We're facing a difficult admin choice and it involves an issue that ultimately will face all class sites - age, infirmities, and death.
Our group is in its late 60s. The admin is getting burned out after almost 10 years of running the site. Almost no one wants to run it and we are leery of a few regarding their trustworthiness and/or judgment.
But, the Message Forum still goes strong. Some of the members are keen to keep in touch, share special moments, ask for support and prayer, or just post a bit of humor or personal anecdotes.
The 50th reunion is looming but it's more of a hurdle to deal with than a special moment to remember. All my admin are in favor of letting the subscription expire the next time it comes up for renewal. But....
The website has become a reservoir of class memories. It still links us together better than any other system. Still, what do we do when no one wants to run it or is able to run it? What problems will arise if no one monitors the content? (One shudders to think of it turning into a thread for propaganda nuts and bigots and zealots as some FB postings have become.)
Has Class Creator looked into this subject? If so, what are its thoughts and recommendations?
Finally, is there a way to download all our information, our messages, and pictures/data and send it to us for keeping?

I understand the predicament. I have seen other sites simply shut down due to lack of other admins willing to take over as well as simply having burn out over time. Unfortunately, the Class Creator system was not imagined as an admin-less system. Therefore it thrives only when the content is curated by a willing administrator. Alternatively, I have seen some sites of classes in consecutive or close in graduation years, decide to combine effors into multi year sites. Of course this too has its challenges as it does require members to join a new site. However, it can be a way to spark new interest and keep the interactions going between members.

You do have the ability to download the profile information as well as the images that have been uploaded to the site. That functionality is located under the Manage Classmates area.

If such a scenario happened, would you have to download each profile and all the images individually?

There are buttons on the Manage Classmates page that would assist you in the efforts.

Oh my, only 50th reunion coming up and you all think you are in "old age." Sounds like the site should be gearing up for the 50th. As Adm, it does get hard for me to keep things active, etc, and of course, no one else wants to take on the job. So I have decided I will march along till I can no longer do it. But I think even keeping it up and going for what content is already on your site, and the opportunity for the others to keep in touch, post news, etc, is certainly worth the cost of keeping your class up. And when we no long pay for our subscription, it is what is becomes. Not to worry.

You could have a John Tyler High School FaceBook page. It can be a private page for members who join. Our class has both, most all of our class members are also on FB. In 3 years, we will be planning our 60th reunion.. Our class wants to keep our CC website.. I'll be the administrator until I die..

Many classes are turning to Facebook but I will not leave the site for a Facebook group page. My reason is that on the alumni site I maintain, approximately 1/3 are NOT on Facebook. I am not leaving them for social media. This is my preferred social media.

I am with you, Lynda Laughner... here until I am gone.

I am not sure I understand why you would want to leave CC. I wouldn't worry about updating content that often. Just do what you can when you feel like it. Can't you continue to keep the free CC after the subscription runs out? I guess if you don't keep paying for the domain name, it would revert to the default web site? What happens when you let the subscription run out? Will it revert to the free service with all the advertising? What happens if the domain name lapses? How would that work Scott? We just finished our 50th and got donations enough to push our subscription and domain charges paid up for 9 more years... I would suggest pushing for donations to do the same thing. Wait for the deals CC normally has in Sept. and pay up as many years as you can.

TIP: I have seen many administrators who have a hard time committing to updating content of their site (on a regular basis) successfully use the functionality of the Announcements section to keep their Homepage fresh. Announcements have a schedule function where you can set a start and end date for launching and taking down your announcements. This comes in handy if you can set aside a little time to build some content in advance. Take a rainy day and create some seasonal specific or holiday specific content that are all in their own unique announcements. Set it and forget it. Over time you will have built content that is automated to be cycled in and out of the homepage. I would even suggest that an enthusiastic admin could start a thread in the admin forums designated to monthly announcement content that all admins could potentially use.

