Website & Other Online Facilities
The Beyond War online presence consists of three primary facilities: 1) our main website; 2) our online community center; and 3) our contact management database.
Each of these facilities is a separate installation running independently of the others. However, they all are integrated with each other to varying degrees for sharing data and cross-linking information.
The website and contact database both run on the same dedicated hosting server, although they are different applications. The community center runs on the third-party Ning platform. Special software written for us by Trellon establishes certain data connections between these various systems.
We also use online tools for our email newsletter, scheduling, document collaboration, screen sharing, telephone and video conferencing, and other purposes, which are not covered in this document.
1. Main Website – www.BeyondWar.org
This replaced our old website and has much of the same content. It is like many other organization websites that presents relatively static information about our identity, values, people, resources, etc.
In addition to presenting this static information, the main website has extensive cross-linking to our online community center for connecting visitors with more dynamic content arising from our work.
2. Online Community Center – www.BeyondWar.ning.com
This is where our community creates dynamic content about members, teams, forums, blogs, events, videos, photos, audio, etc. This facility is open to the public (except for a few private teamrooms), but someone must join the Beyond War community to participate in creating content there.
Our main website links extensively to the online community center whenever it refers to changing information about members, teams, events, and some of our video and other resources. It also links to the community center as the preferred channel for enrollment as a Beyond War member.
Visitors to the community center can get to our website with the “Website” tab at the top of every page. Visitors to our website can get to the community center with the “LOGIN” link at the top of every page.
3. Contact Management Database – beta.actionteams.org
This is where we keep all of our records for members and other contacts, including names, addresses, phone numbers, email, contributions, and many other pieces of information about their participation. This application is private. Only people with a special password protected account can access it.
CiviCRM is the name of the application we use for managing this data. It is an open source platform that is designed to be easy to use. However, due to its complexity and power, it does take some measure of training and experience to be able to skillfully and safely use the full range of its many functions.
Participant Information Flow
There are three places where information about Beyond War participants can get into our online systems: 1) the main website; 2) the online community center; or 3) directly input into CiviCRM.
1. Main Website
There is a newsletter signup form in the top left panel of every page on our main website. When someone completes that form we receive only their email address for our weekly newsletter.
After subscribing to the newsletter, the web browser lands on a success page that confirms their subscription and invites them to consider becoming a member of the Beyond war community: http://beyondwar.org/confirmapp.htm
If they click on this link they will end up on our membership explanation page: http://www.beyondwar.org/get_involved/membership.htm
This is also the page that visitors come to from anywhere else on the main website when they click on the “Become A Member” or “Join Now” links that appear nearly everywhere on the site.
On this page, we explain the nature of the Beyond War commitment in becoming a member, and link with a “join now” animated graphic to the signup form page in our online community center.
This page also offers an option for someone to privately become a member of the Beyond War community without joining the online community center or creating a public profile there, through a contact form page on our main website: http://beyondwar.org/get_involved/contactform.htm
2. Online Community Center
The signup form page in our online community center is where most people will enroll as members of Beyond War: http://beyondwar.ning.com/main/authorization/signUp?
Through this facility, they also can create a complete public profile with a personal photo and city and state location. Their profile page also will come to include links to all their activity in the online center, including their blogs, forum discussions, videos, photos, events, comments, team memberships, etc.
3. Contact Management Database
Staff and specially trained volunteers with password protected accounts also can enter participant information directly into the CiviCRM contact management system. Typically they would use this to enter information from signup forms at events, from financial contributions and other activities.
In addition to manually entered data here, CiviCRM is the final destination of all contact information from website subscriptions and enrollments and online community center sign ups. Staff and volunteers also use this database for managing information, organizing contacts, and maintaining member records.
Each of these facilities is a separate installation running independently of the others. However, they all are integrated with each other to varying degrees for sharing data and cross-linking information.
The website and contact database both run on the same dedicated hosting server, although they are different applications. The community center runs on the third-party Ning platform. Special software written for us by Trellon establishes certain data connections between these various systems.
We also use online tools for our email newsletter, scheduling, document collaboration, screen sharing, telephone and video conferencing, and other purposes, which are not covered in this document.
1. Main Website – www.BeyondWar.org
This replaced our old website and has much of the same content. It is like many other organization websites that presents relatively static information about our identity, values, people, resources, etc.
In addition to presenting this static information, the main website has extensive cross-linking to our online community center for connecting visitors with more dynamic content arising from our work.
2. Online Community Center – www.BeyondWar.ning.com
This is where our community creates dynamic content about members, teams, forums, blogs, events, videos, photos, audio, etc. This facility is open to the public (except for a few private teamrooms), but someone must join the Beyond War community to participate in creating content there.
Our main website links extensively to the online community center whenever it refers to changing information about members, teams, events, and some of our video and other resources. It also links to the community center as the preferred channel for enrollment as a Beyond War member.
Visitors to the community center can get to our website with the “Website” tab at the top of every page. Visitors to our website can get to the community center with the “LOGIN” link at the top of every page.
3. Contact Management Database – beta.actionteams.org
This is where we keep all of our records for members and other contacts, including names, addresses, phone numbers, email, contributions, and many other pieces of information about their participation. This application is private. Only people with a special password protected account can access it.
CiviCRM is the name of the application we use for managing this data. It is an open source platform that is designed to be easy to use. However, due to its complexity and power, it does take some measure of training and experience to be able to skillfully and safely use the full range of its many functions.
Participant Information Flow
There are three places where information about Beyond War participants can get into our online systems: 1) the main website; 2) the online community center; or 3) directly input into CiviCRM.
1. Main Website
There is a newsletter signup form in the top left panel of every page on our main website. When someone completes that form we receive only their email address for our weekly newsletter.
After subscribing to the newsletter, the web browser lands on a success page that confirms their subscription and invites them to consider becoming a member of the Beyond war community: http://beyondwar.org/confirmapp.htm
If they click on this link they will end up on our membership explanation page: http://www.beyondwar.org/get_involved/membership.htm
This is also the page that visitors come to from anywhere else on the main website when they click on the “Become A Member” or “Join Now” links that appear nearly everywhere on the site.
On this page, we explain the nature of the Beyond War commitment in becoming a member, and link with a “join now” animated graphic to the signup form page in our online community center.
This page also offers an option for someone to privately become a member of the Beyond War community without joining the online community center or creating a public profile there, through a contact form page on our main website: http://beyondwar.org/get_involved/contactform.htm
2. Online Community Center
The signup form page in our online community center is where most people will enroll as members of Beyond War: http://beyondwar.ning.com/main/authorization/signUp?
Through this facility, they also can create a complete public profile with a personal photo and city and state location. Their profile page also will come to include links to all their activity in the online center, including their blogs, forum discussions, videos, photos, events, comments, team memberships, etc.
3. Contact Management Database
Staff and specially trained volunteers with password protected accounts also can enter participant information directly into the CiviCRM contact management system. Typically they would use this to enter information from signup forms at events, from financial contributions and other activities.
In addition to manually entered data here, CiviCRM is the final destination of all contact information from website subscriptions and enrollments and online community center sign ups. Staff and volunteers also use this database for managing information, organizing contacts, and maintaining member records.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Winslow Myers on -
Good, helpful explanation. Would it be good to put this, or an abbreviated form of it, in the weekly newsletter?
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Permalink Reply by Melissa Ruhl on -
Thanks Bill! We also have a group on Facebook and a YouTube account, right?
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Permalink Reply by William L Hallmark on -
Thanks Bill. This is very helpful.
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