Topic: Just links, or content too?

[John Gimber: Webmaster]

Hi Phil, in relation to your comment:

There is indeed a difference between the times shown on the Clifton LeRoc site and the LeRoc  in Bristol site , for john E?s Monday classes

I know this has been mentioned before, John G why do you not simply put a link straight thought to the official site (when they exist)

I personally find frustrating when people copy, dated information,  from my business site  rather than simply put a link in

My site has been on the go since 97, before just about anybody had websites.  For a while I was the only thing a lot of classes had, and indeed am still the only thing some classes have.

I keep the information on my site to create a consistent set of details across all classes in Bristol.  The information was correct as of a month or so ago, it's only a recent thing that the times have changed.  John E. often checks the details to ensure all is correct, and indeed provides some useful usability feedback on certain pages (such as the new events calendar).

The information is generally kept up-to-date, with organisers usually contacting me as soon as they note any differences in the details.

I suppose the comment about copying out-of-date info from sites is a valid one, but depending on how you look at it, if I was there first...

I will keep the info as it is, but with the corrected values on it, just for consistency for now (once John E. lets me know the full details of the timing - i.e. is it a trial for a month, or permanent?), though that's not to say that I won't spend time at some point in the future doing a revamp of things.

One thing I do want to avoid is turning my site into yet another "link site" which has nothing of interest on it apart from links to other link sites.  This is a content site, and I do it for my own benefit, not for pay or personal gain.

None of this site would have been done if I had listened to various people, as I have had various comments of "what's the point?" and "who cares if you've added another dance clipart page?".  Well, based on the web statistics of my site, I get a lot of hits on these pages, as not all of this site is done purely for leroccers!

Amusingly there is quite a bit of confusion sometimes with people confusing John E and myself, as people automatically assume with a site as comprehensive as mine that it must be the main federation site...  I've put loads of people onto John, and also onto the other dance organisers, as required.  Plus any extra advertising for each class has to be a good thing.

Hope that clarifies my perspective on it.  I'm proud of what I've achieved here.

John.

[Lou]

Hope that clarifies my perspective on it.  I'm proud of what I've achieved here.

:clap:

And so you should be, dearheart! 

I'd prefer if there were links to the actual sites, though. Especially now, as you say, all the classes have their own websites. If you're concerned about it being merely a links site (which I actually disagree with, as you've got so much other valuable content on here - I was only browsing your clip art yesterday, for instance!), why not add a description or comment next to each link. That would be useful. 

Don't get disheartened, John! I really do appreciate and admire what you've done (you've been far more consistant than me! *lol*)

[Andy]

Hi Lou

Have to say I like all the info being here, all in one place.

I accept that it's only any use if it's up to date but it's  much more useful to be able to look here to see whats on when and where in a fairly summary form than it is to have to plough through all the advertising and faff about how good the classes and teachers are on individual web sites to find the same info.

I know from personal experience the actual merits (and demerits) of the various classes - I don't need to read their claims on a web site!

Oh and the degree of "up to dateness" of the individual web sites varies a lot anyway.

Andy

[Lou]

I accept that it's only any use if it's up to date but it's  much more useful to be able to look here to see whats on when and where in a fairly summary form than it is to have to plough through all the advertising and faff about how good the classes and teachers are on individual web sites to find the same info.

Oh, I agree with that, Andy. The calendar is definitely one of the most useful features here.

But I believe Phil was refering to the individual pages that John maintains for each club. These definitely duplicate what's on the clubs' own websites, and don't IMO add value - and, more seriously, can detract when there's conflicting information when they get out of sync for whatever reason. 

[Nick M]

The calendar is definitely one of the most useful features here.

I agree

the individual pages that John maintains for each club definitely duplicate what's on the clubs' own websites, and don't IMO add value - and, more seriously, can detract when there's conflicting information when they get out of sync for whatever reason.

I agree with this too

[Frodo]

...
Have to say I like all the info being here, all in one place.

... useful to be able to look here to see whats on when and where in a fairly summary form than it is to have to plough through all the advertising and faff about how good the classes and teachers are on individual web sites to find the same info.
...
Oh and the degree of "up to dateness" of the individual web sites varies a lot anyway.
...

I'd agree with this.


I like the consistency of this site.   Though it does seem a lot of work to maintain.

If I'm planning on going somewhere I'd probably check both sites anyway.   

Conflicting information can be helpful.


I also find the calendar extremely useful.  It would be nice if more websites used a similar system.

[John Gimber: Webmaster]

Thanks for the comments - very interesting stuff.

Regarding classes, each page does have a link to the class website, so that people can jump straight to the required location.  Plus on the calendar page, there are links to the summary page for a class, the website for a class, and the map details for a class whenever something is on.

I suppose it is a lot of work to maintain, but hey - I do it for the love of leroc, and not for anything else.  Different people put a lot of work in to the leroc scene in different ways, I suppose this is my way of contributing.

John.