Page Comparison

ATTENDEES: Wendy, Jon, Oliver, Dan, Jeremy, Darren, Jared (guest)
Regrets: Flavio

F2F and Web site planning

See https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DIPnvDMWo6SNxxf7bH4O5cwWCUWkrHL-aDlRNCqVM9M/edit?usp=sharing

ACTIONS:
Jared:

1. Updated dump of database - completed 2024-08-08

2. Functionality of administrative section

3. Meeting time with Michael - set for 2024-08-14 8:30 EDT, 13:30 London

Wendy: (Notification to Content Managers)

1. Hold on updates during next week (Training, Admin, Marketing, Product) - completed 2024-08-08

Text of email:
Chantal, Kathryn, Jon, Jared, Hilde, and Arofan,

I am writing to you as content managers on the http://ddialliance.org site. I have included Hilde and Arofan as they are preparing DDI-CDI for a vote in September and may need content changes in the website regarding this.

The Technical Committee will be beginning the process of moving the http://ddialliance.org site from ICPSR to the UKDA. ICPSR will be creating downloads of the site content between now and Tuesday 13 August. We will then be creating a prototype of the new site. We will be running parallel sites while we check out the accuracy and stability of the new site. We would like to keep any changes to an absolute minimum for a period of time. We should be able to provide an estimate of this time period by the end of next week.

To that end please:

1. Do not make any changes to the current http://ddialliance.org site before August 20.

2. Follow guidelines that the TC will provide before August 20 regarding any necessary changes made for a period of time following August 20.

3. If you need to make content changes before August 20 or during the limited access period defined in the guidelines we will provide, please contact me to ensure that changes are reflected on both sites

4. We understand that upcoming events such as the CDI vote will require some changes as well as needed announcements. We will keep this period of limited change as brief as possible. We simply want to ensure that content changes are made to both sites in a consistent manner.

Thank you for your help with this move,

Use of Zoom Summary
Jared forwarded the summary from last week
Wendy has sent to members for review and comment
Looks useful, will need to configure meeting set up to have summary sent directly

Post meeting:
Jared raised 2 additional issues in an email which will be added to agenda outline

1. Web hosting expenses. What will they be and through which provider. If above a certain amount, I may need to vet the provider through UM.

2. Administration. I'd us to keep the number of people who can make direct edits on the site to a low number. Prior to the clean up a few years ago, we had 70+ users with edit permission. Most hadn't logged in for years (and I removed their access due to security risks), but the disparate editors sometimes made for dislocated content. My recommendation is to have the TC edit the Products section. For the other content (mainly involving Training and Marketing), I suggest requests work through me. This helps make sure we have consistent messaging. Thoughts?

ZOOM SUMMARY (edited)

Meeting summary for Technical Committee (08/08/2024)

Quick recap

The team discussed upcoming website changes, a security incident involving the University's website, and the issue of language repetition in HTML output. They also planned for the organization and storage of documents in the new 'docs.ddialliance.org' website, and the need for improved organization and descriptions for their working groups. Lastly, they arranged for transportation to UCL for upcoming meetings and discussed the transfer of the current site's content to a new database.

Next steps

• Jared to provide an updated database dump of the current website content to Darren.
• Jared to compile a list of current administrative functionalities on the website for the team.
• Jared to schedule a meeting with Michael (web team) for the following week to discuss potential needs.
• Wendy to send notification to content managers about holding off on website updates during the transition period.
• John to send his phone number to the team for emergencies during the London meeting.

Summary

Upcoming Travel, AI Tool, and New Team Members
Jon, Wendy, Dan, and Jeremy discussed their upcoming travel plans and the use of a new AI summary tool. Wendy expressed difficulty in accessing the DDI Alliance Mail to share the summary, and Jared offered to forward it.

Website Changes and Emus Discussion
The main agenda was then addressed - plans to announce upcoming website changes to members and users, gather feedback, and determine rollout strategy. Wendy shared a document outlining these plans and asked Jared for his input on prioritizing next steps.

University Website Security Incident Discussion
Jared discussed a security incident involving the University's website, where malicious ads were injected. The University's Information Assurance team, responsible for a major incident a year ago, wanted to take the site down due to the security incident. However, Jared disagreed and managed to get a commitment from the team to keep the existing site up until December, with a possibility of minor internal shifting. Wendy questioned the need for a backup plan, given the issues with the current setup and functionalities, and the ongoing work on the prototype.

