[Businessmtg] Why I made changes in 2015

[Steve Rankin]

Jane, 

We are not discussing your motives. 

In Al-Anon we learn to actions for what they are, not for what someone
wanted them to be. 

Good intentions do not change poor actions into good actions. There is a
thing called "unintended consequences". Whether we intend those consequences
or not, we are responsible for the results of our actions. Unfortunately,
you broke your promise to the Steering Committee and made many, many changes
to the website. This was done without advising the Steering Committee,
without seeking collaboration from the members of the Steering Committee and
without authorization from the Steering Committee. That Sandie participated
or even prompted some of these changes does not relief you from your
responsibility to ASP. 



1. You said " I found the old member site confusing and difficult to
navigate, so I tried to remedy that . . ."

OK. We discussed reorganizing things like a table of contents and floating
side bar navigation tools.

But, I've found the new site more difficult to navigate than the old site. I
am not alone; many members have told me they can't find things on the new
site, but find the original site easy to find things. I lost track of how
many times some members of the SC chastised me for "making up new rules" as
we went along, when all I was doing was quoting policy off the website that
they hadn't or couldn't find. 

So, it's a fair question "Is the new site easier to navigate?" Perhaps if we
asked a few newer members to find the answers to 10 questions on the
website, and tell us how long it took and how easy it was. 

My point is that what you think is easy is easy because you organized the
site. Ditto for me and my site. We don't count. It is the other members,
especially the inexperienced members of ASP that count. 

 

2. You said "I also added pages dedicated to Al-Anon newcomers, such as the
Newcomers page and the Slogans page."

You did not have the authority to add or delete any pages. 
Remember you promised the Steering Committee that "The only difference would
be the design of the site."
We talked about background design, art work, photos, fonts - a variety of
"design" factors. 
Not once did you ever mention to me or the SC that you were changing the
wording on the web site. 
Not once did you ever mention that you had added pages.
Not once did you ever mention that you had deleted pages. 



3. Jane said "I assumed that if the SC had issues with these changes, they
would let me know."

Let me start my reply with part 3 of the Obstacles to Success in Al-Anon:

"3. Dominance: Our leaders are chosen not to govern, but to serve. No member
of Al-Anon should direct, assume authority or give advice. Our program is
based on suggestion, interchange of experience, rotation of leadership. Each
person makes progress in his or her own way and pace. Any attempt to manage
or direct is likely to have disastrous consequences for group harmony."

There are two key parts that practically jump off the page . . .

"No member of Al-Anon . . . assume authority . . ."

"Any attempt to manage or direct is likely to have disastrous consequences
for group harmony"

This is exactly what we have here. A member that has assumed authority and
the consequence is palpable "disastrous consequences for group harmony".

So, why didn't the SC have issues with these changes? Because we had no idea
that Jane had made those changes. Those changes, as well as the later
changes implemented with Sandie were made without any notice or discussion
to the Steering Committee or Business Meeting. 
Remember, we trusted our trusted servant to keep her word "The only
difference would be the design of the site."



4. Jane said "ALL feedback was very positive."

That is very true. 
But, all the feedback was also directed at the design. 
  Steve: One of the pages was still in the old theme, I suggested it be
updated to the new theme.
  Cyndi suggested to add a footer to each page with the Web Master email.
She commented " I think it looks amazing!"
  Steve: I suggested the new footer be more discrete. It stood out like a
headline.
  Steve: In response to a minor difference of opinion regarding a font issue
I told Jane " Artistic license is part of the deal. See, you're the
webmaster, not me."
  Apryl: "I LOVE the new site Jane."

The bottom line? Everyone on the Steering Committee loved the look of the
new website. Yes, we did notice a couple of very minor details - ALL DESIGN
DETAILS - that we made suggestions about. But, once again I'll point out
that there is nothing in the record about any changes in content made or
authorized. Nothing. 



5. Jane said "Additions to the Newcomer page were suggested after Sandie
became List Administrator."

Yes, we discovered those changes a year or two later. I don't recall the
date offhand, but it was quite a long time later. That discovery led to more
discoveries. The depth and breadth of the changes is shocking. I continue to
find "little" changes almost daily; "little" changes that dramatically
change some of our policies. 

Hugs,
Steve



-----Original Message-----
From: Businessmtg
[mailto:businessmtg-bounces+steve=serenitysys.com at asp-afg.org] On Behalf Of
Jane Anon
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2017 5:17 AM
To: Steve - SC
Cc: ASP Business
Subject: [Businessmtg] Why I made changes in 2015

I just want to clarify that I did not have any selfish or si,ister motives
for rearranging and adding content when I transferred the websites from the
old format to WordPress. I found the old member site confusing and difficult
to navigate, so I tried to remedy that when I switched things over. I also
added pages dedicated to Al-Anon newcomers, such as the Newcomers page and
the Slogans page. I assumed that if the SC had issues with these changes,
they would let me know. Steve created the old site, so I assumed if anyone
had a problem with it, he would and that he would let me know. But ALL
feedback was very positive. The few suggested changes were made. The links
were added at the bottom of the ASP emails. I had no reason to believe that
I had done anything wrong.

Additions to the Newcomer page were suggested after Sandie became List
Administrator. As these seemed helpful to newcomers, I added them. It wasn't
until I brought these items to the attention of the SC earlier this year
that ANY objections were raised... And frankly, I still don't understand
why.

I've done my best in my role as ASP Webmaster. My intentions were always to
help ASP members and especially newcomers. I hope that comes across even to
those who disagree with my actions.

Peace.
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