| Contents | Introduction | Updates | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | Glossary |
In the Hometown Countryside Connection Manager Program, the term "Manager" is used to indicate someone who would like to put community information on the Internet and who has access to the HCC Manager Program, in other words, a volunteer. A Manager is responsible for the information on a specific web page and/or for maintaining some aspect of the local web site. The HCC Manager Program has three levels of Managers.
- Page Manager
- develops and maintains individual web pages.
- Directory Manager
- organizes a specific category or directory and gives Page Managers access privileges to specific web pages.
- Site Manager
- oversees the community web site and creates and deletes Managers.
Managers are not limited to just one role. They can function at any and all Manager levels as long as they have access privileges. For example, the person maintaining the Rotary Club's web page (Page Manager) may also oversee the Health Services directory (Directory Manager). The librarian may maintain the local web site (Site Manager) and also be responsible for the library's directory and web pages. A person can quickly learn the HCC Manager Program, so interest and the amount of responsibility an individual is willing to shoulder are really a Manager's only limitation.
Before a person can do anything in the HCC Manager Program, the Site Manager must create an account for her. An account can be created in just a few minutes once the Site Manager has the necessary information. The New Manager will need to provide the Site Manager with her complete name, phone number, and an email address (see Appendix C to find out about email boxes on the Internet). An email address is necessary because it provides people accessing the web page with the ability to contact the web page maintainer about the content.
The categories of information on a web site are organized into directories. Directories function in the web site like folders do in a filing cabinet. Folders contain pages and other folders. Directories contain web pages and often subdirectories. The directories are named to reflect the web site's organizational needs. For example, some communities may include all their Youth Groups on one web page within a Youth Groups Directory. Other communities may create a Youth Groups Directory with individual subdirectories for Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H, and School Related Activities. The following figure illustrates the organizational structure of a web site.
| Note: In the early stages of developing a local web site, the Site Manager, her technical support staff, and primary Directory Managers may want to draft or sketch a plan for the site's layout. Perhaps draw something similar to the figure above filling in the community's specific needs. |
Web pages convey information using text, color, graphics, and links to other web pages. The Page Manager decides how these elements are presented. To facilitate web page creation, the HCC Manager Program provides a Graphics Archive (described in Section 6.2) and a Graphics Tester (described in Section 6.3) so the Page Manager can see how the elements of a web page interact and influence one another. The elements of the web page can also be quickly changed and updated to reflect changes in content.
The initial, generic Pages are generated by the Directory Manager. The HCC program adds the web pages to the site automatically. The Directory Manager then gives the Page Manager access privileges to turn the generic page into a functional web page. Not every option available using HTML coding is available through the HCC Manager Program, but it contains more than enough to create very sophisticated, useful web pages.
When an account is issued, the New Manager's name is added to a Manager List. The List is available to a Directory Manager every time he or she wants to put a Manager in charge of a web page or subdirectory. The Directory Manager selects a name or names from the List, submits the choice(s) to the HCC Manager Program, and access privileges are granted. The New Manager can then enter the HCC Manager Mode and begin developing the web page or subdirectory.
The Directory Manager can give more than one Manager permission to access pages and directories. He or she can also give access privileges equivalent to his or her own access levels (to share responsibilities). For example, the Directory Manager in charge of the Youth Groups Directory can give anyone on the Manager List privileges to act as a co-Directory Manager of the Youth Groups Directory. Either Directory Manager can give anyone including themselves permission to alter any subdirectory or page within the Youth Groups Directory. The Youth Groups Directory Manager may then grant another Manager access permission to the subdirectory, putting the new manager in charge of that subdirectory. The subdirectory Manager may grant anyone on the Manager's List access privileges but only to the subdirectory and all elements within it. Details on how to grant access privileges appear in Section 7.6 of the Manual.
| Caution: Once a Directory Manager gives another Manager equivalent access privileges, the new manager can delete the original manager's access privileges. |