IVAW.org Redesign: Final Countdown

Dear Members,

This Thursday, September 9th at 9am EST we are relaunching IVAW.org with an updated look and feel! Beginning tonight, when you visit www.ivaw.org you will see a splash page that tells visitors about the site relaunch. As a member you can log in right now for a sneak peak www.ivaw.org/login. For those worried about the old site, it will still be available at www.ivaw.org/archive.

If you already have an account you can login just the same. If you forgot your password, recover your account. If you don't have an account yet fill out the membership application and check the "Already a Member of IVAW" box.

We need at least one member per chapter to step up and serve as their chapter administrator. This is an important step in us being able to launch the website with maximum chapter participation and content. Chapter admins are crucial because they can add and remove members from their chapter. Currently the chapters are empty of members and your stepping up as the chapter admin, even if temporarily, will make this launch more successful.

If you would like to be designated as your chapter admin email webmaster@ivaw.org with your chapter name, first name, last name and a phone number where to reach you.

The following is a list of major changes to IVAW.org. For your questions and feedback about the changes please join us in our the Wemaster Forum.

Potential Members

Joining IVAW has never been simpler. Now your application automatically sets you up with an account on our website. This means all pending IVAW members will immediately be able to access and communicate with other members. No middle man, no waiting. New members are given a pending members account until their proof of service is verified by our membership coordinator. During this period they can chat with other members in the "Pending Members" forum.

Members

Creating content is now a cinch. You no longer have to be an expert to format your posts. The new site automatically re-sizes images and creates thumbnails, all posts can be created using a WYSIWYG editor and you can include captions on your photos and footnotes for your text.

Creating events has also been simplified. Simply fill in all relevant fields and a formatted event page will be created. If your event has a date you can have it automatically added to your chapter calendar as well as our national calendar.

IVAW has always had chapter homepages, but now we will also have interest group homepages. Interested in working on reparations? GI Outreach? Want to connect with other IVAW artists? Well join one of the many interest groups and you can start sharing your content and ideas.

Member/Chapter and Regional/National

All content created at the individual, chapter, regional, and national level has an equal chance to be seen since we highlight many more posts on our homepage now. As new content gets posted older content will be pushed down the list. Our homepage always shows the most recent content and activities across IVAW. Your chapter and group homepages are similar and will only show the content posted into them by their members. This means you can post your content into as few or as many groups as you like.

Chapter Leaders

Chapter leaders can add and remove members from their chapter. No need to wait on the webmaster.

Chapter leaders can also customize their chapter page. They can add custom headings and sidebars. *This feature is being restricted until after all chapter admins have been assigned.

Member Homepage

The new member homepage will show all the recent content posted on the website. It will also highlight content that is new or content that has been updated since you last viewed it. This makes it easy to stay on top of what's happening nationally in IVAW without having to hunt all over the site.

The member homepage also shows IVAW's newest members along with their city and state.

For those who are chapter admins you will also see a list of any pending applications from members trying to join your chapter.

For those on the membership coordination team you will also see a list of all pending member applications.

Authors

Your blog post will now be accompanied by a large B&W version of your profile picture, a short excerpt from your bio, a listing of your most recent posts, and a display of other members in your chapter.

Comments

Commenting has been enabled. Anonymous comments will be held for moderation, but visitors who choose to identify themselves with their Twitter or Facebook accounts will have their comment posted immediately. Offensive comments if flagged enough by the community are automatically unpublished for a moderator to review. If you are logged into the website your comment will automatically be associated with your member account. All posts commenting is public.

Security

Pages clearly marked with "private" in the URL (i.e., www.ivaw.org/private/member-home) can only be viewed by members with accounts.

When editing your profile look for the "public", "private" and "member-only" color codes to determine what parts of your profile can be viewed by whom