Post a News Item

How-To post an Announcement or News Story

A 'News Item' can be used for any type of announcement to the Lasqueti Community.  All news items are displayed in the "What's News" block on the front page of the website, with most recently posted news items listed at the top.  A news item can also be associated with one of the broad topics on the site so it shows up in that area, and even associated with a particular page on the site - if that page has its own news block, then the news item will also show up on that page.

1. Log-in (you must be logged in to post to the website)
2. Post to Website... News or Event (from menu in left sidebar)
3. Enter a Title for your news item - this will be listed in the What's News block.
4. Optionally, you can set the "Topic" area for your news item, so your news shows up in that area of the website.
5. Optionally, you can also 'tag' your news with any "Additional Subjects" - see How-To Tag Content.
6. Optionally, you can select a date and/or time for your item to place it on the community calendar - see How-To Post an Event
7. Enter the News Story itself in the Body field - enter whatever makes sense for your news.  You can format your story using the simple web editor - see How-To Format Your Post
8. Optionally, if you'd like your news item associated with a specific page on the site, select the page under "This news is related to...:".  This will link the page to your news item, and if the page has a news block, the news item will show up on the page itself.
9. Optionally, "Subscribe" to your news item so you will receive an e-mail if anyone comments on it.
10. Press "Submit"

You should see your News Story in full.  Notice there is an "Edit" tab at the top of the page - you can always return to the page and click on this tab to update or delete your news item. (You can also edit or delete any of your news items under "My Community.. My News")  You should also see a link to your story at the top of the "What's News" block on the front page.

Post an Event to the Community Calendar

How-To post an Event to the Community Calendar

An 'Event is really just a 'News Item' - an announcement to the Lasqueti Community - with a specific date and or time.  All events are displayed in the "What's News" block, when they are posted, and then in the "Upcoming Events" block as their date draws near.  In addition, all events are displayed on the Community Events Calendar.   An event can also be associated with a particular page on the site - if that page has its own events block, then the event will also show up on that page.

1. • Log-in (you must be logged in to post to the website)
   • Post to Website... News or Event (from menu in left sidebar)
   • Enter a Title and Body to describe your Event
     (See How-To Post a News Item for more detailed instructions on these steps)...
2. To appear on the Calendar, you must provide a Date.   The date field is must be filled out exactly right to validate, so here are some detailed instructions:
   • The "From Date" give the starting date / time for your event - always fill this one out
   • The "To Date" gives the ending date / time for your event - just leave this blank for most events (it is mostly useful for multi-day events, like workshops).
   • The date must be entered EXACTLY like the example shown just below the date field - YYYY-MM-DD.  E.g.,   2011-01-31.
     The date picker tool makes it easy - just select the date from the little pop-up calendar.
   • The time is entered in 24hr notation.  Eg. 16:00
     Leave the time slot empty for "All Day" events.
3. Press "Submit" - your Event will automatically show up in all the places it should (Upcoming Events, Community Calendar, any page associated with it, etc.)

You should see your new Event in full.  Notice there is an "Edit" tab at the top of the page - you can always return to the page and click on this tab to update or delete your Event item. (You can also edit or delete any of your news or event items under "My Community.. My News")  You should also see a link to your story at the top of the "What's News" block on the front page.

Post a Classified Ad

Lasqueti Craigslist?

The classified ads section of the site allows you post and browse ads for anything from "ride wanted" to "house for sale".  New ads are displayed on the front page (What's News) and on the Community home page

How-To: Post a Classified Ad

1. Log-in (you must be logged in to post to the website)
2. Post to Website... Classified Ad entry
3. Enter a  Title for the ad (this is what shows when the ad is listed)
4. Choose an appropriate "Category" for your ad so it's listed.
5. Enter the "Ad Text" itself - anything you like. 
   Be certain to put your contact info in the Ad Text - lasqueti.ca never reveals your info.
   See How-To: Format your Posts for help with formatting if you want to get fancy.
6. Press "Submit"

That's it.

Upload photos

Share your favorite photos of our island community!

Posting photos is easy, using tools right here on the website;

• Photos are uploaded directly from your PC;
• Every photo you upload is automatically added to your own personal photo album;
• Photos can also be added to other photo galleries on the site.
• Only "trusted users" are allowed to upload photos (- see How-To: Get More articles).

