Guide to Online Resources
Last Revised January 2, 2013
Preface
This guide is to help ICO volunteers understand what online resources are available. As you can see, there are lots of different places for services and information, and it can be difficult to keep everything straight. This guide aims to explain everything in plain language, so that even non-technical readers can understand.
There are seven different resources, many of which are interconnected. They are the Yahoo! Group, our main internal website, our trip calendar and roster, our PR website, the Sierra Club Outings Extranet, Google Apps, and the PR Blog. Each is described below.
Ryan Clark is the original author of this guide; others have made significant contributions.
The Yahoo! Group
What is it?
We use this service to distribute email announcements to the whole group. This email distribution list is the primary method for communicating within ICO. We use it to make announcements about meetings and events and all kinds of other matters of import to ICO. Keeping up-to-date with the emails sent to this list is the single best way to stay connected to ICO.
This service has a couple of nicknames: “the listserve” and “the email list.” “Subscribing” and “joining” mean the same thing.
The Yahoo! Group is actually a collection of web-based services and features, but we do not use most of them. One feature that may be of interest to advanced users and ICO historians is the email Archives. All the emails ever sent to the email list are archived online.
Where do I find it?
The email address for the list is icorafting@yahoogroups.com. Email messages sent here will be delivered to every member of ICO.
The web address for the Yahoo! Group’s web services, such as the discussion archives, is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/icorafting
Who is in charge?
Ryan does most of the administration. Additionally, Jon, Jared, Mel, and Jeremy Katz have administrative access.
Anything else I should know?
Subscribing/Joining this list is the best way to keep informed about ICO business. You are highly encouraged to subscribe!
You must be subscribed to this list in order to send messages to the list.
The purpose of this list is for announcements, not discussions. Discussions should take place offline or on other email lists where discussion is welcome.
This list is not the appropriate avenue to vent frustrations, or to air grievances or interpersonal conflicts. In these circumstances, please consult with our Ombudsman, Harold, or the Chairs, for the best means of achieving a positive resolution.
The long-term plan is to replace this service with another one, so that we can better consolidate all of our online resources.
Main “Internal” Web Site
What is it?
The internal web site is the primary information repository for ICO volunteers. Policies, meeting notes, training materials, and other information for ICO volunteers are posted here.
The information is publicly available and does not require special steps or passwords. Posting or editing content requires a Google Apps account, which is available to anyone in ICO upon request to the administrators (below). About 20 volunteers currently have such accounts.
The audience of the internal web site is ICO volunteers. Potential volunteers, participant groups, donors, and other outside visitors should be directed to our PR website, described below. Similarly, any content intended for such outside visitors should be posted on our PR website.
The internal website is also the gateway to the online trip calendar and volunteer roster, which is described in the next section.
Where do I find it?
Who is in charge?
Ryan and Jared have administrative access.
Anything else I should know?
The long-term plan is to have all of the content password protected.
Page history, including the author of each version, is tracked.
Trip Calendar and Roster
What is it?
This is an interactive web site that we use to sign up for trips, store and share volunteer contact information, and track certifications.
Where do I find it?
The login page is http://icorafting.org/login.jsp. There is a link to this page on our internal web site.
Who is in charge?
Ryan does most of the data entry and user management. Jared, Jon, and Eddie Kwong also have access. Eddie programmed this website many years ago.
Anything else I should know?
Please follow the rules and etiquette guidelines for signing up for trips.
PR Web Site
What is it?
The PR website is our website for outside visitors, such as potential volunteers, participant groups, and donors. The website is hosted by the Sierra Club.
On this website we post information intended for outside visitors, such as volunteer applications, group applications, and information about upcoming fundraisers.
Where do I find it?
https://www.sierraclub.org/san-francisco-bay/rafting
Who is in charge?
Ryan and Jen Lies have accounts to edit the website.
Sierra Club Outings Extranet
What is it?
The Sierra Club Outings Extranet is a web site that is the primary information repository for all Sierra Club Outings volunteers. Sierra Club and National ICO policies, training materials, forms, newsletters, and other information are posted here.
The web site is password protected, but anyone may have access. The username is clubhouse, and the password is explore.
To understand what kind of information is kept here, it is first important to understand how the Sierra Club’s outings programs are structured. ICO is a national program of the Sierra Club; ICO Rafting is just one of about fifty ICO chapters across the country. Additionally, there are other outings programs. Local Outings, for example, are the events you may see promoted in The Yodeler, and National Outings are the trips that are promoted in Sierra magazine. All of these programs together -- National Outings, Local Outings, Inner City Outings, and others -- are called Sierra Club Outings. While each local chapter is granted a great degree of latitude to set its own policies, as we have done with our SOPs, each local chapter must also adhere to the policies prescribed by various Sierra Club governance committees (these committee are almost always comprised of volunteers, however).