I have created content over the past 8 or so years that I would be willing to share. One I've offered before and am reusing myself after 4 years. It's for the home page and concerns upcoming holidays--some "off-the-wall" as well as the traditional. You can have a sample of what I'm talking about by visiting my site.

The other things I can offer are more for my age group, 70s--we graduated in 1958. They were posted in parts to spread out the material over several weeks and are called "Special Series." They include: "Old Radio Premiums," "Burma Shave," "Chocolate," "Let's Remember," "Riverview" (A popular amusement park of the time), "Focus on the Fifties," and "Chicago Neighborhood Names." The "Chicago Guide" is not available to share.

At Christmas we have a continuing series that explains everything from how Santa gets down chimneys to how the GIs celebrated during WWII.

I also used the gallery to post photos of our old Chicago neighborhood, Roseland, as it was when we knew it and even included photos of the homes we lived in. You can't copy our photos but you're welcome to the idea. Most of the pictures came from Internet sources and the homes came from the Cook County Assessors Office. You may also wish to use the 50th Anniversary idea.

You should know, if you use my material, that some is cut and paste and the rest is original. I usually have a list of sources for each topic.

I will open up my pages so you can take a look and then you can notify me about taking what you wish.

We Old Timers have to keep going is my feeling. What better way than to keep alive memories through ClassCreator, learn new computer techniques, and create something constructive.

Carole

Carole,

Thanks for sharing! I think you've got one of the best Burma-Shave presentations I've ever seen, and I researched it quite a bit for my site. Arranged by decades, very nice!
Here is a link Click Here

Carole's pages are pretty cool and fun to read. To copy the pages, use your browser to "View Source". Then, search for (remove blank before !, need that to show here)

< !-- content start --> ]skip the first line "t_form"

then copy everything till you get to

< !-- content end -->

Paste that using the Editor Source mode into a new page.

There is special CSS code on many that creates the tab index stuff.

Scott Mastenbrook wrote:

One thing I've used is an RSS feed to the Announcements section (so it appears at the top of the Home Page every day) with a Quote or Word of the Day, that way it keeps things fresh, daily, without my interaction. Sort of a set it and forget it, but it keeps something New for classmates to see on a daily basis. To me there is nothing worse than returning to the site to see exactly the same thing you saw last time, it tends to discourage people from visiting.

I'm certainly not an expert on RSS feeds, but I've added a page called "Adding an RSS Word of the Day Feed to your Website" that will enable you to get an RSS feed up and working on your site. Click Here (This was my first attempt at an RSS feed and all suggestions are welcome, just reply on the RSS Feed page.)

A lot of you all are ahead of me on this. LeAnn Kugath Brain Fodder already had an RSS feed from The Free Dictionary that she used for a page she named "Brain Fodder" that has a nice variety of daily feeds, (that a number of us have "Borrowed" Thanks LeAnn!!!) You can check out what The Free Dictionary has at thefreedictionary.com but they have a selection you can choose from including Word of the Day, Quote of the Day, a Spelling Challenge, Hangman Game, This Day in History, Famous Birthdays, Holidays, Idioms, just a wealth of Daily Feeds available, and I'm sure there are many, many other RSS feed sites to choose from that a search would reveal.

Gary,

Go to the topic "Special Series" which appears in the list in the top left-hand corner of the Home Page. You'll find "Burma Shave" listed in the fly-out menu along with all the topics I mentioned.

Thanks, Jack, for making it easy for others to copy what they wish and for the compliment on my content.

Carole

Just opened everything up for any of you who may be interested in some of my material. I also included a couple of other things you may like: "How I Got Where I Am?, which is the story of why classmates retired where they did; our newspaper, "The Fenger News" and yearbook, "The Courier" plus the 2 years of holiday notices.

I will be starting a series on "Saturday Afternoon at the Movies" next.

I'd like to know what you use and ask that you give credit to our site: Class of June, 1958, Fenger High School, Chicago, IL.

Carole

Carole,

Thanks for the directions, I've edited my post to include your link.