Step-by-Step : Post a Photo to the website:

1. The photo should be on your PC (ensure you know where the file is!)
2. Log-in to lasqueti.ca (you can only post content if you are logged in)
3. Select ->Post to Website... from your personal menu (- see How-To Navigate Site articles).
   • select ->Photo from the sub-menu
4. Enter a meaningful Title for your photo - the title appears with the photo whenever it is displayed.
5. From the list of "official" Photo Subjects, this will determine in which galleries your photo will appear.
   You can include your photo in multiple galleries by holding the CTRL key while selecting.
6. Optionally, you can add Other Subjects to the photo by simply typing them in (see below)
7. Upload the Image file from your PC...
   • choose the "Browse" button...
   • select the image file from you PC, press Open or OK.
   • you should see the path to your photo on your PC
   • press the upload button - you should see a small version of your photo
   • Add a title with information about the photo - shown when user puts the mouse over the image.
8. Tick the "Display on Front Page" box if the photo is suitable for display on the front page (see below).
9. Enter a Description of the photo - this could be a story about the picture, details about its photographer, date take, or location, etc.  Anything you'd like to share about the photo really.
   This information will appear when someone views the photo details.
10. If you manage a page on the site with a "mini-gallery", you will see a drop-down list labelled "For more information, please see..." - select your page from the drop-down list to attach this photo to the page's mini-gallery.
11. Choose "Preview" if you'd like to review how your post will look on the site before submitting it.
    Choose "Submit" to post your image to the site.

When you view the details of any of your own photos, you'll see that the page has "View" and "Edit" tabs.  The View tab shows you what others will see when they look at your photo's details page.  The Edit tab allows you to go back and change ANY of the information you entered above, or even delete the post to remove it from the site completely.  You can ALWAYS edit your own posts on lasqueti.ca.  So relax - mistakes happen, and you can fix them!

Guidelines for Photos on lasqueti.ca

Photos posted on the website are very public - please keep in mind that this site reflects on our community to the wider world.

Photo Galleries

• A "gallery" is really just a collection of photos "tagged" as belonging to a particular category.
• Please try to categorise your photos carefully - when a user looks through a gallery of "Wildlife", they don't want to see photos of your friends out on a binge!
• The site provides a set of "official" categories, representing subjects to be of likely interest to Lasquetians.
• You can create your own categories (and thus your own custom photo albums) by entering terms in the "Other Subjects" field.  Simply use the same term to add other photos to the same gallery.
• Once you have added a new category, the gallery is automatically added to the site and any photos "tagged" with this term will show up there.  In addition, other users can now post photos to your new gallery by simply entering the same term!

Display on Front Page

• Exceptional photos may be displayed on the front page of lasqueti.ca (in one of the photo blocks there)
• Since these photos show up on the front page of the site, this option should be reserved only for your very best work.
• The "offical" Photo Gallery tags are used to place the photo in an appropriate block - you must choose a least one of these galleries for the image to be selected
• Although you should tag your best photos for "display on front page", they will not neccessarily show up there immediately.  The webmaster uses a number of criteria to decide which photos actually get displayed at any given time. But you can be assured, photos not tagged for display on front page will never be displayed there.

General criteria for suitable photos:

• Photos should be of general relevance and interest to the Lasqueti community.
• Photos should be high-quality - show off your best work.
• No offensive, pornographic, abusive, or other inappropriate materials please.
• Photos can be of any size or resolution, although they will be automatically re-scaled if they are larger than the maximum size suitable for use on the website.
• Thumbnails (small versions) will be created automatically.
• Any photos not meeting these criteria may be removed from the website.

Failure to follow these guidelines or repeated abuse of the system will result in "trusted user" privileges being revoked.

Submit an incident Report

How-To post an Incident Report

An 'Incident Report' is used to document and report something undesirable, to alert the community and hopefully curb harmful behaviours.  These reports are heavily moderated - please stick to the facts only - What, When, How - no finger pointing, accusations, or innuendo please.

Your "Incident Report" will automatically be forwarded to the Lasqueti E-mail List (unless you choose not to do so).

1. Log-in (you must be logged in to post to the website)
2. Post to Website... Incident Report (from menu in left sidebar)
3. Enter a Short Description of the incident - this is like the subject line on an e-mail.
4. Select the "Incident Type" and "Incident Location" that best fits - you can add more details below.
5. Optionally, you can select a date and/or time that the Incident occurred.  When you click on the "Date" field, a popup calendar allows you to pick the date.  The time is given using 24 hour clock notation (e.g., 19:00 rather than 7:00 pm)
6. Enter the Incident Details - enter whatever makes sense to document the incident, but please stick to the fact - just what happened.
   • If you are reporting a theft, please list and describe the items that were stolen so folks can keep an eye out and identify them if they see them.

   (You can format your post using the simple web editor - see How-To Format Your Post)

7. Press "Submit"

You should see your Incident Report in full.  Notice there is an "Edit" tab at the top of the page - you can always return to the page and click on this tab to update or delete your news item.  You can also "Comment" on your item to add more details, etc. 
Unless you chose not to, your original report is sent to the Lasqueti E-mail List - none of the subsequent edits or comments will be sent to the list.