It is at the Sierra Club Outings Extranet that these national policies are kept. Additionally, forms, training materials, and a wide range of reference information are kept here as well. Some of the information is specific to Inner City Outings, while some of the information applies to all of Sierra Club Outings.
Generally, the typical ICO Rafting volunteer needn’t visit this site. This information is most useful for Trip Leaders and other volunteers in administrative or leadership positions. However, you should know that this is the proper and definitive source for the following items:
The ICO trip liability waiver. ICO has a specific 4-in-1 form that also includes a publicity waiver, minor’s permission to participate, and medical reference form.
The Child Abuse Recognition & Prevention (CARP) training materials.
The Outdoor Leadership Training (OLT) materials.
As soon as you are interested in becoming a Trip Leader, or doing fundraising, or writing grants, or writing newsletters, or otherwise being active in ICO’s administration, it is very useful to browse through the material available here.
The site is constantly being updated and modified, so unfortunately it is not useful to provide links to the most useful pages of the website, as those links will quickly become obsolete.
Where do I find it?
https://clubhouse.sierraclub.org
Who is in charge?
The Sierra Club. Our local group does not control the content.
Google Apps
What is it?
This is a collection of web-based services and features. This a relatively new product, so its role in ICO is not always well defined. Additionally, it is under active development by Google, so the behaviors and features may change without warning.
Many of these services require having a Google Apps user account, which is available to anyone in ICO upon request to the administrators (below). Generally you do not need to use these services, so you can feel free to ignore this section. However, these features can be useful, especially to those who are heavily involved in ICO’s administration.
Let’s address each feature separately.
Email
This is the service with which we create “@icorafting.org” email accounts for individual users.
Where do I find it?
If you have a Google Apps account, you can sign in at http://mail.icorafting.org.
Groups
This is the service with which we create “@icorafting.org” email addresses for groups of multiple recipients. Examples are finance@icorafting.org and steering@icorafting.org.
Where do I find it?
Here is a list of all of the ICO Groups.
Docs
This service allows users to create and share documents, slide presentations, spreadsheets, and interactive forms. Once signed in, you can create, view, and edit your documents or those shared with you by others.
Where do I find it?
If you have a Google Apps account, you can sign in at http://docs.icorafting.org.
Calendar
This service provides a group-wide web-based calendar. Although we occasionally post special events here, such as fundraisers, we do not actively use this feature. It is completely separate and different from our trip calendar.
Where do I find it?
If you have a Google Apps account, you can sign in at http://calendar.icorafting.org.
Sites
This service runs our internal web site (described above), and allows users to create and edit web pages.
Where do I find it?
Who is in charge?
Ryan and Jared are the administrators.
PR Blog
What is it?
The blog is merely a tool use to post news on our PR wesbite. We post updates related to recruiting, fundraising, and outreach.
If someone is interested in joining ICO, scheduling trips with ICO, or participating in fundraiser events, they should follow our blog to avoid missing out.
Anyone interested in following our blog may subscribe by email or RSS (if you don’t know what RSS means, don’t worry, it’s not important). To subscribe, use the links located on the right-hand side of our blog.
Where do I find it?
The best way to find our blog is to click on the “News” link on our PR website. However, the direct link is https://icorafting.blogspot.com.
Who is in charge?
Ryan is the administrator.
Anything else I should know?
All blog posts are automatically sent to the following addresses:
chairs@icorafting.org
donations@icorafting.org
outreach@icorafting.org
recruiting@icorafting.org
fundraiser@icorafting.org
@ICORafting (ICO's Twitter Account)
Facebook
What is it?
ICO's Facebook page is a (not "the") public face for ICO, like the web site and the PR blog. Facebook is intended to support our other publicity media, not replace them.
Like all Facebook pages, people who "like" the page can post to it. However, messages "from" the page itself can only be sent by administrators.
Where do I find it?
http://facebook.com/icorafting
Who is in charge?
People with administrator access currently include Anthony, Jared, Chris T, Vinny and Jon
Anything else I should know?
The PR blog is linked to Facebook. In other words, announcements on the blog will also appear here.
The page's "info" tab includes a link to the PR web site.
Twitter
What is it?
ICO's twitter feed is a (not "the") public face for ICO, like the web site and the PR blog. Twitter is intended to support our other publicity media, not replace them.
Where do I find it?
In twitter-speak, our ID is @ICORafting.
Who is in charge?
Ryan has administrative access.
Anything else I should know?
The PR blog is linked to twitter. In other words, announcements on the blog will also appear here.
ICO's twitter profile includes a link to the PR web site.