.

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Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 7:11 PM - Response #3

Scott -- Thank you for looking into this.

John -- Yes, I use the Admin notes for that also. But I'd much rather have the classmates fill in (and update) their own info. To collect that info, I'd be gathering it from our classmates, and then cut-and-pasting or re-typing the info into the Admin notes. If the user can see it when updating his or her profile, it's more likely to be kept current.

For that matter, I could solicit the info from the classmates, and just keep a spreadsheet of the info, to be used if e-mails sent to a classmate wind up bouncing.

Another bit of useful info: "What other classmates are you regularly in touch with?" So if we can't locate a classmate, then one of the listed friends can help.

Thank you for your input, John, and thank you for your contributions in other areas of the forum.

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Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 8:38 PM - Response #4

Good points! A profile question/answer box that's only viewable by admins where classmates could fill in alternate contact info would be a plus.
Of course, we've all seen, getting them to update their contact info as they move around is not always one of their top priorities. But perhaps if it was in their profile they might see it more often and keep it updated.

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Friday, September 9, 2016 at 1:50 AM - Response #5

I'd be in favor of adding a section in the Contact Info area of the profile for alternate contact info only if it was optional for admins to activate this section. To me, it's not a question of only allowing admins to view the alternate contact info. The main question is asking classmates for this info in the first place. I see many of our classmates viewing the request for alternate contact info as an undue invasion of privacy, especially contact info on their children. I'd be very hesitant to ask for this info from our classmates. We need to move slowly on this idea, with the opportunity for lots of comments ahead of time from admins.

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Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at 2:13 AM - Response #6

Scott Mastenbrook wrote:

I will circulate the idea internally. Thanks
Scott, like the others who have weighed in on this topic, I believe having a voluntary, non-public section for this information would be extremely helpful if it was ever needed.

You mentioned that you would circulate the idea internally, was there any interest on your end for adding an extra section for "if all else fails" contact information?

.


Image Source
https://imgflip.com/i/1bq97r

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Edited 10/04/16 2:17 AM
Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at 12:02 PM - Response #7

In the early days, Class Creator displayed all contact info (except for email addresses) in a profile view. When CC saw a potential privacy issue, and began showing only the city/state, we created a profile question box for members to fill in their choice of additional contact info like phone number, street address, and email address. The 'hint' asks them to "Duplicate your contact info that you are willing to share here. It can only be seen by logged in Classmates".

Not everyone did of course, just like some forget to update their 'official' contact info when it changes. But many did, and they appear to update the Q/A box info even if they 'forget' to update their official contact info. It has worked out pretty well, and we've received feedback from those traveling who used it to contact friends as they were passing through their city.

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Wednesday, October 5, 2016 at 1:45 AM - Response #8

John,

I like that, it's a very creative idea, although I can't help but think that perhaps we could elicit a little more sensitive information if it was not out in the open.

Just thinking out loud, but the Detail Page already has protected information. Wouldn't it serve this function if they added a few additional lines, say, after the contact phone numbers and simply said:

"If we lose touch with you, who could we contact to make sure you're still alright? e.g. Kids, Relatives, Friends, Family. Who do you keep up with? Name, Relationship, Contact Information, etc."

Facing our own mortality may be a new area for many of us. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd like to think perhaps the poster of Achmed above, might be a humorous way to approach the subject IF we just had a dedicated place for this information.

By the way, John, I checked out your site and was very pleasantly surprised to see colorful falling leaves (which I immediately stole, Thank You very much!), it's been 90 degrees here in Oklahoma this week and the fall foliage was very refreshing surprise indeed. I absolutely loved Your Fun Stuff 12 about the deuterstomes. I think I may have run across one or two. Great site! And Happy Belated Birthday!

Scott, CC, what do you all think, any traction for Fred Weis's request? Could a few additional lines be added to the Details Page?

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Wednesday, October 5, 2016 at 12:48 PM - Response #9

There is traction. We are discussing. I do not have details at the moment. But there is at least initial approval to pursue the idea further.


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Tuesday, October 18, 2016 at 10:51 AM - Response #10

I agree. It would be great to have this as a standard part of each member's info. However, there does need to be an option for each member to select "None" under other contacts. Some family members do not want their info given out or there are other reasons a member may not wish to complete the section. I prefer not to see this as something we must add under the Profile Generator.