If you would like to submit an Incident Report anonymously, or you know someone who'd like to submit one non-electronically, please send a request to Peter J., or  e-mail mailman-owner [at] lists [dot] lasqueti [dot] ca and we will post the request for you without any identifying information.

Post Item to Lasqueti E-mail List

Some items posted to the website will automatically be sent out on the Lasqueti E-mail List (Peter's List).  This gives you the widest possible readership for your post, and hopefully will keep these post more organized and easier to find (i.e., when you realize you really DO need an extra truckload of firewood... now who was it again that had some for sale...?)

The following items posted to the site will automatically go out on Peter's List:

• Classified Ads
• News & Events
• Posts and comments on the Peter's List forum (useful for articles that are neither ads nor news)

Posting stuff on the site is easy, and keeps the site up-to-date with all the latest news.  Your posts are automatically forwarded to Peter's List, where they will be sent out in the next e-mail digest.
There's lots of help here on posting to the website:

• How to... Post a Classified Ad
• How to... Post a News Item
• How to... Post an Event to the Community Calendar

If you have something for the list that you don't want on the website for whatever reason, you can still send your submissions by e-mail to Email_List [at] lasqueti [dot] ca

Post a "Blog" (Journal) Article

What's a blog?

Short for "weB log", a blog is simply your personal space on lasqueti.ca.  You don't need to worry about your article fitting into a category, or being relevant to everyone - this is your space and you can post what you like there.  For example, if you are an avid gardner, you could keep entries for different planting dates or organic insect control methods you use;  or you could use your blog to write articles about issues you feel are important and should be discussed; or perhaps you want to share some of your poetry or philosphical ramblings.

Want to know more?  This short video (3 mins) is an excellent starting point:  Blogs in Plain English.

How-To: Post a Blog Entry

1. Log-in (you must be logged in to post to the website)
2. Post to Website... Blog entry
3. Enter the article's Title
4. Use the "Additional Subjects" to "tag" your blog entry.  This will allow the site to organize articles with similar themes.  You can enter any words here that describe your article's topic (comma seperated list) - and the auto-type box will give you a list of previously defined "tags" as you start to type.
5. Enter the article itself in the "Body" field - add anything you like.  See How-To: Format your Posts for help with formatting if you want to get fancy.
6. Press "Submit"

That's it.  Your latest article will always appear at the top of your blog.  Others can see you blog by visiting "My Community... Blogs"  and your article will also appear in the "Latest Blog Posts" block.

Using the Disucssion Forums (Message Board)

There are many ways to post messages on lasqueti.ca:

• News and Events for notices that can be posted on front-page and/or community calendar.
• Classified ads for notices about rides, jobs, lost & found, local food, and other stuff for sale.
• Personal blogs for sharing your political opinions, re-posting articles, or just going off on a rant.

By contrast, the Discussion Forums are used for starting and holding longer-duration discussions about anything you find relevant.  This can include anything from committee planning work and document sharing, to an online book club.  Anything that is more "discussion" oriented as opposed to "announcement" oriented.

About the lasqueti.ca Discussion Forums:

• These forums are primarily intended for discussing topics relating to Lasqueti Island. Please respect this and only post relevant message
   
• Please be respectful of other users. Abuse, profanity, spam, or shameless advertising will not be tolerated.
   
• See the Forum Instructions posting for some basic info about how this message board works.

Got a question?

• If you want to know how something works or "how do I...?" or "why does it...?", post your question in the Lasqueti.ca Questions and Suggestions forum.
   
• For technical questions, please contact Joseph: webmaster [at] lasqueti [dot] ca
• For questions about topics and discussions, please contact Peter: pjohnston [at] lasqueti [dot] ca

Thank You and Have fun!

Post a 'Favourite Poem'

How-To submit a "Favourite Poem"

1. Log-in (you must be logged in to post to the website)
2. Post to Website... Blog entry
3. Enter the Poem's Title
4. Enter "favourite poems" under "Additional Subjects" - this "tags" your blog entry as being a favourite poem so it will be placed on the Favourite Poems page.  (If you simply type "f", the box will give you a list to select from all "tags" that start with "f"!)
5. Enter the Poem itself in the Body field - you can also add author, publication date, and any other information of interest.
6. Press "Submit"

When you view your poem, you'll see a small link to "favourite poems" at the top - click on this to see a list of all recently submitted "favourite poems" on the site.

Format Your Posts

fckeditor.gif

How-to use the rich text Web-Editor

When you add or edit a "post", you can use the "rich text editor" (fckeditor) to add formatting.  Using it is similar to the toolbars in Word, but it has fewer options.   Always remember, your are editing an HTML document, so the editor is restricted in what it can do - this is not a Word document!

