Getting CSN system well

donfoo said:

YES. I got a call this morning.

<< Just curious if any of those people get back to you... >>

Got a call first thing this morning from a tech in the application support group. I am sending him an email so he can get it entered into their system since I don't have a Lotus Notes account to do it.

What I find quite bewildering is if some folks have more information about who to contact then it does frankly distrub me as to why ppl just watch me run around chasing the wind. It would be much more efficient to have a solid contact and work up the chain but I will do it the hard way if that is what it takes.

I am still a newbie here so I am not dialed into the culture but it just seems like either ppl are just resigned to accept what gets dished out, do not have sufficient committment or interest to making the boards work as they should, or just feel defeated and depleted. I can't put my finger on it but something is not clicking for me.

Has a single other member here bothered trying to contact anyone at corporate to get something going? I have no problem at all laying the path down; I do wonder why not many, if any, are getting on the path to help get this site fixed.

I know enterprise IT, having spent nearly thirty years working in both not for proift as well as several of the largest gloabal corps. It just takes some perserverence to get to the right person and the right level to make things happen. I'm fine chasing things around now but if things don't get moving some inquiries to the right media organizations and sponsors might light a fire or two.

I'll keep you posted on my progress and do NOT be surprised if some improvement arrives sooner rather than later. I can say with certainty that if a few members make some calls too things WILL happen.

 

Don

 

Hello,

This morning received a call from the OPS manager as well as a reply to the email I sent. I see the return emails are cc ing the CIO and other IT execs so the issue does have IT leadership exposure now. The OPS manager asked if I had called this in and I said yes and that nothing happened and that the response on the phone was that this was the first they heard of it. If that is true, then the help desk is the helpless desk. If they know about and no progress then shame on them. Either way both sides of the coin are rather tarnished. Will keep the community updated as I hear more.

Totally appreciate the offers to contact ACS as well. My recommendation right now is to see how much momentum this ball has and if things get resolved fully with this current push. If things do not get better toward the end of the week or lack of clarity of the plan of attack remains, I will post all the email and contact details I have for the IT side and call you into battle. 

Current strategy would be to maintain pressure on the IT side, giving them time to address and respond to the issues. If the site does not improve over the weekend, then the battle plan calls for shaking the business and sponsor trees. The rationale is the business would want to know that one of the primary connections to those most directly involved with the cancer battle is hobbled and not much being done to remedy the situation or it is happening in a rather lackadasical manner. Reaching out to ACS sponsors informing their support and contributions are not able to maintain such a basic service would not go over well I suspect.

Stay tuned, things WILL get better!

Don

blackswampboy said:

bewildering?

muchos gracias don, for your efforts.

as for your bewilderment...I can think of a few possibilities why we aren't more upset and proactive about site performance:

1. there aren't a lot of IT folks here, and I suspect that many have just accepted performance issues as being at their end, not at the CSN end. and it does rather strain belief that an org as rich & powerful as the ACS has IT problems. 

2. the predominant culture here is "faith". a few people have even equated having faith in cancer recovery with having faith in the organization to fix their problems... me, I'd much rather put my faith in cancer recovery than in dysfunctional bureaucracies, but I can (sort of) see why others would make that connection.

3. organizing a response (such as you did) takes energy. energy is a premium commodity when you're fighting the Beast. I've posted server error messages here many times, and that's as much energy as I'm going to give the matter. if they don't bother to read their own forums and proactively work to keep the site running smoothly--that's their problem. I'm saving my energy for fighting cancer, speaking to others who are fighting the beast, studying to become a cancer registrar, and a few other things.  we all use our limited energy to contribute as we can.

4. and in my case...throw in a healthy dose of corporate cynicism. I cannot believe that IT hasn't long been aware of server issues. (two words: server logs.) so yeah, if they don't take care of their business, I'll eventually just vote with my feet. it's the survivor community that makes these boards strong, not vice versa. there are other places to build community...and if the ACS is wise, they'll lose their big bureaucratic complacency.

 

*stepping off soapbox*

anyway, cheers. thanks again for your efforts!

There was some mention somewhere along the line that maybe CSN is the (my term) **** child of ACS. Someone knows where CSN fits in. It could very well fall outside the domain of corp IT, it could be soley managed functionally and technically and funded in a separate org that does not fall under the standards and control of central IT. Often times, consumer facing websites I work on are handled via the marketing group including the oversight for hosting, operations, and ongoing support.  There is this person named Greta who has been cast as the advocate for CSN. In a note it seemed like being able to work with LiquidWeb on the hardware issues was outside her realm of responsibilites. It could be a peer group that has no direct link to corp IT, could be a peer organization, or some other support org that handles external service providers. No matter how you cut the cake, CSN is NOT being given the necessary priority and resources to get this resolved.

My goal is by the end of the week to at least have the specific group that can address the hardware and performance issues directly with LW and has spend authority to  effect the necessary upgrades and/or technical consultation to monitor and tune the server(s) and Drupal app.

Server logs? Well, if nobody has responsbility for the management and oversight of the LW servers than nobody is reviewing any exception reports from the system logs. 

Will keep all posted and thanks for the support.

Don

Skiffin16 said:

Appropriates...

Don, I'm not trying to be non-supportive of your efforts in any way...

I'm saying that you can email, call, or involve anyone that you want or feel appropriate. But the end result is that it is being handled by the people that make the decisions. Any outside communication results eventually to these very same people currently an already working on it and involved.

I'm pretty certain that any improvements being realized at the moment are coincidental to out side communitcation, or pressure.

 

I am in no way saying not to do what you feel is working or has an impact from your point of view.

I am certain there will be more scheduled maintenance and down times up coming while additional tuning, and bugs are worked out.

I truely believe that things will continue to improve with time... Was it handled the way that myself, you and others may have done it, no... But it is what it is.., and people are working on fixing it.

If there wasn't concern, it would see no improvement or effort and eventually die away... I don't see that happening. They ACS, could just pull the plug, save the money and refer everyone to What'sNext...again, I don't see that happening.

I don't see it from the point of view that myself or others are sitting back, being fed what's served up to us. I communicate regularly with people behind the scenes. I forward these very same threads to them so as to let yours and others concerns...people do see them, and work on our concerns, your concerns... just because the IT people don't directly take time to respond, that's not uncommon... I deal with that daily in the organization I work for... IT people are a strange breed..., I'm sure you realize that from your experiences. Second only to engineers, LOL...ummm Matt. Although Matt is pretty layed back..., but then again, he is a Civil Engineer, I believe...

John

 

 

Not sure what sort of trip you are on but if it servers you well so be it. If you have specifric information that would let users here feel like real resources are being spent on the issues, then it is beyond me why it is cloacked. Why not be transparent and have you or someone post just what you state? Who they are, what they understand to be the issues, and specifically what is being planned and executed to bring this to resolution. I really love the "scheduled" down times. Why schedule something then just yank the site offline? Why would any responsible support staff not clearly post and commicate such events? Maybe there is sufficient resources working on, I do not feel that way. When are the lost messages going to be restored John? 

If I sound really frustrated about now I am and it has little to do with the site being screwed up. It has a lot to do woth those apparently "in the know: not offering anything they "know" so we can go about our business of helping each other get and stay well with Cancer.

Respectfully and best to you,

Don