AGM 2012 Tech Report

Tech Working Group Report

The Tech Working Group’s purpose is to:

Use technology to make freegling easier for members and moderators

Provide easier access for members

Support our local and national publicity efforts.

We are an online organisation, so this is crucial to our survival and growth.

The group is open to all Volunteers – not just the people who develop this stuff, but just as important are people who want it to work well for their groups. However we do remain desperately short of people with technical skills.

Despite recent improvements, we are not keeping pace with the general development of the web. We are very exposed to the loss of key overloaded individuals. This is a key strategic risk for Freegle.

Here’s what we’ve done over the last year.

General

• Improved our main website: added photos, a member query form, a Donations page and button, and a Supporters page.
• Enhanced the servers by adding extra capacity and a backup server.
• Maintained Freegle email addresses using Google Apps.
• Improved sending of messages to Yahoo groups so that more arrive and keep out of spam folders.
• Reported website use regularly from Google Analytics reports.

Freegle Direct

• Extended Freegle Direct so that it is now available to non-Facebook users and groups which want nothing to do with Facebook.
• Resolved the worst performance issues.
• Provided an events platform for members to post local events.
• Improved the Photo upload to resize automatically.
• Introduced a member feedback system.
• Suggested posts – as you post you’re shown matching posts.
• Email alerts when someone posts an item you are looking for.
• Added a collage of Freegle photos for use on the Direct joining page.
• Post Validation using in worry words on Freegle Direct.
• Added joining mails for new members.
• Auto posting/tweeting about the weight reused on a group basis.

Yahoo

• Improved integration with Freegle Direct via the modplugin.

Message Maker

• Provided a dual-language Message Maker for Welsh speaking members.
• Provided a photo upload function.
• Enabled members to post to the Yahoo page without logging in and so allow members without a Yahoo ID to use the Message Maker.
• Contacted all groups using the obsolete Message Maker.

Tech Working Group October 2012

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