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Adding comments by site non-members on In Memory Profiles

Forums: Suggestions and Feedback
Created on: 04/22/12 09:01 PM Views: 1495 Replies: 13
Sunday, April 22, 2012 at 9:01 PM

I set out to post a comment submitted via "Contact Us" for a family member of a classmate with an existing In Memory Page - something we haven't done before - and ended up realizing I still don't understand how everything's designed to work in managing deceased classmates, as described below:

I didn't want the comment to show my name as the submitter, so I copied the info into the "In Memory - Contact Us" page - which is what I think many outside persons would do - thinking that using this page might send me an administrative message directing to me to a page where I might be able to post it under the Commentor's name - or the site's name.

However, this is when I encountered a situation that other visitors might also run into and not know what to do next:

The In Memory - Contact Us page - to which we've been directing visitors - requires one to select the name of the deceased classmate they're commenting on. However, as far as I could determine, the drop-down list for that page only shows living classmate names.

Testing further, I logged out and went back to the page. And couldn't figure out how to use it to submit a comment or any other info for any classmate already listed as deceased - whether they have a completed page or not. So is "In Memory - Contact Us" really only meant for reporting previously unknown classmate deaths??

We have a number of family members who wish to make such comments on pages we've already put up for their loved ones. I guess we can direct them to just use "Contact Us," but I've missed simple solutions and best "workarounds" before in some of my other Forum questions Embarassed , so I'll just ask for any advice first.

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Edited 04/22/12 9:16 PM
Sunday, April 22, 2012 at 9:07 PM - Response #1

Jim,

If classmates/ guests/ family members are wanting to add comments to the loved one's IN MEMORY post, they should do the following:
IN MEMORY
Click on their loved one's name
SCROLL DOWN,
Click POST COMMENT

This is the only way they can comment on a deceased classmate.

If they want to provide obituary information, they must use the regular CONTACT US form.

If they want to report a living classmate who has passed away that you are not aware of, they may scroll down to the bottom of the IN MEMORY page and click the "If you are aware of a Classmate who should be added to this page please click here." link


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Sunday, April 22, 2012 at 9:39 PM - Response #2

Kyle Erickson wrote:

If classmates/ guests/ family members are wanting to add comments to the loved one's IN MEMORY post, they should do the following:
IN MEMORY
Click on their loved one's name
SCROLL DOWN,
Click POST COMMENT

This is the only way they can comment on a deceased classmate.


Just want to note that clicking on "Post Comment" while not logged in leads to the following message:

"Sorry, you must be logged in to post a comment. If you are not a Classmate and would like to post a comment, please contact us to inquire about obtaining a Guest Account."

So I guess "Contact Us" (or setting up Guest Accounts - which we've decided not to do for family members on our site at present) are the only ways for a non-member to submit anything they'd like posted (or added to) the page of any classmate already listed as deceased.

Of course, once we have contact by whatever channel, we can use others like e-mail, voice and direct contact to obtain materials like pictures, etc. And we have ended up at people's homes - some very moving experiences, actually.

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Sunday, April 22, 2012 at 9:55 PM - Response #3

Jim,

This was a recent discussion in our Chat on TAP. Smile I shared the following.

I sent an email to classmates offering to add photos and something special they write for siblings who have passed. Anyone outside of site members can send things to me via our email address.

As a sample, I share a page for my sister. I removed the password protection for now. Feel free to look at Jan's In Memory Page. (Admins: Should you visit the page at a later date to find it has been password protected, send me a contact us note on the site and I'll gladly send you a reply to view it.)

This is what I suggest you consider...

Accept whatever a family member wishes to write, including photos. This is how you add it:
EDIT PAGES > Edit IN MEMORY > EDIT before the classmates name. Insert the text and/or photos in this space. Remember to save the page. View it... make necessary edits and send a link to the page to the family member.

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Edited 04/22/12 10:03 PM
Sunday, April 22, 2012 at 11:14 PM - Response #4

"Maynard" (Jim) Keller wrote:

However, this is when I encountered a situation that other visitors might also run into and not know what to do next:

The In Memory - Contact Us page - to which we've been directing visitors - requires one to select the name of the deceased classmate they're commenting on. However, as far as I could determine, the drop-down list for that page only shows living classmate names.

Testing further, I logged out and went back to the page. And couldn't figure out how to use it to submit a comment or any other info for any classmate already listed as deceased - whether they have a completed page or not. So is "In Memory - Contact Us" really only meant for reporting previously unknown classmate deaths??

We have a number of family members who wish to make such comments on pages we've already put up for their loved ones. I guess we can direct them to just use "Contact Us," but I've missed simple solutions and best "workarounds" before in some of my other Forum questions Embarassed , so I'll just ask for any advice first.


