...a message from your webmaster

How can I help get better pictures on our website?
(and not exasperate the webmaster in the process?)
(use your back button to return to the previous page)

BACKGROUND:

I manage a number of websites.  Seldom does a day go by that that I don't receive at least one request to put some pictures on 'our' website.

HERE'S THE PROBLEM
A typical request is:

'Hi'
Here's some pics for the website.
Thanks.

I can't work with this! 
Which website? 
Where do you want to put them (some event perhaps, that I'm unaware of?). 
What should the caption be?
Who's in the picture?
What was the event?
And on and on.....................................

Multiple emails later I resolve these issues with each person, some of whom become testy and angry to think that I don't know that Joe Bumquack got a hole-in-one on the DoppyDisy Golf Course in January. What was I doing, after all, just screwing around with my computer while this world class event was occurring?

HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO TO REALLY HELP ME!

  1. Send an email to marcoman357@aol.com
  2. Attach .jpg files (other formats are possible, but talk to me first).
  3. Append as many .jpgs as will fit in one email (guideline: about 10 Megs per email).  It takes me about the same number of steps (and time) to download and link up one picture as it does 100 pictures.  (how long do you think it takes to do 100 pictures, one email at a time?)
  4. Provide the exact words that you want to see on the website.  I will simply copy and paste your words directly to the webpage.  I won't fix the spelling or punctuation.  In fact, I may not even read it before publishing it.
  5. Please do not snail mail me prints without first getting my permission.  The scanning process is very tedious for me.
  6. Tell me which website these go on, and where they should go if that's not obvious.
  7. If appropriate, tell me which event they apply to (it's not unusual to get a picture named Halloween 2003, when the picture is actually Xmas 2007...are you surprised?)

Many thanks for making my life more manageable.  The nature of volunteer labor is that once it stops being fun, it stops!

Ed Crane
Webmaster