Here are some tips to get you started:

• you can format text using the toolbar, which works similarly to Word;
• "hover" over a tool button for a description of what each button does;
• use the "remove format" eraser tool to get rid of formatting you don't want or want to change;
• if you have privileges, you can insert images into your posts by pressing the "Insert Image" button on the toolbar;
• use the
• show blocks" tool to see how your html is being laid out;
• leave URL's and e-mail addresses as simply plain-text - the site will convert them to links (and hide e-mail addresses from spam-bots in the process!)
• use the "you can "roll up" the toolbar with the little arrow to the bottom-right.
• the "Source" button shows you the HTML code you are actually producing - press it a second time to go back to the "WYSIWYG" editor view.

Submit a Name (Lasqueti Dead)

How-To Submit a Person to the 'Lasqueti Dead' list

Anyone connected to Lasqueti can be remembered and paid tribute by listing them on the Lasqueti Dead or Beloved Dead lists.  All persons on these lists are submitted by members of the Lasqueti community.  Here's how:

1. Log-in (you must be logged in to post to the website)
2. Post to Website... Person (from menu in left sidebar)
3. Enter a Name for your person - usually this is in the form:  Firstname Lastname.
4. Select a category (Person is....) - choose the list this person should appear on.
5. Optionally, you can upload a photo to be shown on the person's page - ususally a photo of them.
6. Enter a Description of the person - you may enter whatever makes sense for your tribute and memory.  This might include what and when their relationship was with Lasqueti, and maybe when and where they were born and died. 
   You can format your story using the simple web editor - see How-To Format Your Post
7. Press "Submit"

You should see your new page in full.  Notice there is an "Edit" tab at the top of the page - you can always return to the page and click on this tab to update or delete your submission.  You should also see that this person has been added to the list you chose (e.g., Lasqueti Dead).

How To: Create an Account

Note: This article is about logging it to this website - if you are trying to access the
          Lasqueti Wireless Internet Connection, please see lasqueti.ca/services/broadband

Creating an account for lasqueti.ca is easy.

• Go to Create New Account
• Fill out the form by choosing an ID and password
• You will be logged in automatically and your account details will be sent to you via e-mail.

That's it! 

Some information of interest:

• Having trouble logging in?  See books/how-to/login
• Once you are logged in, you'll see your "Personal Navigation Menu" in the left sidebar.  This allows you to quickly access content relevant to you.
• If you are logged in on your home computer - don't log out.  The site will "remeber" you for up to a month so you won't need to log in again, even if you close your browser and shut-off your computer!
  If you see your "Personal Navigation Menu" in the left sidebar, then you are already logged in.
• Please ensure you always log-out from the website (link at bottom of personal menu) when using a public computer.  Even if you close the browser and shut-off the computer, your  "session" with the website remains active and the next person to use the computer will be able to use your account (and thus modify or delete your content on the site!)

Create a listing for Ride-share Coop

How-To Add yourself to the "Ride-Share Driver" list

The Lasqueti Transport Coop is a ride-share cooperative that supplies rides to those who need them.  To become a driver for the Coop, you must meet some basic requirements.  Then, simply add an entry to the Ride-share Drivers listing - here's how:

1. Log-in (you must be logged in to post to the website)
2. Post to Website... Person (from menu in left sidebar)
3. Enter your Name - the name you want people to call you when they need a driver - usually your first and/or last name.
4. Select "Ride-share Driver" under Person is.... - it is VERY important to choose the right category here or you might end up listed as Lasqueti Dead!!
5. Optional, but highly recommended -  you can browse and then upload a photo - usually a photo of yourself, but could be of your car, or a small logo or other icon.
6. The Description allows you to add other information to your listing - most importantly your contact info - you may enter whatever makes sense for your listing.
   The first 200 characters will be shown in the summary list, so start with your phone number, e-mail, or other contact info.  Additionally, you could include hours or days when you are typically available, the type or capacity of your vehicle, or other useful information for those seeking a ride.
   You can format your description using the simple web editor - see How-To Format Your Post
7. Press "Submit"

You should see your new listing in full.  Notice there is an "Edit" tab at the top of the page - you can always return to this page and click on this tab to update or delete your listing.  You should also see that your listing has been added to the main Ride-share Coop Drivers listing.

Voila!

Post Article on Page

Attach an article with your latest news, poems, or ramblings to your page!

