North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[mangodance <bmn@iglou.com>]

Thomas Olenio wrote:
> The issue is that the young, innovators and early adopters of society have
> new computers, have current software, and expect current formatting and
> content styles in web pages.

No offense, but you make a bit too much of young, trendy folks with 
great desire to move expendable income being innovators.  Like anything, 
little in the trendy arena survives.  New tech simply for the sake of 
new tech serves what?  Function should always drive pages.  Sure, the 
visual is also attractive...sometimes...but it can often be a 
distraction and even a hindrance to site use.

> Asking for the web page to cater to older computers is like asking young
> people to drive 20 year old cars instead of buying current models.

But a 20 year old car can often be the wiser choice.  The newer one may 
only serve vanity.  <grin>

> The issue would be to insist your library has more current equipment, or
> they maintain the software updates better.  If you went into the library and
> they only had last months (last years) newspapers you would complain.  The
> same rule should apply to computers in libraries.

However, if you read surveys on web use, all of them show a large number 
of folks are on dialup, older computers, and using older browsers.  No 
web design rags suggest leaving these folks behind.  There are a number 
of designers who dump every bell and whistle they come across in their 
websites.  The fad buyers can buy all the flash they like, but in the 
end, it is ALL about content, not style.  Let's be honest, how many 
growers and/or potential growers are browsing with their phones?

While I agree, there is a great deal to do to market, use our website 
effectively, outreach, etc., I would not do so at the expense of our 
base.  I belong to groups who have turned online in order to save 
publishing costs (usually the biggest expense).  However, those smaller 
organizations that did so at the expense of their membership not online 
(by stopping their printed pubs altogether), died or are in death's 
grasp.  Change without planning and without options can often result in 
irrelevance and slow death.

Finally, I don't want to make too much of the web issue as it is but one 
aspect of the larger issue of membership decline.  Don't get me wrong, 
they are one of the best marketing tools an organization can have. 
There are several additional aspects to the greater issue of 
organizational declines.