Addressing HTML Repetition in RDF Release
The team discussed the issue of language repetition in the HTML output of the CV group, which was identified as a potential problem for the upcoming RDF release. Oliver and Wendy had been exploring the possibility of transforming the HTML output to eliminate duplication, a solution preferred over holding up the entire chain. Despite concerns about the aesthetic of the output, the team agreed that the priority was to have the RDF resolution system in place for the CDI release. The team planned to further discuss and resolve the issue in their next meeting.

News Item URL Structure Discussion
Jared and Darren discussed the potential changes to the URL structure of the news items on their website. Jared mentioned that there were over 50 news items, and Darren was unable to access the site to confirm the details. Oliver suggested setting up redirect rules if the URLs did change. There was also a discussion about the possibility of only importing news from the last year to support archives, but this would mean losing older content. Darren agreed to investigate the redirection issue, and Jon checked if the current URLs were supported by Hubspot.

Improving Member List and Publication Functions
Jared discussed the functionality of the Member List section and expressed interest in improving its display capabilities. Darren suggested that 80-90% of the new prototype should be completed within a week for feedback, with the remaining 10% to be addressed in the following weeks. Jared also brought up the topic of the publication section's functionality in the new site. Wendy requested Jared to list any additional functionalities to better understand the current system and identify any gaps or issues.

Organizing Documents on New Website
The team discussed the organization and storage of documents in the new 'docs.ddialliance.org' website. Jared, Darren, and Wendy discussed the need for a balance between HTML pages and PDF documents, with the intention of providing users with both easy-to-access HTML content and the security of PDF backups. They also discussed the potential for storing these documents in an S3 bucket, rather than internally on the website. The team agreed on the importance of having a clear and intentional structure for the new site.

Improving Working Group Organization and Communication
Jared, Jon, and Wendy discussed the need for improved organization and better descriptions for their working groups. They agreed on the importance of having text, not just links, for easier navigation and decided to move forward with the plan to transfer content while keeping functionality. Wendy proposed that a placeholder for an upcoming change be included in the next newsletter, with further details to be discussed later in the year with working groups. Wendy also requested that future communications be copied to Oliver, who is now the vice chair, and mentioned that she and Oliver would be reviewing the distribution of tasks within the committee. Lastly, Wendy requested a list of functionalities for the administrative sections from Jared for the following week.

Database Dump and Site Updates Strategy
Jared will ask Michael to provide another database dump for the current site's content, which will be sent to Darren. The team will discuss the best time for this transfer, likely on Wednesday. The team also agreed to hold off on making updates to the site until after the switch, with Jared suggesting he might create new content items instead. The team will reassess their approach after the prototype is up and before finalizing the site.

Transportation, Arrivals, and Notifications
Wendy and Jon discussed transportation arrangements for themselves and the others attending the meetings at UCL next week, with Jon recommending the Elizabeth line. Darren confirmed his arrival time on Tuesday morning. Wendy assigned an action for Jon to send emergency contact details. Wendy also assigned an action for herself to send a notification to the content managers and remind Jared about updating the database functionality and scheduling a meeting with Michael.

ATTENDEES: Wendy, Jon, Dan, Jeremy, Oliver, Flavio

Codebook - Pull Request 41

F2F
Jared's email
This is to check on the status of the web site migration. When do you plan to switch it over to the new host? When can we turn off the ICPSR-hosted site? Will we retain the same URLs at the new hosted site? Do you need our web team to be available for a few hours during the planned switchover? For content transfer, is this inventory still accurate?

I had one to-do relating to formalizing an agreement about who is doing what for web and resolution support. I recently spoke with the UM General Counsel office about creating legal agreements for web site hosting, maintenance, and support, as well as supporting the resolution system that has been set up to support CV and RDF vocabulary resolution. While we do not need details to create a draft for the web site actions, can you please specify the specific tasks and deliverables for supporting the resolution system?

I'm out next week without access to email or phone but will be back on the 5th. Can we talk then? I'm especially interested in how the Secretariat-owned sections, like Get Involved, Publications, About will function on the new site. I'm also interested in communicating these planned changes to the wider community.

Notes from CDI for TC:

Lifecycle using CDI as a bridge standard to SDMX
RDF expressions of DDI versions are moving forward
See if we can get Eurostat to look at the RDF from Lifecycle
UNECE is having a meeting 3rd week of October with side meeting of CDI/SDMX alignments
Eurostat has a conference in March NTTS (submission date 30th of September)
https://cros.ec.europa.eu/dashboard/ntts2025

CDIF
http://Schema.org in the middle pointing out to different things
Handling handoff between CDIF and DDI is CDI
There hasn't been a discussion of Products that should be involved

TC is accountable for some outreach activities and we need to coordinate this better with Scientific Board and other outreach activities. There should be broad support for the Product Suite with targeting taking place where appropriate.