If you maintain a page on the website, you can have a dynaimc article attached to it.  Each time you add a new article it automatically replaces the one that was previously displayed on your page.  All the articles you write are saved and available in your "blog".  For example, you might use the articles to:

• Post latest news or information about your page (e.g., see free store page);
• Post your latest poetry, ramblings, or writing;
• Write a regular "column" that supplements your page.
  
• (Note: if you want to post photos, it would be better to have a "mini-gallery" on your page.)

This feature needs to be added to your page, so contact the webmaster if you want this capability.

Step-by-Step : Post an Article to your page:

1. Log-in to lasqueti.ca (you can only post content if you are logged in)
2. Select ->Post to Website... from your personal menu (- see How-To Navigate Site articles).
   • select ->Blog entry from the sub-menu
3. Enter a meaningful Title for your article - it should be concise but descriptive.
4. Optionally, you can add Additional Subjects to the article by simply typing them in (see below)
5. Enter the Body of your article - this is the main text of the article.
6. Select the page this article is Related to.  This is the page where your article will appear.  Only pages you "own" will show up in this list - if the list is empty, you don't maintain any pages - that's OK, your article will still appear in your blog.  If you want to maintain a page on the site, contact the webmaster.
7. Choose "Preview" if you'd like to review how your post will look on the site before submitting it.
   Choose "Submit" to post your article to the site.

When you view the article, you'll see that it has "View" and "Edit" tabs.  The View tab shows you what others will see when they see your article.  The Edit tab allows you to go back and change ANY of the information you entered above, or even delete the article to remove it from the site completely.  If you do delete the current article, your previous article will automatically show up on your page again (it always shows the latest article).  You can ALWAYS edit your own posts on lasqueti.ca.  So relax - mistakes happen, and you can fix them!

Additional Subjects

• The site provides a set of "official" categories for classifying content. 
• You can create your own classification categories simply by entering terms in the "Additional Subjects" field. 
• Once you have added a new category "term", all content "tagged" with that term can be viewed together simply by clicking on the term wherever it appears.
• For example, if you write articles about the Bird Count, then "tag" those articles with the term "bird count".  You could also tag photos or news articles.  All of this content will be summarized together automatically under the new  "bird count" category.  Others can add items to this category simply be tagging their articles or photos as "bird count".  Cool eh?

Manage your Market Page

"Market Pages" were created for the Lasqueti Market Association, primarily as an easy way for farms, bakers, and craftspeople to maintain the listings in the Lasqueti Farmer's Market.
A Market Page allows you to maintain a list of produce or products you offer for sale.  It is an easy and flexible way to keep your page up-to-date with what you currently have available.  If you want to be part of the Farmer's Market and maintain your own Marktet Page, please contact the webmaster.

How-to Maintain your Market Page

Note: you must be logged in to maintain your pages - the website "knows" that you "own" these pages, and so provides all of the editing options that are not visible to other users on the site.

A Market Page has 3 distinct components:

1. The Market Page itself - this contains basic information about the farm or producer.   It has a web address (URL), which will be something like lasqueti.ca/jewel box farm  or lasqueti.ca/wild isle foods
   Once this page has been set-up, you should not need to change it often.  If you do need to change some of the information on this page, you'll see an "Edit" tab along the top of the page (this is only visible to the "owner" of the page).  When you edit your page, you can change the photo and "biography" text that appears in the right sidebar, you can change the "Teaser Image" that shows when a link to your page appears in a list, and you can change the content of the page Body itself. 
   For more help on using the web editor to format your page, please see How-to: Format your Posts.
2.  A List of Products - your product list is shown at the bottom of your page, and displays an alphabetical listing of all of your "available products".  This list of products also shows up in the Farmer's Market.  You can manage your list of products using the "Edit Product List" tab available on your Market Page.  Here you can set the availability of your products (make sure you press "Update"  to save your changes!), and edit or delete products from the list.
3. A Set of Product pages - each product in your list actually has its own page. In fact, your product list is actually just a summary of all your product pages.  The product page can contain extra details that don't show up in the list.    You can Edit an existing product either by visiting its page and selecting the Edit tab, or by visiting your "Edit Product List" tab and selecting the Edit link beside the product.  See below for adding a new product.

These 3 components are linked together automatically by the website, so that everything shows up where it should - your farm is listed in the Lasqueti Business Directory under Food lasqueti.ca/marketplace/business/directory, your products appear on the Browse Products page lasqueti.ca/marketplace/market/browse,  and you are listed in the Farmer's Market lasqueti.ca/marketplace - you don't need to worry about how to get stuff in the right place, it is all taken care of. 

Adding New Products

You can add a new product by visiting your Market Page and selecting the "Add Product" tab, or by selecting "Post to Website... Product" from your personal menu (in the left sidebar). 

