[games_access] IGDA Website Problems

[Michelle Hinn]

Yeah, this has actually been a problem for a couple years now. The first thing to make sure is that the person at least has a "free account" on the IGDA website (igda.org) -- without it they will be locked out for sure. If they are either paid members and/or free members and still have problems, that's when you should put them into contact with the IGDA leadership so that their account can be looked at and hopefully this will help diagnose the problem.

If you can, I'd put something on the website that says something like "if you are locked out of joining the SIG and/or the forums, please contact Tara at .... " so that you hear when people are having trouble. Without the tech people being able to track what's happening with someone when they are trying to join, it's hard for them to figure out what's going on.

I was locked out for a long time and they finally had to add me to the "ok" list. And as of right now, to be a SIG member you have to be a member of this mailing list. Anyone can "tick off" that they would like to be a member of every single SIG in their IGDA membership profile but after that? There's no follow up (ie, the SIG chair doesn't receive a list of "new SIG members" from who signs up on the IGDA website, voting and such is calculated on who is a full paid member of the IGDA AND on this listserv) and this SIG, like so many others, depend on the listserv as the way to find out what's happening and to communicate with others. So the list is about the only place that makes sense to join.

Originally, the "new" IGDA website was supposed to integrate the mailing list, the forums, the blog, the wiki, the main website for each SIG all in one place. But that never successfully happened so everything is still splintered and it's confusing for people trying to join a SIG who are going through the IGDA site to actually get to where people really are. Many SIGs are like ours -- the listservs, along with FB sites, are the main ways that people hear about what's going on. The way things are right now (and have been for a long time), I wouldn't be surprised if SIG memberships are down across the board because people are getting locked out when they try to join ANY of the SIGs (it's not just us, which is why a lot of SIGs have just thrown in the towel and gone to independent websites).

Anyway...when you get an email or hear from someone having trouble, get their name, email address , when they tried to sign up, and ask them if they are either free or paid members of the igda.org website so that you can report all of that to the IGDA. And then, as Sandra said, route them to the list, as that is the main way for them to get involved.

If you remind me of the address of the non-IGDA website that you created, I can add that to the bottom of the listserv messages in that system.

Good luck!
Michelle

On Jan 12, 2011, at 11:54 AM, Tara Tefertiller wrote:

> Hey Everyone, 
> 
> I have been contacted by a couple people having issues with the IGDA website. 
> 
> I am trying to get the full scope of this problem so I can report it and hopefully have this issues addressed. 
> 
> I have heard of the following issues:
> 
> 1) People unable to join the GA SIG when they click the "Join button." (They are told they don't have permission or something.)
> 2) People are locked out of the forums. 
> 
> 
> Is anyone seeing these as well? The one about not being able to join is rather disheartening because I recently had a Full Sail instructor try to join and wasn't able to. 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks, 
> Tara
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