CTC website

[Jinx]

I've just tried to look at the CTC website at www.ctc.org.uk and got a message "The website you are
trying to reach is not available at this address or does not exist." have I got the address wrong or
has something happened?

rgds

Malcolm

 

[Wafflycathcsdir]

>I've just tried to look at the CTC website at www.ctc.org.uk and got a message "The website you are
>trying to reach is not available at this address or does not exist." have I got the address wrong
>or has something happened?

I got that earlier. I've emailed CTC (no response yet) to ask if this is an April Fool, have they
been hacked etc., etc..

Cheers, helen s

~~~~~~~~~~
Flush out that intestinal parasite and/or the waste product before sending a reply!

Any speeliong mistake$ aR the resiult of my cats sitting on the keyboaRRRDdd
~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Tony W]

"wafflycathcsdirtycatlitter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >I've just tried to look at the CTC website at www.ctc.org.uk and got a message "The website you
> >are trying to reach is not available at this address or does not exist." have I got the address
> >wrong or has something happened?
>
> I got that earlier. I've emailed CTC (no response yet) to ask if this is
an
> April Fool, have they been hacked etc., etc..

I have been conversing with the CTC on a different matter. They are meant to be launching a new web
site about now. Originally it was planned to go live today -- the last I heard it will be 'later'
this week.

T

 

[Tony Raven]

wafflycathcsdirtycatlitter <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I have been conversing with the CTC on a different matter. They are meant to be launching a new
>> web site about now. Originally it was planned to go live today -- the last I heard it will be
>> 'later' this week.
>>
>> T
>
> Another CTC IT success story then ;-)
>

Be fair - its tough having to write html on a cycle computer.

Tony

-- http://www.raven-family.com

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to
adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man." -- George
Bernard Shaw

 

[Tony W]

"Tony Raven" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

>
> Be fair - its tough having to write html on a cycle computer.

They might do less harm if they dedicated themselves to the task

 

[Mr R@T \ -Lsqco]

In news:[email protected], Tony W <[email protected]> typed:

> They might do less harm if they dedicated themselves to the task

Frankly their effort and handling of this is *appalling*; and the worst part of this is that their
web designers have *hard coded* the misleading message into the interim page; which could be read to
be that the CTC has even *gone bust!*

OK I guess they have other comms channels active so the website isn't classed as
"business-critical"; but I would have used it as a main point to find phone numbers if I wanted to
speak to them urgently - ok I could use the directory enquiries, but one would expect a
forward-thinking organisation to have *some* form of web presence

I fully understand that IT projects can go wrong; and that there may have been unforseen problems in
rolling out the new site. Perhaps they intended to deploy a site generated by a database engine of
some sort which has run into problems (although this is hardly rocket science these days) and this
has gone pear-shaped - but surely they should have had a *backup plan?*

Even an interim mini site with 'phone, fax and e-mail (although it appears they ignore this) would
be better than nothing. This shows an attitude of "sod the members/customers, they can wait"

This isn't a hobby site either, this is a site of a *major* public sector NGO, presumably funded by
*members money*.

Whoever cocked this up is damaging a brand image painstakingly built up over 100+ years. I for one
am now sceptical of joining CTC if they are going to **** members subs up the wall on failed IT
projects! (it appears from other posts this isn't the first time something like this has happened.)

Maybe they have done good work in the past and are still doing so; just that the delay to the
website prevents one finding out further info! Perhaps one of the "older" people who has dealt with
the CTC may be able to enlighten me on their *current* work (I know about their early stuff like the
warnings on dangerous hills) and whether it is worth joining them.

Alex

 

[Just Zis Guy]

On Wed, 2 Apr 2003 20:44:10 +0100, "Mr R@t \(2.3 zulu-alpha\) [comms room 2]"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Frankly their effort and handling of this is *appalling*

Not really their fault, Alex - they moved hosting firms and the old hosting company told them that
the disruption would be brief and temporary, and that it was unavoidable. Actually the old firm
should have kept CTC's server in place for the three days it takes DNS changes to propagate. We pay
them for their knowledge of cycling, not computers.

What is far worse is that the new site is 100% Flash so is unreadable by visually impaired users
with screen readers - like one R G Bristow of Reading, a CTC member and cycle mechanic.

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. http://www.chapmancentral.com (BT ADSL and
dynamic DNS permitting)
NOTE: BT Openworld have now blocked port 25 (without notice), so old mail addresses may no longer
work. Apologies.

 

[Helen Deborah V]

Thus spake "Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]>

> What is far worse is that the new site is 100% Flash so is unreadable by visually impaired users
> with screen readers - like one R G Bristow of Reading, a CTC member and cycle mechanic.

Bob is a brilliant mechanic and a lovely man...

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email protected] Edgware.

 

[David Damerell]

Just zis Guy, you know? <[email protected]> wrote:
>What is far worse is that the new site is 100% Flash so is unreadable by visually impaired users
>with screen readers - like one R G Bristow of Reading, a CTC member and cycle mechanic.

It is? It seems to work for me in not just Mozilla (without any Flash support) but also w3m (a text
browser) - there's a Flash navigation element, but it's unnecessary.

Of course, I can't tell if the apparently missing pages are just empty or if they are broken in