Every product must have a Title - this is required.  The title is what shows up in the product lists, so should describe the basic product.  E.g., "Cucumbers", or "Rye Bread", or "Dreamcatchers".    The only other two fields that you must always fill out are the Lasqueti Market category and the "This is related to..." page selection:

Important: In order to get all the "automated linking" stuff to happen, you need to ensure that you select your farm in TWO places on the Add Product form:

1. At the top of the form you'll see a drop-down selector labelled "Lasqueti Market" - you must select your farm here so that your products show up in the Farmer's Market.
2. Near the bottom of the form is a drop-down box labelled "This is related to..." - also select your farm here - this attaches the product to your Market Page.

Ideally, this would be automated or at least require only one select, but I couldn't find an easy way to make it all work - I may be able to streamline this part of the interface in future. 

All the other fields are optional - use whichever ones you feel are suitable for your purposes:

• Photo - choose Browse to select an image from your PC, then Upload to upload it to your page - see How-to: Upload Photos Step 7 for detailed instructions.  The site will automatically re-size photos, but if it is a very large file you may need to scale it as there is a maximum upload size.  A tiny copy of the photo will show up in the product lists, and the full-sized image will appear on the product page.
• Summary - the text you enter here appears beside the product title in lists, so keep it short!  This is intended to give the variety, or other pertinent details.  E.g., "Long English", or "Organic", or "variety of sizes"
• Full Description - add all the details you want!  This does not show up in the lists, but does show on the product page if someone clicks on the product link to find out more.  Go nuts.
• Price - totally optional.  Make sure you give the units, e.g., $1.50 per lb, or $5.00 each, or $3 per bunch.  The price only shows up on your Market Page - never in the Farmer's Market - this is to avoid a "race to the bottom".  You can change the price any time, just like anything else, by simply editing the product page.
• Availability - only "Available" products appear in the lists, so select "Not Available" if you want the remove a product from your product list.  This allows you to maintain a stock of products, but only show a sub-set of them at any given time, obviously the ones you currently have available.  You can most easily manage product availablity on the "Edit Product List" tab on your Market Page - here your "Available" products are listed first, followed by the "Not Available" ones.  You can set each products availability right on this page without having to go in and edit each product separately - but don't forget to press the Update button to save your changes!

That's it.   There is a fair bit to learn here, but once you've done it a couple times, it should be an easy process.  If it's not, or if you need some extra help, please feel free to contact the webmaster.

Use the Lasqueti E-mail List

January 2022 until further notice
Temporary Hold on Covid-19 Opinion Pieces

Subscribing to the list

To subscribe to the Lasqueti E-mail List, you must have a "connection" to Lasqueti and its community.  Simply visit:  https://lists.lasqueti.ca

• Select Lasqueti Maillist.
   
• Fill out the Subscription Form - it looks like this:

The system needs to confirm you email, so watch for the confirmation message and follow the instructions to complete the process.

Note: email providers with aggressive spam filters (e.g., gmail) often classify these messages as spam.  Be sure to check your spam / promotions folder on gmail and drag messages back to your inbox to "train" the spam filter.  Better yet, whitelist all email from lists.lasqueti.ca

Sending Messages to the List

The Lasqueti e-mail list is semi-automated, but every message is "moderated" by one of several community volunteers before being sent out to you.  The list moderators ensure that spam is removed, and that submissions don't include long "reply quotes" or "signatures", or other irrelevant and distracting stuff (see Moderatrion Guidelines for details).

Please get time-sensitive postings sent in as early as possible - certainly by early evening - or your message may languish "in the queue" for a day.  You can (and should) post event notices, important announcements, or classified ads on the Lasqueti web site (see http://lasqueti.ca/books/how-to/create-content ) - such posts are automatically cross-posted to the e-mail list. This allows anyone who checks the website, including those who do not subscribe to the e-mail list, to learn about your post right away.

If something very important, and time-sensitive, and comes up at the last moment, you could consider calling one of the moderators, wake them up and ask them to get out of bed, turn on their computer, and approve your posting. It had better be important and have just come up, and not be late because you didn't get around to it earlier.  And should be followed-up with a nice loaf of bread, a chocolate cake, or other offering of appeasement ;-)

Managing Your Subscription Preferences

An account on https://lists.lasqueti.ca is required to manage your subscription preferences.  This is not the same as a subscription to a particular email list - it is an account on the web service to manage subscriptions.

"Sign Up" for an account using link at top-right.  You will need to confirm your email address, as usual.

Once logged in, use the drop-down menu under your name in top-right corner too access your "Mailman settings".  Here you can manage your subscriptions with "Global preferences" (defaults that apply to all your list subscriptions), or "List-based Preferences" to override your default preference for individual subscriptions.
The "Account" settings on this same menu allows up to update your personal profile and change your password.