I was going to ask to "borrow" Burma Shave and just kept forgetting

To create Burma Shave, copy and create 8 new pages on your site. Only one page needs to be "active" - the first page. Or you can make them active and put in a submenu as Carole did.

It's easiest if you use the same page names that Carole did for the next steps.

Change ALL the top and bottom links to reflect your own page links. To get the link names, you can make them temporarily active (if you don't want them shown) and then copy/paste/replace Carole's links.

Change all the Return to Beginning links to reflect the new page links too.

Had to close my pages, but the offer is still good. Just send me a message if you'd like to see what I have for you to "borrow."

Carole

I have multiple pages of stories, photos, and info. Our Message Forum entries now number 22,425 and that number continues rising daily, weekly, monthly.

We do have a FB page for class but it has FB issues which CC avoids much better. CC just has a more user friendly format and it's far easier to keep important info visible and maintained.

I'm neither a technophobe or a technogeek. And I have backup admin - all who are dealing with health issues with their spouses, needing more time for themselves and their family, and requiring some distance from the worry of maintaining the site, etc.

I'm not married to the damn site but I dutifully keep an eye on it since I'm the chief admin.

But, if something happens to me, it's gonna be a bit chaotic for obvious reasons. I think CC needs to take these things into consideration. No one lives forever and I certainly don't want to keep doing this until I draw my last breath.

I'm tired of doing it, actually. But, I want my classmates to still share its benefits. Sadly, there are no volunteers who even want to help or even take over. And, let's be honest, with a small handful who might consider it, I've found them either too inept when given simple tasks, unwilling to follow directions, or too untrustworthy to even ask.

Simply put: I've had a great run. I'd put our numbers and work against anyone else and feel that our competence and involvement is of the highest caliber.

But, now I have other things that I need to devote my time to and within a year or so, I'm letting CC take over, whether they're ready or not.

I hope you guys have a plan for that. I really do.

As admins, I don't think we should beat up on ourselves, feeling a lot of pressure to keep the site stimulating. As I see it, the core purpose of a Class Creator site is to have a current database of members' contact info and give members an opportunity to communicate with each other if they choose.

After creating over 40 pages of historical info on our class, we largely focus now on letting classmates know who has passed away. We keep track of parents, upper and lower classmen, faculty, and staff, and update passings on our Latest News and Life Tributes pages. Occasionally, we'll add a newsworthy story about an important milestone in a classmate's life.

I say keep the maintenance tasks simple and manageable, in accordance with your time and desires. Believe me, members are grateful for what we've done.

I don't think you understand - I'm ready to be done with the site. It's taken up 12+ years of my life and I have many other activities and people in my life that I'd much prefer to give my time and attention to.

Have done all the things you mentioned and more.

Age, health, death, and change of interests are going to affect whether administrators are there or not. CC needs and must have a plan for this. And it needs to consider the problems realistically.

The clocks are ticking in many ways. Don't ignore them because yours is frozen in time.

Jake, if you're ready to be done with the site, that's fine. In my opinion, it's not CC's responsibility to provide for the upkeep of your site beyond what they are currently doing. Their job, which they are doing superbly, is to provide the infrastructure for admins to create their site. Period. If you're done, you're done. Let your site disappear or go on autopilot if no one wishes to take it over.

Our site: http://www.johntyler1968.com/
System password: 1968JTJT

I have provided the above so you can see how much is available for the classmates on our site. Over 40 pages are retired and filed away.
*****

So your solution is no solution. Thanks for nothing.

Who is going to pay for the Domain name every 2 years? Who is going to fix any problems that might arise when someone uploads bad html code? Who is going to handle In Memory entries? Who is going to handle new members (if any)? Who is going to renew, if the class wants such?

There really is no true autopilot as you suggest.

There is only crash and burn as entropy slowly takes over. I'll wait and see what CC has to say. Maybe they have more understanding than you do. And more business sense to help with transitions such as these.

I asked for ideas and help, and you give empty words and no empathy. Very nice. Just like the famous quote says about diplomats: They tell you to go to hell in such a nice way.

