First I would like to say, Kris, you are amazing!!!

I have done quite a bit of web design and I understand it is a very
time consuming process. Even using a pre-formated page, it take a great
deal of time to get those pages completed and uploaded to the server.
Not to mention having to write the stories for each ferret. I could
only imagine the numerous different formats that hundreds of shelters
submit to him, that need to be altered to keep consistancy in the
site. Some probably write a book, while others may only send in bullet
points. And then there are those who have forgotten to supply their
contact info... good luck tracking that down. I have to wonder if those
who are complaining about the tree have any idea what is involved in
a project like this. With 55 trees, each containing 15 ferrets.....
My goodness, Kris, I applaud you for getting as much as you did get
done. And with the chaos of the holidays??? For those not aware, 825
individual ferret pages + 55 tree pages = 880 web pages!!!! If every
page took him ONLY 15 minutes (which I could image might take even
longer) that is 220 hours of work!!!! Putting in 8 hour days working
on only the tree would equate to a months work. (No weekends off...
27.5 days straight!!!!)

And I certainly do not blame him for not accepting help updating the
site from other people. That is asking for even more trouble and more
problems. Could you imagine how badly that could get messed up with
numerous people updating pages? In one day of several people going on
their own before letting each other know what they did could end up
in ferrets being posted more than once, others being omitted....
not to mention the, "oops, I thought I knew what I was doing but I
accidentally deleted some of the code and now the page doesn't work
at all." It is hard enough to troubleshoot your own work, but to read
through lines and lines of code to figure out were someone else errored
is head spinning.

Trust me when I say, I have experienced this all first hand. I was
involved in a class project that involved 30 students. (and mind you,
this was only 30, not hundreds) I volunteered to lead the web desing
portion of the project. Each student submitted their information in
different formats. This information had to be altered (aka, re-written)
by me for consistancy with in the site. As the semester reared down and
I was getting pressed for time, I accepted help from two individuals
who claimed to know how to build web pages. I gave them a pre-formatted
page to work with. Trust me, the results were lest than desirable, and
I would have been better off not accepting the help.

For those individuals who really want to help Kris with the next years
tree, how about this idea??? Lets all sent Kris a couple dollars to
help him buy the software that would make things easier for him. I do
not know how much the software costs, but if every shelter or every
santa just sent him a dollar, that would probably cover it. I am pretty
sure he has a paypal account. Kris, would you be willing to provide
everyone here with information on donating to the Giving Tree software
for next year?

Kris, bless you for all you have done. And send Mary my love. I hope
you were able to find some time to enjoy the season, despite all the
sleepless nights you spend dedicated to the ferrets, the shelters, and
replying to anonymous criticism.

Kathleen

[Posted in FML 5841]