The screenshot below shows the preferences you can configure for your list subscription(s).

Moderate the Lasqueti e-mail list

The Lasqueti E-mail List allows people with a Lasqueti connection to exchange information important to Lasquetians. Messages sent to the list are moderated to maintain the list’s nature, purpose, and usefulness. 

This "how-to" provides technical documentation for moderators on how to use the Mailman moderation queue.  Please see the Moderation Guidelines for information about how moderators should make decisions about messages sent to the list.

Access to the Moderation Queue

The list's moderation queue is maintained on a simple website, which shows all messages that are awaiting moderation.

You will need to "Sign Up" for an account at:   https://lists.lasqueti.ca
Then, on lists where you have moderator role, this gives you access to the moderation queue:
https://lists.lasqueti.ca/postorius/lists/lasqueti_maillist.lists.lasqueti.ca/held_messages

Email Notification

As a moderator, you will receive an e-mail notification from the system whenever a new request to the list requires moderation.  The notification contains a copy of the message, just as it will appear on the list, so you can review it before proceeding to the moderation queue. 

Moderators also receive a daily notification if there are outstanding tasks in the moderation queue for that day.

Moderation Tasks

There are two types of request that may require a moderator's approval:

• Subscription Requests:  when a new user subscribes to the list, this request goes into the "Subscription Requests" queue.  The moderator should verify that the request comes from someone with a "connection to Lasqueti", as defined in the Moderation Guidelines, before approving the subscription.
• Held Messages: when a non-member or moderated member sends a message to the list, it goes into the "Held Messages" queue.  The moderator should verify that the message conforms to the Moderation Guidelines before approving the message.

Using the Moderation Queue

Each moderation task held in the queue is listed with a number of "actions", with the most commonly used actions being: "Approve", "Reject", and "Discard" 

To moderate a set of requests, tick checkbox beside each message to process, and press button with desired action.  If you want to review the message itself, or supply a detailed rejection message, you can click the message link to process the message individually.

For a given request, the moderator may choose to:

• Accept /  Approve : this action accepts the message for publication on the list, or approves the user to be a list recipient.  Once completed, you can't undo this action.
• Reject : this action sends a message back to the person who made the request, informing them that their request was rejected.  This is a serious action, and should not be taken lightly - the moderator should always provide a reason why a request was rejected.
• Discard : this action simply discards the request, without informing anyone.  This action should be used to discard spam or duplicate messages from the list.

Protocols for Moderating

• Generally, the job of moderating is shared by several people.  So, by the time you get to the moderation queue, you may find the task has already been handled by another moderator.
   
• List moderators may (and should) simply Discard messages that are obvious spam or duplicates.
   
• List moderators should never user their position to censure opinion or block legitimate access to the list, and should always choose neutral, non-confrontational language when responding the moderation issues.
   
• List moderators should always provide a reason if they Reject a message sent to the list (see below).
   
• If you are unsure about what action to take with a request, simply leave the message on the queue, where it can be dealt with later (i.e., perhaps after obtaining additional information or conferring with other moderators).
   
• Please see the Moderation Guidelines for more complete information about moderating protocols and procedures.  There is also some sample text for common "rejection letters".

Dealing with Posts that need to be edited

Occasionally a post will need to be edited, usually because it's subject line is missing or meaningless, or because it contains a large "reply quote" or long-winded "signature", or because the contents are unacceptable in some way. Moderators are unable to make any edits - they can only accept or reject messages.

• If a message requires some editing to be acceptable for publication, you will Reject the message with an explanation about what needs to change to make the message acceptable for publication.  The system will send out a "rejection letter" to the user, containing details about the message in question along with your reason for rejecting, and with this line appended: "Any questions or comments should be directed to the list administrator at:   lasqueti_maillist-owner [at] lists [dot] lasqueti [dot] ca."
   
• Be sure that your explanation invites the user to make the requested edits and to re-submit their message - these are important instructions to always include.
   
• If a user disagrees with an editing request, and wants their message published "as-is", then we have a very rare event, and the moderators will need to decide what to do as a group.
   

Tips for Moderators

• Refer users to the Moderation Guidelines if they want to know what criteria you are using to make decisions.  Refer them to the list administrator if they are giving you grief.
   
• Use text from the sample rejection letters to keep things consistent, and ensure your language and tone are neutral.
   
• If you use the Firefox browser, you can "pin" the moderation queue page as a permanent tab on your browser - this is very handy.  Simply browse to the moderation queue page, right-click on the tab, and select "pin as app tab" - now this tab will always be there, whenever you open your browser.
   

Check Your Wireless Usage

Step 1: Choose the RIGHT plan!