non-Flash browsers.
--
David Damerell <[email protected]> Distortion Field!

 

[Just Zis Guy]

On Mon, 21 Apr 2003 22:45:16 +0100, Helen Deborah Vecht <[email protected]> wrote:

>Bob is a brilliant mechanic and a lovely man...

Indeed he is, and It will be my pleasure to pilot for him on his rather splendid George Longstaff
tandem on Sunday week, as part of a rota which includes Brian, who I'm told is the current Glorious
Leader of the CTC

How come you know Bob? Are you an ex-Reddingensian? I have a feeling I ought to remember...

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. http://www.chapmancentral.com (BT ADSL and
dynamic DNS permitting)
NOTE: BT Openworld have now blocked port 25 (without notice), so old mail addresses may no longer
work. Apologies.

 

[Mal]

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Mon, 21 Apr 2003 22:45:16 +0100, Helen Deborah Vecht <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Bob is a brilliant mechanic and a lovely man...
>
> Indeed he is, and It will be my pleasure to pilot for him on his rather splendid George Longstaff
> tandem on Sunday week, as part of a rota which includes Brian, who I'm told is the current
> Glorious Leader of the CTC
>
> How come you know Bob? Are you an ex-Reddingensian? I have a feeling I ought to remember...

Tis a small world . . . .I was directed to Bob Bristowe yesterday and he is now (hopefully) relacing
my wheels. That is, as soon as the spiokes arrive.

What I need to know is . . . . well, I can spend 1/2 hour in my garage trying to find a spanner -
and I can see. How on earth does Bob manage? I did ask, but we ended up talking about bikes instead.

Mal

 

[Helen Deborah V]

Thus spake "Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]>

> On Mon, 21 Apr 2003 22:45:16 +0100, Helen Deborah Vecht <[email protected]> wrote:

> >Bob is a brilliant mechanic and a lovely man...

> Indeed he is, and It will be my pleasure to pilot for him on his rather splendid George Longstaff
> tandem on Sunday week, as part of a rota which includes Brian, who I'm told is the current
> Glorious Leader of the CTC

> How come you know Bob? Are you an ex-Reddingensian? I have a feeling I ought to remember...

I haven't lived in Reading, but went on a Central London CTC Christmas (on the Welsh borders) trip a
few years ago, which had a large Reading contingent. I think I also encountered him when the Home
Counties Rally was in Pangbourne.

I worked at Hillingdon Hospital for 3 years & this is well on the way to Reading from The Big Smoke.

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email protected] Edgware.

 

[Guy Chapman]

"Mal" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...

> What I need to know is . . . . well, I can spend 1/2 hour in my garage trying to find a spanner -
> and I can see. How on earth does Bob manage? I did ask, but we ended up talking about bikes
> instead.

As with most blind folks, Bob has a good memory, and is methodical about where he puts things. His
wheels are excellent - after well over 5,000 miles of potholed roads the 700c Mavic T221s on my
tourer were less than 1mm out of true, and it took me under five minutes with a spoke key to
straighten them. I always have Bob retension the wheels on any new bike, as machine-built wheels go
out in five minutes or less. He also fettled my son's bike after Berkshire Cycles (spit, spit)
repeatedly failed.

Guy

 

[Mr R@T \ -Lsqco]

Welcome back Guy....

In news:[email protected], Just zis Guy, you know?
<[email protected]> typed:
> temporary, and that it was unavoidable. Actually the old firm should have kept CTC's server in
> place for the three days it takes DNS changes to propagate. We pay them for their knowledge of
> cycling, not computers.

That's true - a lot of the problem was the the old firm (who put a bogus "page not found" message on
the site) - but one would have thought that some pressure could have been put by CTC on the former
ISP to at least deliver a page stating the CTC site was being moved and provide details of other
customer contact channels (such as fax, phone, snail mail). It wouldn't have hurt to do that, but I
suppose when they lost the contract they thought "sod CTC"

I appreciate though CTCs core activity isn't IT - but it looks like they needed to be a bit more
assertive with those who *are* providing the technical services to them, or to find people with
technical knowledge

What had also annoyed me more was the number of reports about e-mails not having been answered and
allegations that this was normal for CTC. It may have been a particularly bad time for them, but it
appears that CTC do not seem geared up to dealing with communicating with customers or potential
customers via the Internet!

I was actually considering joining them but had been put off by this débacle. Naturally I was
thinking - what happens if I join and something goes wrong? will I just be ignored? I am however
aware of their history (from reading Richards Bicycle book in its various incarnations) and know of
the good work CTC have done for cycling!

I did think though "I'll wait till Guy is back - he knows the score about CTC "

Are they planning to improve their customer responsiveness (and sort out the accessibility issue you
mentioned)?

What do you get for the 30 quid?

Alex

 

[Just Zis Guy]

On Wed, 23 Apr 2003 21:23:33 +0100, "Mr R@t \(2.3 zulu-alpha\) [comms room 2]"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>What had also annoyed me more was the number of reports about e-mails not having been answered and
>allegations that this was normal for CTC. It may have been a particularly bad time for them, but it
>appears that CTC do not seem geared up to dealing with communicating with customers or potential
>customers via the Internet!

I've never experienced that, myself - they've always been prompt and informative in reply to my
emails. I have had a couple of lengthy exchanges with Chris Juden, CTC Technical Officer - and I
know the Chairman, so have his private email anyway

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. http://www.chapmancentral.com (BT ADSL and
dynamic DNS permitting)
NOTE: BT Openworld have now blocked port 25 (without notice), so old mail addresses may no longer
work. Apologies.