The Beta Calendar is Up

[dannykos]

obviously.

[jbh001]

So I finally started playing around with the new calendar last night. After a while I realized that there needs to be a "main" calendar designated somehow. It seems logical that organizations can choose to create their own calendars. I guess for now I'm going to recommend to that our ward create and designate a "Ward Activities" as the "main" ward calendar.

I'm also thinking that for the average member accessing the calendar for the first time, there needs to be an intuitive "look here first" option. I am assuming that the calendars are sorted alphabetically, which would mean the to get the "main" calendar at the top of the list it would have to be called "Activities" instead of "Ward Activities."

I'm thinking that a standard list of Calendars might include:
Ward Activities
Stake Activities
Young Men/Scouts
Young Women
YSA
Primary
Cub Scouts
Activity Day Girls
Relief Society

Any other thoughts?

[jdlessley]

I thought about what would constitute a good starting list of calendars. But in doing so realized that those people responsible for each calendar that would be created should be the ones to create them. In other words if the ward young men presidency wanted a calendar they would create it. If they determined they wanted to split events between a YM activities calendar and a Scouting calendar then that was their call.

Your thoughts about some starting ideas for calendars is a good idea. As an assistant stake clerk I created several calendars for those areas I had responsibility as well as what I thought would be needed for other stake auxiliaries. I then realized I was stepping into the auxiliaries and even the stake presidency's callings in an attempt to help but should leave it to them to decide. I am trying to train them about the calendar instead of doing it for them. Transitioning from the old single calendar to multiple layered calendars is a concept they have not transitioned to yet and that challenge is what I am working on.

I think the idea of a main calendar has some merit. But also note that some people may see that main calendar as the place to put everything rather than creating another calendar specific to the needs of the creator of the calendar. For a ward I can see a "Ward Announcements" or somethng similar as being a good generic main calendar. The only issue to be resolved is who will have edit rights beyond the bishopric. If too many people have edit rights then the flexiblility of the layered calendar will be lost when a large number of users look to one calendar for information.

[jbh001]

I think the idea of a main calendar has some merit. But also note that some people may see that main calendar as the place to put everything rather than creating another calendar specific to the needs of the creator of the calendar.

No one else in my unit has started making calendars yet, and I have lost the ability to experiment with it on the beta site due to a recent change in calling. So one thing I am curious about is when there is more than one calendar present (i.e. Ward Activities, Scouts, YW, etc.), as long as these are not created as private calendars, can the average member see all of the events of the different (public) calendars by default, or do they have to manually subscribe to each one? Or put another way, are they initially automatically opted-in/subscribed to all public calendars, or initially opted-out of all calendars?

If they are initially opted-out of all public calendars, I can see the scenario of a member checking the new calendar for the first time and not seeing any events, and then thinking that there is nothing useful on the calendar. I would like to know about this in advance so that I can take preemptive and remedial action in those scenarios.

[coloradotechie-p40]

When a user logs in for the first time:

1) They are shown the main calendar view with a "Getting Started" overlay. The overlay explains what the system is and what a calendar is and what a calendar subscription is

at the bottom of the overlay there are two buttons: "Next" and "Close Getting Started"

If they click "Next":

2) They are shown the Manage Subscriptions page with another getting started overlay. The overlay explains what the manage subscriptions page is for and how to create a new calendar.

There is one button at the bottom of the overlay, "Close".

After they click "Close", the user is left on the Manage subscriptions page and they are NOT subscribed to any calendar by default.

that's it... so if they want to subscribe, they can easily click the "Subscribe" links right there.

This is current as of 5/6/2010 at 1:10pm MDT on beta.lds.org/church-calendar. It may change in the future.

[jdcr256]

Or put another way, are they initially automatically opted-in/subscribed to all public calendars, or initially opted-out of all calendars?

The 'customer' for this project (i.e. the Priesthood Department) has requested an enhancement in our next release that will cause all members to be automatically subscribed to all calendars in their ward. It will then be up to the member to unsubscribe from undesired calendars. After our next release, members logging in for the first time will see all calendars and events that have been created.

[aebrown]

The 'customer' for this project (i.e. the Priesthood Department) has requested an enhancement in our next release that will cause all members to be automatically subscribed to all calendars in their ward. It will then be up to the member to unsubscribe from undesired calendars. After our next release, members logging in for the first time will see all calendars and events that have been created.

I assume this also means that as new calendars get added, all members will automatically be subscribed to the new calendars. So if they don't want to be subscribed to the new calendar(s), they'll have to go back into their subscriptions and remove those new automatic subscriptions.

Is that correct?

It's important for wards and stakes to understand these kinds of issues, since they will affect their strategies for subdividing calendars. The new calendars are wonderfully flexible, but local units will have to determine the tradeoffs between flexibility for users, ease of management, and enforcement of standards.

[jdcr256]

I assume this also means that as new calendars get added, all members will automatically be subscribed to the new calendars. So if they don't want to be subscribed to the new calendar(s), they'll have to go back into their subscriptions and remove those new automatic subscriptions.

Is that correct?

Yep, that's correct. There is also a new companion requirement to allow members to opt-out of this auto-subscribe mode, but I'm not sure if that will make it in the June release. This will allow the best of both worlds. Members who don't pay that much attention will be auto-subscribed, and thus won't miss any data, while those (like me) who like to control what data they consume won't have to worry about rogue calendars elbowing in.

[russellhltn]

Personally, I'd like to see calenders also marked if they should be a part of this auto-subscribe or not.

It's one thing to have a single female auto-subscribed to EQ activities or for a childless couple to be auto-subscribed to the Sunbeam calendar. But having the bulk of the ward auto-subscribed to the Bishop's leadership meeting calendar - I don't think that's such a good idea.

[n.oliver]

I'm thinking that a standard list of Calendars might include:
Ward Activities
Stake Activities
Young Men/Scouts
Young Women
YSA
Primary
Cub Scouts
Activity Day Girls
Relief Society

Any other thoughts?

That's nice for traditional wards, but for our YSA Ward having most of those calendars would simply be noise that would deter use of the site. (Yes, its hard to get website usage even with my tech-savy age group )

Instead, perhaps a 'training' introduction for the web admin's first login might be useful... esp. as they need to work closely with the secretaries of the various groups/quorums/societies to create a custom solution that works for their ward, not (just) the preferences of us Ward Web admins. (And this would require a firm understanding of the features of the site)