You need to choose a wireless internet service plan that will cover your needs to avoid paying expensive “overage” charges, assessed if you exceed your plan's monthly limit.  Check which plan you are currently subscribed to and paying for, and consider moving to a higher usage plan if you will be using the Internet more heavily.

For current plans, rates, and bandwidth limits, please see: http://lasqueti.ca/services/broadband#rates

Step2: Check your Internet usage

Usage can vary widely, depending on the amount of data you upload or download.  You can log into the Mikrotik system at http://aux.lsqt.net/user/fw at any time to review your data use.

If you don’t already have your login and password, email service [at] lias [dot] ca or phone 855 SOS LIAS, (855 767 5427)

If your login information is not accepted then your info is incorrect or the user manager is down* and you will need to try again later.

Step3: Understanding your Interent Usage

LIAS measures your usage in Megabytes and Gigabytes.  Your upload and download usage is shown on the Mikrotik user manager page. 

Mb, MiB, MB, Mbps = megabyte

Gb, GiB, GB = gigabyte

There are 1024 Mb in 1 Gb.

* The Mikrotik UserManager has been known to stop working if you log in with Chrome or Firefox. This can get a bit confusing. In order to stop the loop, it is necessary to have the cursor pointed at the ‘stop page loading x’ or the ‘browser window x’, ready to click, and then hit the return/enter button to close the error dialog box followed by quickly clicking the x to either stop the page loading or close the browser window. Often it is possible to use the ‘activity monitor’ in OS X or the ‘task manager’ in Windows to close the browser and stop the loop.

Troubleshoot your Wireless Intenet Service

Internet not working?

Step1. Turn your computer, router and aerial off. Then turn the aerial, router and computer back on, in that order. Wait for a count of 60 between turning each on.

Step 2. If still out of service contact a neighbour on the same access point to see if others are having problems.

Step 3. If more than one member is without connection then one of them should call the tech line and report the problem with pertinent details. 1.855.SOS.LIAS or 855.767.5427

Step 4. If the problem is at the member’s site then they will need to arrange to have it fixed themselves.

If you want an installer or the tech assistant or the network manager to come to your home then there is a $25.00 an hour charge with a $50.00 minimum. Call 1 855 767 5427, or if you can email, service [at] lias [dot] ca

Maintain a LIAS Access Point

Login

You will log in to the app here:   http://ap.lias.ca/
(tip: bookmark that page)

Use your lasquet.ca login and password.  

• If you don’t have a lasqueti.ca account, create one.
• or if  you have forgotten your password, request a new one. 

Note: the AP app is NOT accessed via lasqueti.ca, you must login to the app here:    http://ap.lias.ca/

Permissions

To help us ensure the integrity (and privacy) of the data stored in the AP app, each user is given a fairly restrictive set of permissions (e.g., LIAS directors, staff, volunteers, and members have different permissions and capabilities on the site).  
As a Maintainer, you should be able view the Access Point Summary, and submit AP Inspection Reports:

AP Status

In the Access Point Summary, you can get a quick overview of the status of each AP -- when was the last time it was maintained, are there any outstanding maintenance items that need attention, etc.

You can click on any AP in the summary to view detailed information about that AP, including a list of members connected to the AP.

For AP's with remote monitoring systems, you will also get a summary of the live voltage and a link to access the remote monitoring system to view charging history.

Submit an AP Inspection Report

The heart of the system are the inspection reports made by volunteer AP Maintainers when they visit an AP site.
From the "Access Points" menu, choose "Submit AP Inspection Report".

You will be presented with a form to record details about your inspection, to make note of any repairs, maintenance, or supplies required at the AP, and to notify LIAS tech staff if there is an issue that needs immediate attention.   You can attach one or more images to your report, if a photograph or diagram is required.

If you have a mobile phone or tablet, you can enter the form data directly while on-site.  Otherwise, you could print a paper copy of the form (download printable PDF here) to fill-out on-site, and then enter the report information when you are back to your computer.

Make a Request / Track a Job

Each AP maintains a 'Job List' for tracking on-going projects, equipment requests, etc.  You'll find the job list at the bottom of the AP page, and there you click on any job to see the current status or add a new comment.  You can also make a request or suggestion by adding a new job for the AP.

Notify AP Members

If the Access Point is likely to be powered down during maintenance or you need to contact all members connecting to a specific AP,  a link on the AP page allows you to send an e-mail to all the AP users:

Feedback Welcome

The LIAS AP app is a custom-built piece of software, designed to improve communications between the board, staff, volunteers, and members.  If you have questions about how it works, or suggestions for new features or ways in which it could be improved to serve your needs better, please contact us -- your feedback is very much appreciated.