Why not use the new calendar for 2011

Discussions about the Calendar Tool at lds.org. Questions about the calendar on the classic site should be posted in the LUWS forum.
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kisaac
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Why not use the new calendar for 2011

#1

Post by kisaac »

New calendar or the old?

We were told by new.lds.org weeks ago to use the LUWS calendar for 2011, but that has since been re-worded to give us the "option" to use the "new" calendar system (https://new.lds.org/church-calendar/) for 2011, as long as you know it's still developing. (see quote and link below)

I really would like to hear the communities reasons to still remain using the old LUWS calendar, as I've looked it over today and it seems that my main reasons to wait have been "fixed."

1) import from old LUWS now possible (not a big deal for me)
2) can print readable hard copy (was a really big deal for me)
3) my stake has looked at it and is "on board" (also a big deal)

And these new "labor saving" features are very enticing
1) email reminders to subscribers (and the "schedule" option is great)
2) export PDF of calendar for emailing (can't wait to email this to the ward council)
3) resource scheduling may save time, but I'm not sure how this works

Is the fact that it is still evolving a big enough reason not to use the new features and tools? I'm considering recommending to the bishop we use it as of Jan 1. We've already made the switch to the new directory. Ideas?

When should our stake begin using the new tools?
https://tech.lds.org/ldshelp/index.php5 ... ition_FAQs
Stakes and wards can encourage members to use the new directory right away, but the use of the calendar during 2011 is optional. Since the calendar is in development, it will continue to evolve and improve over time, with the expectation of reaching maturity for the 2012 calendar year rather than the 2011 calendar year. Wards and stakes are welcome to use the calendar for testing or actual usage now, but they should be aware that the interface will change, bugs may still be present, missing features are still being added, and so forth. However, data you enter will not be lost. .
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aebrown
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#2

Post by aebrown »

kisaac wrote:I really would like to hear the community's reasons to still remain using the old LUWS calendar, as I've looked it over today and it seems that my main reasons to wait have been "fixed."
I am very excited about the new calendar and would love to use it. I could sing the praises of the new features for hours and I know that we have to balance the good with the bad. However, our stake decided not to use it yet for the following reasons:
  1. Unreliability. Just a couple of weeks ago, I looked at the three months of test data I had entered on the new calendar and found that about a fourth of our events were on the wrong days. We had made no changes, but a software update just mysteriously moved those events. The problem was fixed within a week, but we can't live with such problems for a "production" calendar. There are many other examples of problems that come and go. And while I was in the midst of composing this message, the new calendar went "down for maintenance." That happens far more for the new calendar than for LUWS.
  2. Event time display. The month view (including printed version) does not include event times. I know there's a balance between how much detail to put on an event, and that the month view in particular can get rather crowded. But many of our people work off printed calendars, and not having the times listed is a huge problem. The printing on the LUWS calendar may not be as pretty, but it includes times and it adjusts row height to accommodate days with many events, which makes it more effective than the new calendar in the important area of printed monthly calendars.
  3. Late delivery. Our stake does its major calendar planning during the month of October so that we can deliver the calendar to the wards by November 1, so that they will have sufficient time to do their planning. We had to make a decision before October 1, and some of the recent additions were not available by then. Also, as of that decision date, the documentation included warnings that were pretty strong to stay away from the new calendar for 2011. That wording has since been softened, but that was too late for our stake. And all wards and the stake have to move together, since the ward and stake calendars are so integrated.
  4. Integration with LUWS. As the Church transitions to new.lds.org, some parts of the "stake website" are in the traditional place, and others are on the Tools menu of new.lds.org. Asking members to go to multiple sites seems a bit much for many of our members with limited technical skills.
I'm hoping that many of these issues will be worked out so that we can switch to the new calendar sometime in 2011, without waiting for 2012. Since our entire 2011 stake calendar is now on LUWS, that will require reentering many events, but the benefits of the new calendar are significant.
Questions that can benefit the larger community should be asked in a public forum, not a private message.
maybd
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#3

Post by maybd »

I would add two reasons that I'm waiting to switch to the new calendaring system.

1. The calendar wizard is still moving events over without taking in to account changes to time zones, and is awkward to work with as all the events listed on your current calendar show up on the list to transfer.

2. I can't seem to update our resources page to include custom fields. At one point I could, but now all that happens is a spinning wheel appears when I save that will spin for hours if you let it--all without adding the resource. I don't want to have to go back later to add the resource in for those events that need it once that bug is repaired.
kisaac
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#4

Post by kisaac »

Alan_Brown wrote:I am very excited about the new calendar and would love to use it. I could sing the praises of the new features for hours and I know that we have to balance the good with the bad. However, our stake decided not to use it yet for the following reasons:
  1. ...
  2. Event time display. The month view (including printed version) does not include event times.
Somebody must have heard you...the event times are now displaying on the month view.
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