FROM ZOOM SUMMARY (edited)

Meeting summary for Technical Committee (08/01/2024)

Quick recap

The team addressed various issues related to the code book, the website's hosting location, and the potential risks of transferring content to a functional site. They also discussed the need for improvements in the content management system, the display of language labels in CV groups, and the organization of documents on the docs.alliance.org website. Lastly, they touched upon upcoming developments from UNECE and Eurostat, and the importance of transparency and consultation with the technical committee.

Next steps

• Oliver to implement corrections for the HTML and SKOS files for the controlled vocabulary site by the end of the London meeting week.
• Wendy to write to Jared expressing that it's unreasonable for ICPSR to move the deadline for the site migration to September 1st with such short notice.
• Dan to add a task for the London meeting to create a static version of the DDI site as a backup plan.
• Jon and Darren to evaluate and provide feedback next Thursday on the feasibility of moving the majority of the site content by the end of August.

Summary

Addressing Code Book Issues and Feedback
Wendy addressed several outstanding issues related to Codebook. Wendy clarified the meanings of certain attributes, corrected a misspelling of 'orchid', and improved the formatting and clarity of the documentation. Wendy also planned to review codebook tree issues from Knut. Dan and Oliver provided feedback and suggestions for the commit message when merging the changes. Wendy thanked them for their input and agreed to implement their suggestions.

Website Hosting Change and Challenges
Jared from ICPSR notified the team that due to recent security issues, they need to move their website from the current hosting location by September 1st, much earlier than the previously agreed December 2025 deadline. The team discussed the challenges posed by this shortened timeline and the need for a temporary hosting solution during the transition period. Dan and Jon suggested pushing back on the new deadline as unreasonable with such short notice, but also proposed discussing interim options like a backup site with Jared and Dan in the next meeting.

Site Transfer and Backup Plan Discussion
Jon, Wendy, Dan, and Oliver discussed the potential risks and solutions related to moving the majority of their site over to a functional site by the end of August. Jon expressed his belief that the site's content could be successfully transferred, but highlighted the challenges with DNS and other related issues. As a backup plan, Dan suggested creating a static version of the site. Oliver agreed, noting that the only interactive part of the site was the search functionality, which could be removed. Jon proposed directing their concerns to Jared, suggesting an extension as a more reasonable solution. Wendy agreed to draft a letter to Jared, with Jon's review for accuracy.

Addressing Duplicate Language Labels
Wendy and Oliver discussed the issue of duplicate language labels in the HTML and SKOS files for the controlled vocabulary site. They agreed that this duplication was unintended and needed to be addressed, with potential solutions including transforming the SKOS file. They also discussed the availability of multiple language versions in the HTML for their publication plan, with Oliver explaining their current setup using secondary HTML pool methods through the REST API. Wendy acknowledged the convenience of having multiple languages, and they agreed to consider whether they wanted to adopt the same approach.

Addressing Content Management System Issues
Oliver and Wendy discussed issues related to the use of a content management system. Oliver explained that the system generates files each time a publish action is performed, rather than on the fly. He also pointed out that the current versioning system for languages was causing problems. Wendy expressed concerns about the time it would take to make changes, to which Oliver suggested two potential solutions: making corrections during his trip to London and starting a new service without the current system. Wendy agreed to these proposals, emphasizing the importance of getting the project up and running.

Addressing CV Groups Language Label Issue
The team discussed the issue of language labels not displaying correctly in the CV groups, as raised by the CV group. Dan expressed his opinion that this issue doesn't affect the usage and suggested improving the rendering. Oliver agreed but noted that users might prefer to wait until the error is fixed before setting it to hold. Wendy proposed a temporary fix and prioritized it, as it was only for a limited time. The team also discussed the need for a flag to notify users of errant duplication in multiple languages, which Wendy suggested would not significantly impact overall usability.

docs.alliance.org Website Structure
Wendy and Jon discussed the organization and presentation of documents and specifications on the docs.alliance.org website. Jon suggested that the site should provide options for users to make decisions and that specifications should have a presence on the main site. They also discussed the potential for confusion between the docs and main sites, and the need for clear guidelines. Dan added that the new system should accommodate automatically generated artifacts from specifications. The team agreed to further clarify the site's structure and content.

Upcoming Developments and Transparency Concerns
Wendy discussed upcoming developments from the UNECE and Eurostat, particularly regarding Lifecycle v4.0 and the use of RDF. Wendy also mentioned an upcoming conference with a submission deadline of 30th September. Jon expressed concerns about the lack of transparency and consultation with the technical committee regarding these initiatives. Wendy agreed to discuss these issues further with Oliver, the new vice chair, and to consider the committee's involvement in future activities.