TO: CC

Am done with this thread since it has proven useless so far. Contact me privately when you have a working solution for our site. Done right, it could be good for both the classes and for your business. Or, you could just watch it all fade away as has been suggested.

Yes, the key here is that one has to enjoy it, much like a hobby. It does take someone to keep tabs and avoid errata. Some are unintended like the Flash player becoming obsolete and the https security changes.

Maybe reach out to all your members with an email and ask if they would enjoy running it. Or modify the range and see if a younger set might like to run it. Contact your school?

My own interest is that I like to tinker with code and I never had time before to do html/java/etc. In the winter when I can't do boating, I think of new stuff That's coming up soon - finishing a "gallery slider" thing that might be fun for others. Two much earlier prototype examples are on our site home page. New one is more generic and flexible for anyone to use.

Others enjoy continually finding new data and update their site. Carole Mackey (earlier in the thread) is one such individual.

For our website domain, we paid for our Domain up to the point where very few will be alive (dark humor) to even use a computer.

This may have already been said. Many admins will go into Preferences and switch the home page landing page to the What's New page as that page is automatically updated with content such as birthday announcements, profile updates etc. The page is interactive as well once it is on. Classmates can post messages and responses to posts as respond to items that make their way onto the page automatically.

I see that you have that page turned off. You can preview it under Edit Site Pages > Preview page even though it is not on. It will only show the purely automated stuff but it will give you a snapshot of what it can look like. Some sites have a very active What's New page that takes the place of needing to update a home page as frequently.

Jessica
Class Creator Support

I agree with Jessica. The Whats New Page is used as our primary link for communication.
Often, thru other local emails I receive, there’s a ton of daily/weekly content that I use on our website crediting the author. our classmates enjoy reading about our local sports teams, Pro and college, especially those who live out of the area.
The same applies to music groups touring in our area.
You might consider posting on your website what you posted on this Forum. At least give your classmates a barometer what they should be expecting moving forward. Good luck whatever you decide.

Jake,

I'm sorry to have spoken so bluntly, but I have a hard time dealing with criticism of Class Creator, who I feel provides a unique service at a very fair price, and has no responsibility for addressing the issues you raise of paying for the Domain name every 2 years, fixing problems that might arise when someone uploads bad html code, handling In Memory entries, handling new members, and renewing the site subscription. All these are the job of the administrator.

What I meant by autopilot is when your subscription expires, I believe your site automatically reverts to a free site with ads. I don't know what happens to the domain name if it's not renewed. Perhaps it changes to something different.

In the end, it falls upon someone to "take charge and deliver" as the administrator, as you have so admirably done these past 12+ years.

I wish you good luck in finding someone to replace yourself.

Scott, I too wondered what happened about the domain name when we expire and the website carries on as a free website with ads. It would also be nice to know about potential new members. I guess that if we, the admins, aren't around to verify the new members then something, somewhere will pop up to tell them no more members can be accepted. Unfortunately, very few of us will know when our time has come. If we did we could make adjustments to the website to prevent the possibility of new members applying. We could even close the Contact Us and Missing Classmates pages if we knew we weren't going to be around to verify new applicants. If there wasn't someone around to verify new applicants the website would be open to all and that's a frightening thought. A website with no admin leaves all new content on pages such as What's New (my Notice Board page)unchecked and that's not desirable either.

We admins put a lot of time and effort into our sites because we believe in what we're doing and we do it for the school and its pupils. My old school actually closed in 1970 and I now have 500-ish members. I know that I started the website to give them something they didn't know they wanted and it's rekindled old friendships and created new ones between people who only really ever had the school in common.

I only update my site now when new information comes my way either by chance, by research by the sudden turning on of a light in an old boy's memory. I also update the Home Page once a month or so by including my slant on things in the news and finding other things on the Net and embellishing them with humour. I notify members when I've done that and many log in to take a look and while they're there they'll contact someone else. I've been running my site for 12 years now and the older I get the more of an effort it becomes but I'll continue to do it so long as I am able or until there's no one left alive out there to enjoy what I do and what I've given them.