Great idea! Thanks for the updates along the way, Scott!

(That last line was written without reading the above comments twice as I have two other site projects on my mind. In other words, duplication not intended.)


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Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 1:02 AM - Response #11

As a reminder:

Quote:

My class (1970) is part of the aging group of Boomers. People are retiring, moving, downsizing, and, of course, dying. As we prepare for our 50th reunion, it will be VERY useful to have alternate contact info, such as children's e-mail addresses.

Please consider making this improvement -- the sooner the better !

Please note: This does NOT have to be a specific request for family members' names, e-mail address, etc. It can be a text box for entry with the general suggestion of something like:

"If we aren't able to get in touch with you, what are some other ways of reaching you? Examples: Son or daughter's e-mail address; alternate street address; other classmates you are in touch with. This info will ONLY be used if we can't reach you via your standard e-mail address."

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Thursday, July 12, 2018 at 2:28 PM - Response #12

Scott Mastenbrook wrote:

There is traction. We are discussing. I do not have details at the moment. But there is at least initial approval to pursue the idea further.

Scott,

There is nothing more uncomfortable than trying to reach a classmate who is no longer responding, only to find out that they died. We frequently don't know if our classmate is still living, ill or has passed away. We often don't quite know who to call, or their relationship.

Currently we have fields for Primary Email and three alternate email entries (Not Public) that will send duplicate notifications to up to three other email addresses. I'm not sure how many people are actually using the additional addresses, (one notification seems to be too many for some of our classmates) but I'm sure that some do.

If we could select each alternate email to SEND or DO NOT SEND, they could possibly be used for this purpose without affecting users who actually want duplicate notifications.

This would require a change in the look-up/email routine, but the fields do already exist.

A Comments Field that would permit us to list names, phone numbers, friends, family, relationships, email addresses, comments, call them in this order, etc. would be better, but could this be a possible workaround in the meantime?

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Edited 07/12/18 2:30 PM
Tuesday, December 4, 2018 at 11:57 AM - Response #13

Can I bump this up for reconsideration ?

What I (and others) am requesting is a comment box on the classmate's Contact Information page. In other words, it would be visible to the member and to the administrator, and invisible to the class, just as all other personal e-mail, phone, address, etc information.

Having the Alternate e-mail addresses does not suit this need, as the messages to the class would be sent to those e-mail addresses also.

Thank you !


Quote:


Please note: This does NOT have to be a specific request for family members' names, e-mail address, etc. It can be a text box for entry with the general suggestion of something like:

"If we aren't able to get in touch with you, what are some other ways of reaching you? Examples: Son or daughter's e-mail address; alternate street address; other classmates you are in touch with. This info will ONLY be used if we can't reach you via your standard e-mail address."

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Friday, May 31, 2019 at 1:52 PM - Response #14

We agree. We see this as a necessity. Our class of '62 is aging and we are losing touch with many of our classmates who are no longer able to use the Internet due to illness or death.

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Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at 7:02 AM - Response #15

If I show a classmate has passed away but their daughter wishes to update this classmates profile, how can she get access to make these changes on his profile?

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Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at 7:02 AM - Response #16

If I show a classmate has passed away but their daughter wishes to update this classmates profile, how can she get access to make these changes on his profile?

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Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at 10:04 AM - Response #17

I would add the daughter as a guest member, then have her post a comment under the deceased classmate's In Memory entry.

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Tuesday, July 2, 2019 at 11:29 AM - Response #18

Scott Moore wrote:

I would add the daughter as a guest member, then have her post a comment under the deceased classmate's In Memory entry.

I agree with Scott and did this not long ago.


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Saturday, August 10, 2019 at 12:44 PM - Response #19

August 2019 --
Can I bump this up for reconsideration?
I'm part of the Class of 1970, so we are all 66-67 years old now. People are retiring, moving to another state perhaps, getting a new e-mail address... and not staying in touch. We are having are BIG 50th reunion next year. My concern is that we are going to lose classmates simply because they've changed their e-mail address and neglected to inform us.

A private comment box on the classmate's Contact Information page would be very helpful. Please read the postings in this thread from the start to view what others have said about this.

