Call for website testers

After a long time in the oven the new Transition Leicester website is browning off nicely. However, before we subject normal users too it, a few tasks need to be completed that I just can’t do on my own. I have mentioned the new website in a  previous post and I got a great response from the blog readers. I’m hoping for a similar response with this call for help. It doesn’t matter if you have 10 minutes or a few hours to give, even a little time will help.

The first thing I’m asking of you all is to test the new website. I have done some testing myself and I have fixed some problems and have yet to fix a few but I need you to find more problems so that I can fix them and others will not have to stumble across them. To do this I need you to visit a page I have set up on the new site that details how and what needs testing. This page also tells you how to leave feedback if you encounter a problem; that is probably the most important step as a problem found that I don’t know about cannot be fixed.

The second thing I’m asking ties in nicely with the testing as it gives some real tasks to test with. I need volunteers to help copy the content from the existing website over to the new one. You should find all the information you need on the new website. If you find that information lacking, let me know so that I can fix that.

So, to summarise:

• Head down to the new website
• Find out what needs testing and how to do it
• Start copying content over from the old website
• Give me feedback!

Website ideas

It has been in my head for a while and I would like it to start coming out of my head and becoming reality. That is, an interactive Transition Leicester community website. At the moment this website isn’t even in the planning stages what I am looking for is ideas. Seeing as the people who read this blog, the mailing list and the wiki are really the target audience for this website I want to know what YOU want out of it.  So please contact

sampattuzzi[replace this with an “at” symbol]transitionleicester.org.uk

with your ideas or post them as comments to this post.So far the ideas I’m kicking about are:

• Transition blog (most likely to replace this one and integrate it into the site)
• Transition forum with sub sections for groups
• Transition static info pages
  • About Transition Leicester
  • Background
  • etc…
• Event calendar
• Sub group specific sub sites with:
  • Blogs
  • Static pages
  • Calendars
• Sub group forum sections
• group oriented photo gallery
• Contact forms
• Individual user accounts with optional pictures and bios (Maybe display a different home screen depending on whether a user is logged in. Eg show information about groups the user belongs to rather than general site information.)

Your input is really vital, please contribute your ideas.

Poems and visions of the future

I was on Radio Leicester this morning talking about Transition and as part of the piece they included a poem I put together about what the Inner Ring Road could look like in a  zero-carbon Leicester. You can listen to the piece on Transition through the Traydio website here: http://www.traydio.com/UserConsole/ViewArticle.aspx?Title=Transition_Leicester_piece_on_Radio_Leicester_breakfast_show&ArticleID=1830

They only broadcast the first and last parts of the poem (albeit in a great clever way combined with music to start and end the piece), so I thought I’d put the full version down here to share with everyone (see at the foot of this post).