Jim,
After sharing my suggestion above, some things in your post had me curious. I went to your In Memory page and found your instructions. I'm not sure instructions are necessary, at least not as much as you have posted.

I suggest you remove the the first link to your site's Contact Us page. If you feel instructions are necessary at the top, keep the link to the page which is noted at the bottom of the In Memory page at the end of this line: "If you are aware of a Classmate who should be added to this page please click here."

Personally, I might edit the instructions to as little as necessary. I consider this a page of respect rather than another page to write more text. Again, this is my personal feelings.

By the way, the link at the bottom of the page takes everyone to a page to insert information and has a comment field.

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Edited 04/22/12 11:16 PM
Monday, April 23, 2012 at 1:52 AM - Response #5

Thanks for the previous suggestions! Meanwhile, we've come up with a workaround we're actually quite happy with, and we share it here for what it's worth.

We created an account called "WHS Class of '62 Committee" which:

a) doesn't show on the site list of members,
b) has Administrator privileges and...
c) we then logged in on this account and used it to post the visitor's comment.

The comment then shows up as being posted by the Committee.

Directly beneath that - separated by horizontal lines and in its own color we posted:

This comment submitted by ___________:

(Go to our "In Memory" page and click on Dennis Ahleen if you want to see how this looks.)

It also occurs to us that we and other sites might use such a "Committee" profile around the site for other "general" comments if we think of any situations where that might be useful, or possibly use it as the name we use to send out future "Email Blasts." That way, even if the committee changes over the years, the "blasts" would always come from an address the members have been educated to "white list."

PS: The instructions you reference have been further edited, Gwen, and (thanks to you!) they're (considerably) shorter, if still wordy. I'd like them shorter still - but a number of misfires between family members trying to get materials up and the site have led us to conclude that the least stressful way to preserve the dignity of the PROCESS of getting interactive In Memory pages going is to spell out the various routes in detail. And we've had fewer misunderstandings since, btw.

Even for the more concise of you, though, we've found that putting "live" links into text all over the site has resulted in easier navigation. In fact I've received multiple "Thank you for not making me go to the menus all the time" messages.

We've also found that some of our mates and family visitors still really don't even understand what a "Menu" or a "Button" is, but can glom onto "Click HERE." (Remember, ours is a group of seniors - some with parents well into their '80s, so computers are still foreign to a surprising number.)

PPS: I was unable to access your example, Gwen.

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Edited 04/23/12 2:31 AM
Monday, April 23, 2012 at 2:58 AM - Response #6

Jim,

First, the page for Dennis Ahleen is very nice. Did you use the yearbook photo as normally uploaded or insert it separately. I like the header you made. It is very tasteful.

I am not sure what you mean by this: "We created an account ..." You created an account? You made a separate site as a work around?

I'm not sure why you were unable to access my sister's In Memory page. Maybe it is not available as all profiles are locked. Maybe CC will weigh in on that. (wondering if in these wee hours I may have linked the edit page vs. the live page...)

I did copy the page over to TAP. Try this next time you are around, Jim. Gwen's sister's In Memory page.

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Monday, April 23, 2012 at 8:19 AM - Response #7

Gwen,

"We created an account ..." means that they added a fake classmate, gave it admin rights, made it an invisible (don't show on class list) classmate. All admins know about the fake classmate account and can log in using the fake classmate to remain anonymous .


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Monday, April 23, 2012 at 8:19 AM - Response #8

Jim,
This a little pff the subjecy, but...I went to your site to see and put togrthrt in my mind what you were saying and how Kyle and Dwen were instructing you.Hpw did you put photos on the right sides of the page??ExclamationT was under the impression this was mpossible to do wiyjout exstensive HTML knowlefgr.
Barbara

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Monday, April 23, 2012 at 11:42 AM - Response #9

Kyle Erickson wrote:

Gwen,

"We created an account ..." means that they added a fake classmate, gave it admin rights, made it an invisible (don't show on class list) classmate. All admins know about the fake classmate account and can log in using the fake classmate to remain anonymous .

Thanks, Kyle! In the wee hours, I did not consider that. Of course, the way I set up an In Memory page it does not show as posted by anyone and can be set up the same as Jim did.

If there is something I missed... please let me know. Smile

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Monday, April 23, 2012 at 7:08 PM - Response #10
Dennis A In Memory 'Header' design.JPG

Gwen Corey wrote:

The page for Dennis Ahleen is very nice. Did you use the yearbook photo as normally uploaded or insert it separately. I like the header you made. It is very tasteful.

I am not sure what you mean by this: "We created an account ..." You created an account? You made a separate site as a work around?


Thanks, and your sister's page is quite lovely and evocative!

1. As Kyle noted, we simply created a hidden Guest Account with full Admin privileges and gave it the name of the Class Commmittee (and our school mascot is its "Senior Picture). I'm not sure, though, if "every" Admin knows this. It just occurred to us yesterday! And, as noted in my earlier post, we're thinking of various uses for it now that it's created.

