ILRe-port Nov 2004 - Online Helps and Hints

As many of you know, the ILR has recently experienced some difficulty with the web site. Web site trouble can come in many forms, but there are two basic types.

1. The web site or individual web site pages cannot be accessed. This manifests itself as a 'page not found' message on your screen.

2. Some function in the web site is not working properly. An error of this type can occur for many reasons. Some are easily corrected, while others are outside our influence.

To help you understand how to respond to problems, let me first describe our web site structure. The ILR web site is stored on an Internet server physically located in the great state of Texas. (My Texan friends say I have to describe that large, hot and mostly desolate landscape that way.) The master ILR data, however, is stored on the ILR server in Kalispell, MT. All data, with the exception of photographs, are updated from Kalispell to Texas twice daily (12:01am and 12:01pm).

Due to the great amount of space required for the photographs (over 300,000 photographs), we have chosen to use a computer in the Kalispell office which is dedicated to storing these image files. When you ask to see the photographs of any llama

in the database (a paid member privilege), the server in Texas sends a request to the Kalispell computer. The Kalispell computer sends the images to Texas where they are then forwarded to you.

Now, back to the purpose for this article. What should you do when the ILR web site does not respond as you think it should?

If you cannot connect to the web site at all, please just have patience. The problem is most likely in the Internet system between your computer and the leased server. Wait an hour and see if access returns. If not, please send an email to ilr@lamaregistry.com or give us a call at 406-755-3438. We will check with different contacts around the country to evaluate the scope of the problem.

If individual pages within the web site give you the "page not found" error, please let us know. A phone call is best, but an email will also suffice. If you find the error on the weekend, leave us a message. We will address the problem just as soon as we retrieve your message.

If you encounter a processing error, which may manifest itself as a function not responding as you know it should, or error messages appearing on your screen, please let us know as soon as possible. We have contracted with an excellent web site programmer who writes our code in open-source PHP. He will respond to problems immediately. To best help us locate and fix the problem, you can forward the following via email.

If you are trying to register a llama and the program does not respond as you expect, especially if it concerns the upload of photographs, just give us a call. We may ask you to send us the photographs you are trying to upload so that we can test the system using your components.

Concerning the upload of photographs, when you successfully upload a photograph, the image you sent will appear on your screen after the transfer is complete. If your image is the correct size, it will almost fill the screen of a 15" monitor. If your image is very large, we ask that you check the size of the images you are sending to be close to the 375x525 (or 525x375) pixel size. Images smaller than the required size will not be accepted. We do accept larger images but they take a great deal of time to upload, require large initial storage space, and require that we rewrite them to a smaller size. You can save yourself a lot of time waiting for uploads if you write your files equal to or only slightly larger than the requirement.

I want you to understand that when we test the web site, we are accessing it in the same way you are. If it works for us, it should work for you. We realize that there are differences in browsers that can cause problems, but usually these are merely visual.

America On-Line is still a concern. We encourage AOL members to access the Internet through the AOL log-in, and then minimize the AOL browser and open another copy of Microsoft, Netscape or Mozilla browser for accessing the ILR web site. If you plan to register llamas through the web site you must allow pop-ups from the ILR. I think all browsers now allow pop-ups on an individual domain basis.

Browsers are becoming very large as Microsoft, Netscape, Mozilla and others add feathers. If you feel adventurous, I would recommend you try Mozilla Firefox. It has become my primary browser. The use of the tab feature is a great time saver.

When all else fails, give us a call. The operators at the ILR have all spent extensive time becoming familiar with the ILR web site. If an operator cannot help, you will be put in contact with the ILR Manager of Information Services. If you can be logged on to the Internet while we talk to you, that would be helpful.