Sadly, I can't think of a solution that allows the website to remain open after I die for anything other than viewing (as a site with ads). For it to remain open as a site that members can participate in and contribute to would be a logistical improbability.

As I said before, our school closed in 1970 when the youngest pupils would have been close to 12 years-old. They'd now be close to 62 and I'm 68. Realistically, I'm looking at around 20 more years before the majority will have passed on or have become enthusiastic enough or able enough to continue using the website.

I don't know if it's a possibility in all countries with CC websites,but I registered my website with our British Library Archives on the grounds of historical interest and they agreed to preserve a copy (or as much of one as they could) for future generations to view if the school's existence ever became something that they heard about and for that alone I am proud to have been able to conserve as much as I have of this part of my past for future generations.

To all admins I say "Keep going for as long as you're able but don't try to go beyond what your mind and body allows". No one in their right mind will ever hate you for it and if anyone ever did, they didn't deserve what you did for them in the first place.

Quote:

The domain name goes back into the pool of available names. The only way to keep a domain name is to pay the yearly fee. You can do this for about $13/year for a max of 10 years using registrars like Namecheap.com. They also auto-renew so long as the payment method on file is good. I use Paypal.

Jessica wrote to me regarding the Preference page and my concern.

Here's my reply:

The key question:

How can a site function without an administrator?

***

We both have cause for concern if there is no administrator. And, just so you understand, I am done with the job before 2020 is over. And, at this time, no one wants to take over. Or help figure out a solution. Including you guys.

You told me to check out the Preference page. I looked at the Preference page and nothing I saw there addressed the key issue or answered my concerns about that. Nada! (Honestly, I'm not worried about the Home Page. Setting it up to stay the same from now until Doomsday is nothing.)

Unless you can provide answers to my key question, then one must conclude that CC has no safety net for the class websites.

Sincerely,

Jake
****
Am glad to see that some of you are seeing why I have concerns and that there is a problem.

I recognize cosmetic answers when I see them. They're the ones that are quickly thrown out, usually done on autopilot. It's like dealing with mindless robots. (If you've ever sought tech answers and seen what they send back, you'll know what I mean.)

This problem needs real answers. Answers that will require work and that are workable. Answers that understand the human side of this issue.

Death is one problem you can't run away from. No matter what.
****

Anyone want to take bets on how long it'll be before CC actually has a real answer to this issue?

Jack Vermeulen wrote:

Thanks for that, Jack. You'll have to excuse my ignorance but presumably, without the domain name, a site kept alive by ads is still not going to be viewable.

All class sites start with a originally assigned classcreator.com address. Some classes use that address for their site while many choose to add a domain that is more class specific. The search engines focus on the domain version if their is one.

When the domain expires the site still exists under the original assigned classcreator.com address and the site locator on classcreator.com so the search engines will replace their listing with the none domain listing over time and the site can still be found. Admins can also notify members of the change of address.

All class sites start with a originally assigned classcreator.com address. Some classes use that address for their site while many choose to add a domain that is more class specific. The search engines focus on the domain version if their is one.

When the domain expires the site still exists under the original assigned classcreator.com address and the site locator on classcreator.com so the search engines will replace their listing with the none domain listing over time and the site can still be found. Admins can also notify members of the change of address.

Jake, I'm trying to think of some helpful analogy to all this. One that comes to mind is your site is like a car and you, as the administrator, are the driver. You seem to want an employee from Class Creator to become the driver when you stop driving.

When you started the site, you knew what it took to build it and maintain it, and you've undoubtedly done a superb job over the years. I personally don't want Class Creator to hire additional personnel to look after your site and other sites with a similar situation as yours, and thereby increase the subscription fees for the rest of us. It's not their job. They have done their job superbly, in giving us the infrastructure we need to customize our sites.

In my opinion, you're whistling in the dark if you hope for Class Creator to step in and run your site. It's up to one of your classmates to become the new driver for your car.