Thank You !

-- Fred


Fred Weis wrote:

Can I bump this up for reconsideration ?

What I (and others) am requesting is a comment box on the classmate's Contact Information page. In other words, it would be visible to the member and to the administrator, and invisible to the class, just as all other personal e-mail, phone, address, etc information.

Having the Alternate e-mail addresses does not suit this need, as the messages to the class would be sent to those e-mail addresses also.

Thank you !


Quote:


Please note: This does NOT have to be a specific request for family members' names, e-mail address, etc. It can be a text box for entry with the general suggestion of something like:

"If we aren't able to get in touch with you, what are some other ways of reaching you? Examples: Son or daughter's e-mail address; alternate street address; other classmates you are in touch with. This info will ONLY be used if we can't reach you via your standard e-mail address."

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Monday, August 12, 2019 at 8:32 AM - Response #20

There is now an "Additional Contact Info" field on the Edit Contact Info page. It does not appear on the Manage Classmates/Enter Edit Classmate/Details page, so it is only editable by the classmate. It is similar to the "Admin Notes" field in that it is a multi-line text entry field and whatever the classmate wants to put into that field will be saved. The "Additional Contact info" field can be downloaded from the Manage Classmates/ Download Class List page.


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Monday, August 12, 2019 at 11:48 AM - Response #21

THANK YOU, Kyle. This is a great addition. I do have this question: What would it take to make this field available to the administrator on the Manage Classmates/Enter Edit Classmate/Details page ? Is this something that can be done?

Reasons are:
1) Without being able to see the field and view the contents, the administrator cannot know whether someone has made an entry to the field.
2) Very often (you might be surprised), a classmate will ask ME to enter information for him or her. That is, I'll get an e-mail that says "Can you please update my phone number?" or such thing. So likely I'll be asked to enter data into this field too -- which I would not be able to do.
3) Being able to download the info via Manage Classmates/ Download Class List is acceptable...but it's a bit clumsy in terms of needing to do that to just look up one person's information.

I can only assume that there must be some programming difficulty in putting this field on the Manage Classmates/Enter Edit Classmate/Details page where the administrator could view and edit the contents -- otherwise you would have already included it there.

I thank you very much for putting in this new field. If you are able to include it to be available to the administrator, that would be outstanding.

Thanks !

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Monday, August 12, 2019 at 9:38 PM - Response #22

Your request has been granted.

It is also available next to Admin Notes, but if an admin makes a mistake and enters "Admin Notes" information that is not meant to be seen by the classmate into the "Additional Contact Info", then the classmate will be able to see that information.


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Monday, August 12, 2019 at 9:44 PM - Response #23

Kyle, this is outstanding.
A big thank-you to you and the programming team.
This is much appreciated.
The notes under the box-field do make it clear that this field is viewable by the classmate.
Thank you !

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Monday, August 12, 2019 at 11:26 PM - Response #24

You may want to consider adding verbiage that the field Additional Contact Info: can be seen by the site administrator but not other classmates along the lines of other fields on the contact page.

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Tuesday, August 13, 2019 at 2:01 AM - Response #25

Kyle, this is wonderful!

Since most of us are used to the very bottom box being Private, may I suggest moving the new "Additional Contact Information" box directly ABOVE the ADMIN Notes. Might help avert an accident if the Admin. Notes remained at the bottom. Just a thought.

Since most classmates who are just joining or updating their information seldom consider their demise, specifically addressing the purpose for this box might improve the chances for getting the additional information, which many, otherwise, might consider unnecessary.

Perhaps add something to the effect of:

"If we lose touch with you, who could we contact to make sure you're still alright? e.g. Kids, Relatives, Friends, Family. Name, Contact Information, Relationship, etc., sort of an "if all else fails" contact information.

(The last part is repetitive, but is designed to get them thinking about "what if they die" without using the word.)

Followed by boldly stating F C Bock's suggestion of:

Information in this box can ONLY be seen by the site administrator but NOT by other classmates.

Just my two cents worth.

A big thanks thanks to you all at ClassCreator, to Jim Ekins for the original suggestion and to Fred Weis and everyone who has supported it!

Thank you all!

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