2. The header you complimented (and there's a footer as well) is new and now being used on all our "In Memory" pages.

As an amateur graphic designer, the goal was for the spacing of the top and bottom horizontal lines to frame the senior pic, classmate name, birth/death dates and school logo into a single, harmonized visual unit. (Pic attached)

The design's intended to make a statement that the classmate is now "a Warrior (or insert your own mascot) forever." We also feel a good presentation adds to the emotional impact of the content (which alas, is often much more skimpy than the great materials we came up with for this classmate).

3. The Senior pic was the one uploaded as normal. We reworked the header design until it fit around how that appears when posted and did not alter the senior pic itself.

PS: Setting up Headers and Footers only has to be done once - we simply copy and paste both now from this one - and edit the header text.

Edit: the ACTUAL dead simple answer to the following para now in italics is in Gwen's post below (April 23, 2012). No HTML required as I imply - just a proper understanding of the Editor's tool set.

If anyone's curious as to how I get larger than 16 point fonts into the header, it's a very simple edit of the HTML source code which anyone with enough knowledge to be a site Admin should easily be able to master. Ask me and I'll be glad to post the exact steps I use.

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Edited 04/23/12 9:46 PM
Monday, April 23, 2012 at 7:27 PM - Response #11

Hi Jim,

One day, I'd like to understand why using a "Guest" profile/account is necessary. I'm not understanding the reason. Maybe we have two different versions of CC!

I liked your header so much that I copied the layout and made one on my sister's page. I was able to add the text next to the yearbook photo. The font is Times Roman 26 pt, which is easily set in the editor's font point drop down. With this ability, there is no reason to edit the source code - unless I am missing something.

I started adding the header to other pages In Memory. It will take time, as I am the only admin. I will add a footer to the few with content - adding the footer to others as more content is added.

By the way, our school mascot is a Warrior. Smile

Thanks for the ideas, Jim! Honor and respect with a touch of class.

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Monday, April 23, 2012 at 7:32 PM - Response #12
Dennis A In Memory 'Footer' design.JPG

Barbara Ecker wrote:

Jim,
This a little off the subject, but...I went to your site to see and put togrther in my mind what you were saying and how Kyle and Gwen were instructing you.Hpw did you put photos on the right sides of the page?? Exclamation T was under the impression this was mpossible to do without extensive HTML knowledge.
Barbara

All of the pictures (except the senior pic which places itself in the upper right corner) in the Ahleen In Memory page are simply center-justified - and that's how they appear to us - even when logged out.

If you're referring to the three pictures of his children, we made the image size ("Image Properties") small enough so all three would fit on one "line" and added a few spaces between each one.

As for the candles, logo and candles footer - with candles on the far left and right with the logo in the middle, again the three images were inserted on one Center-justified "line" separated only by pressing the space bar. (Pic attached)

NOTES:

1. The above often requires some trial and error, as the way elements appear on the site is different than how they appear while you're editing, but after some experience you start to anticipate how it's going to go. Our process is basically: Insert images, size and space them, save, check how they display, re-edit pic sizes and/or number of spaces between them, then repeat as necessary until it works.

2. As I noted in an earlier reply, for elements like the header and footer, once you've got a format you like, you can simply copy and paste from one In Memory profile to another, and the File Vault and editing the Classmate Name, etc. takes care of the rest.

3. I haven't personally checked to see that everything stays organized the same if you view the site from a device like an Android phone or iPad - but it seems consistent across PC and Mac web browsers - even if you zoom in and out.

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Edited 04/23/12 7:34 PM
Monday, April 23, 2012 at 9:53 PM - Response #13

Gwen Corey wrote:


I liked your header so much that I copied the layout and made one on my sister's page. I was able to add the text next to the yearbook photo. The font is Times Roman 26 pt, which is easily set in the editor's font point drop down. With this ability, there is no reason to edit the source code - unless I am missing something.

By the way, our school mascot is a Warrior. Smile


Gwen, thanks again, from "one Warrior to another"!

We're flattered that our work's been of use to a sister site!

I might comment on the account situation later, but your notion we might be using different program versions caught my eye - and taught me that I'm still not really seeing all the tools here - even after nearly five months of full-time work on the site!!

That is, I never saw there was a scroll control on the font size drop down box! So to me, for all this time, it's simply ended at 16px! (However, I have learned more about HTML in the process....)

So... ...D'ohhh! But thanks!!

Trying to assist others nearly always turns out to be its own reward in my experience, and this thread has totally reinforced that!

Maynard

PS: I edited my original post on going to the Source editor to refer to your answer.

PPS: Our school motto is "Miles Laetus" - basically "Happy Warrior" from Latin - or so we were always told.....

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