How to Submit Flyers for Posting

How to Submit Flyers for Posting
02/01/2003


The Maca Web team is prepared to accept data for posting to the site in a variety of formats. The preferred methods, in order, from first to last are:
	1	HTML - All information properly formatted and ready for presentation
	2	Word - any version
	3	Text - All information properly formatted and ready for presentation

Emailing the files to Maca
	If there is more than one file, you should consider "zipping" it and then attaching it. By zipping the files, they become a collection and are more likely to be sent/received unaltered and when saved at the receiving end, less likely to be confused with other files or lost.
	If you are sending a Text file, it is strongly recommended you zip it, even if there is only one file. Text files are sometimes appended into the body of the email along the way. This usually results in any effort to make the information appear nicely, getting destroyed.
	YOU, should take responsibility for reducing the chances of mistakes happening with your files. This is ultimately for your own benefit.
	A	You may mess up and send the same file or even accidently over-write the new or previous file you have.
	B.	We receive lots of files and lots of updates. If we are forced to rename the files, we might make any number of mistakes, such as using the old one again instead of the new one you just sent.
	C.	The easier you make it for mistakes to happen, the more often they probably will happen.

Here are some recommended guidelines for your process.
	A.	NAMES: Establish a naming convention and use it all the time. We suggest one of two approaches:
		1	Event Date prefix then title then extra info. For example 2001-07-14_204th_Burger_King_Scholastics_Flyer 2001-07-14_204th_Burger_King_Scholastics_Results
			This lets you find everything by date
		2	Title then # if any then extra info then Event Date Suffix For example Burger_King_204th_Scholastics_Flyer_2001-07-14 Burger_King_204th_Scholastics_Results_2001-07-14
			Approach number 1 seems to be generally more useful and easier to deal with.
			This lets you find everything by the event name

		We recommend that the date be the date of the event and not your revision date. The revision date is most useful to only one person, you. By using the event date in the name, you clearly communicate your intention of when the item is for. This conveys information about the timeliness of our posting the information and distinguishes it from any previous events that may have had the same name. For example can you figure out which of these word documents are supposed to replace, if at all, any of the other files that were sent?
		1	Monthly_G10_03-04-00.doc (example of BAD practice)
		2	Monthly_G10_03-07-00.doc (example of BAD practice)
		3	Monthly_G10_03-11-00.doc (example of BAD practice)
		4	Monthly_G10_03-19-00.doc (example of BAD practice)
		5	Monthly_G10_04-02-00.doc (example of BAD practice)
			Hmm... Well, the intent was that #1 was for an event on March 25th and #2 was for the follow up event on April 8th. Then #3 was sent to correct the April 8th event and then a few days later a change was made to the March 25th event so #4 was sent. Later, #5 was sent for the event in May. Of course, you got emails explaining all this. What do you think the chances are the one or both of us is going to mess things up? I'd say pretty good. Imagine multiple events coming from the same person with stories behind what to do with each item in it. Hey, we go through this all the time. This is why we're taking the time to create this document!!

	B.	REVISIONS: By following the recommended naming conventions, it is pretty clear what exactly what event on what date we are dealing with. What is not accounted for YET, is how to modify things to account for any revisions.
		When making any revisions we recommend the following:
		1	Never touch your original. Either copy it and give it a new name or open it for editing and BEFORE you DO ANYTHING, do a SAVE AS of the document to a new name.
		2	Using Naming convention 1 from the previous section, we recommend you simply add a revision letter to the name or a revision date to the end of the name. For example, consider the following revised document.
			2001-07-14_204th_Burger_King_Scholastics_Flyer_A.doc 2001-07-14_204th_Burger_King_Scholastics_Flyer_B.doc 2001-07-14_204th_Burger_King_Scholastics_Flyer_C.doc or 2001-07-14_204th_Burger_King_Scholastics_Flyer_2002-06-05.doc 2001-07-14_204th_Burger_King_Scholastics_Flyer_2002-06-05.doc 2001-07-14_204th_Burger_King_Scholastics_Flyer_2002-06-095.doc
			If you didn't have a revision on the original, you can rename it to show that it is the original.

	C	REVISION ON THE PAGES: When ever you revise the document, ALWAYS put a clear indicator of the revision ON the pages. It can be very discrete, very small, but it should be there. This lets both you and us be sure we ultimately ended up with the intended version.
		You might be thinking that what we've talked about so far is overkill. Well,
		1	We don't read, don't want to read, and don't want to spend time dealing with things sent in to us. We post it and move on. We are volunteers and generally have a lot of other web related things that need tending to.
		2	It's your flyer, not ours. If it is incorrect, we're not the ones who are going to get the complaints. While we try to do our role as responsibly as possible, we need your help to help us do it right. Following the guidelines reduces bad things from happening at both your end and ours.

	D.	FORMATTING: Please read our Helpful hints on Posting. This describes how to optimally construct the contents of your files.

	E	In a nutshell what we are saying is:
			Always leave the previous version alone and make a new one from it. This way you have all versions and never accidentally destroy what you are working on.
			Uniquely identify ever version of anything sent
			Make the name describe accurately what the item is and when it is for
			Put a revision identifier ON the pages themselves so everyone can be sure of just what version it is.
		ALSO	If it is a Scholastics only event, we recommend that the word Scholastics be easy to spot on the flyer or as part of the name of the event.

		Email to WebMaster@MassChess.org Do not send to individuals at MACA. The Web team makes sure things get done in a timely fashion. An individual may not check their mail for weeks and in addition might be too busy to try and help you out.

		Last but not least, give us short and concise instructions on how to handle the files you send us.

If you have any questions or need assistance in preparing the files, please make a help request to the Web Team by emailing us at WebMaster@MassChess.org