NEWS FROM OLD GIRLS
Tina Powell (1968-75)
The Wonders of the Internet!
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Have you ever wondered how your Newsletter gets to you? For those few who receive a hard copy, it’s arguably more straightforward: Liz collates the various items she’s been sent for inclusion and puts a Newsletter together; she sends that to the printer, who duly produces the finished article; a box of newsletters is delivered, to be posted off, as needed. What of the many who, instead, view their Newsletter on line?
That’s where I come in!
When Liz sends her file to the printer, she also sends it to me. I then set about converting the Newsletter to an online version. As well as ensuring all the words and pictures are there, and will be accessible on a screen, I also have to put in the various links, which enable the reader to move swiftly to where she wants to be. I have to check each link is working correctly, before “publishing” the finished item online. Obviously, though, there’s no point having it there, if no one knows about it, so the final part of my job is to e-mail everyone a link, which will open the latest Newsletter. Given the need to protect people’s data (which includes their e-mail addresses), those e-mails have to be “blind copies”. As many e-mail providers reject anything which is being copied to a large number of people, I can e-mail only 10 people at a time. With a large number of Alumnae on our data base, that’s a large number of e-mails to send. Add into the mix that e-mail providers will pull the plug, when they spot multiple e-mails being sent (necessitating my waiting an hour, or two, between batches) you can appreciate this can be a time-consuming exercise.
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At this point, some of my fellow committee members stepped in, to help. I sent them an e-mail, setting out what needed to be done, but it seemed the task was not as straightforward as I imagined.
As a result, I ended up sending out all of the e-mails: in very small batches, over a couple of days, and seated as close to the wifi router and generator as possible!
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Thanks to Tina for her knowledge and ability to do this for us poor less computer-literate souls!
Last time, there was an added complication. I was in India, for all of October, volunteering at the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts world centre, in Pune (left). Internet connections can be a tad variable in India. Electricity supply can be unpredictable. I managed to publish the online version of the Autumn, 2022 Newsletter, but was concerned I would face challenges getting the e-mails out.
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