Clue-point-zero

[j4]

So Department X wants a complete list of all the people who link to their site because, and I quote:

We are currently looking at updating the information on our website and we want to know who and where other departments link into our website to ensure the correct information is given.

I can't wait to find out who'd have to link to them in order for them to consider it worthwhile to provide correct information. I also wonder what they're going to do about it if the wrong people are linking to them... no, wait, I know the answer to that, and it involves the words "whinging" and "in my general direction".

Comments

[caramel-betty.livejournal.com]

The weboffice answer: give the users all the tools they need;

Ah, but then you need to sort out the difference between the tools they need and the tools they say they want.

[erikarn.livejournal.com]

The answer there is "whatever they're willing to pony up and pay for." Which is unfortunate; but such seems to be the way univerisites are heading over 'ere.

[j4.livejournal.com]

We do have some power to stop the divisions we work with just buying whatever tools they fancy (see e.g. Department Y [nameless to protect the guilty], who demanded some shiny new CMS on the grounds that it would solve all their problems, were audited, and as a result were told that they were absolutely not allowed to buy any more shiny software until they'd sorted out the damn workflow that it was supposed to be supporting. Ha!)

The problem is, there are whole swathes of the university that we simply have no control over, and no one person (except possibly the V-C, who doesn't really get involved at that kind of level) has the power to impose any kind of consistent rules/guidelines across the board. Which is what the currently-in-progress Web Review is supposed to be addressing, but, well, yeah.

[erikarn.livejournal.com]

It sounds eerily familiar. I'd hug you but you're too far away.

[j4.livejournal.com]

Aw. Thought-of-a-hug appreciated nonetheless.

The way everybody in this area seems to encounter the same problems again and again is both comforting and depressing...