Paul Pierre
Admin · 29 August 2018
I just posted a link to the AKA Beginner's Guide on a club page where there is interest in killies. Someone please tell the AKA Webmaster to fix the Nav links ahead of and following the content. There are problems there and being kind, they look like they were coded 25 years ago. They also do not match the format of the content section at all.
I also point out that on our AKA main page, the beginner's fish section offering fish to new members says we will begin shipping fish in March of 2018. It is now just about September 2018 so we might want to update that to say when we will stop shipping fish in 2018. Problem is it then says there are no fish at this time anyway. THEN there is a link to 'Join And Select Your Beginner's Pair Of Killies.' [that we don't have?]
It is 2018. I'm not advocating dropping the hard copy, printed Journal and going all electronic. I'm not going there and this isn't about that. I'm just saying that we must also have an electronic presence or forget about attracting new, younger members. That presence is the first thing many will see of the AKA, and the website as it stands now isn't doing us any good at all. From the home page I can link to an explanation of the George Maier Fund, or the German Killifish Association, but unless I know the Beginner's Guide is in there somewhere and find the link on Google, I can't get to it from the home screen or any other screen I've been able to pull up. The Beginner's Guide should be front and center, or at least reachable, and while we are at it, we might consider adding some pictures to it. Remember it is 2018.
The website is also coded to require the latest Adobe Flash Player to be able to view some of the content pages. I don't use this on my PC so can't view them. So far as I know, no Apple mobile devices have Adobe Flash. If you get to some of those pages requiring Adobe Flash, you also cannot get out and back to the home page using the Home link on that page. Just one more of many areas that badly need attention if we are going to go forward with any credibility. Just my opinion.
27 comments

Paul Pierre Lest I am viewed as being picky here, if my potential member clicks on the 'About The AKA' or the 'Contact Us' links at the top of the Beginner's Guide page, this is what she will get. It hardly makes you want to continue.
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Richard Sexton Flash is dead, Adobe gave it end of life status.
WebM is the replacement. Youtube uses it Everyone can run that.
Flash came from Macromedia shockwave which came from Macromedia Director which came from Keith Doyle's Amiga Director program. I typesetter the manual for that.
The bugs in that first version Keith Wrote were still in the last version when Adobe killed it. That's sorta why they killed it. I know the chief scientist there, he told me it can't be fixed. Of course it can he's just lazy.
Getting the beginners manual us easy. Whoever set up this newest incarnation lts all the directories wide open. Anyone can grab all of it.
They should appoint an archivist. And get some real IT expertise. This is just embarrassing. 1

Paul Pierre It doesn't have to break the bank. There are many non-professional coders who could do a really decent job. I'm also talking about non-computer savvy visitors finding the Guide easily. There are two or three links to the GM Fund on the home page and not one to the Guide. Just one small point of many. 1

Richard Sexton Um, well they do a great job of the show! They should outsource this. Amateurs have had a go for 20 years and the results are not pretty. I think Tony and RIchard are in charge now, they're good people, they'll figure this out eventually.

Richard Pierce I am not in charge and Tony is helping supply photos for the gallery. 1

Richard Sexton Well I'm sure they'll figure it out in time. You might wish to inform them to look in the config and not leave all the directories wide open. Anybody can take anything, even the members only stuff. Regards to both. 1

Paul Pierre Point taken. Google American Killifish Association and go to the first link.

Lee Summers I was just playing around on the site... Currently using Microsoft edge... So I can't view half of the site... But... To get to the beginner's guide you have to find the "public library", than find the drop down menu, than find the beginners guide... It really needs to have its own button, I would say just above "Join/reinstate/renew"... I also noticed that you can still sign up for the 2018 AKA Convention...

Mark Plessner Well I am a new member. It took me a VERRRRRY LOOOONG time to figure out the web site. Lee Summers and others came to my rescue Thank goodness. Without them tossing me a life ring I would have given up.

Ron Skylstad As someone who works in branding and marketing, the website (even just the homepage) is also rife with what I call "insider culture" – the assumption that the only people reading or visiting the website are those who are already well-versed in its cust…See more 3

Richard Sexton Yeah that's an issue. The problem is this. When you know not much and learn something, you write it down The more you learn the more you take older knowledge for granted. You'll get a whole lot of people arguing over say, A. kunzi vs. A. batesii and all those arguing know how ot keep and breed them despite they're being one of the most difficult clues of all. More people would probably be interested in how to breed them but to many that info is so basic it's not even worth writing down.
That is people write about their current level of interest and specialization. My personal and particular interest these days is how chromosomes unfold to make those bars and spots, something of interest to about eight poeple worldwide.
What I notice is, when you learn something that's the best time to write it up. Much later than that then details you take for granted don't get written down. In this sense "experts" are exactly the wrong popee to write this stuff, people that just leaned it ar, they bst know what the important points are that others just take for granted.
Documenting easy stuff is harder once it's old hat. But, I slap up what I can, and am reasonably happy with "feeding" here:
http://info.killi.palo-alto.ca.us/ref/
If you can tell me what needs to be added to make it more useful to beginners, please just let me know and I can add it printo.
Reference INFO.KILLI.PALO-ALTO.CA.US
2

Scott Lobbestael Totally true, great observation.
Babs Galkowski We are new and my kids want to do killies. There’s a few issues with the site and I’m a webmaster. My kids feel overwhelmed with Killies and lacking info on how to get started. One of my kids wants to do a social studies project at the fair on them but no clue on how to start with killies etc. 1

Gary Haas As an alternative source of information, try http://sheneskillies.com/
SHENESKILLIES.COM Shene's Killies 1

Sarah Walker When you sign up for the aka, you get a fantastic color book of the beginners guide. It was very helpful o me when I got started. The website is a joke, but thankfully we have some good people here on Facebook who love to help! 2

Paul Pierre A very good point about the printed beginner's guide, Sarah!

Sarah Walker I think it is $5 now, but still well worth it!!

Paul Pierre I was also unaware of the $5.00 charge.

Richard Pierce Babs Galkowski, email me at dr_plankton@verizon.net . I will answer any questions and your children have about getting started with killifish.

Paul Pierre Ron Skylstad, to your point about insider culture. Somewhere in the FAQ section an author wrote that many see the AKA as an 'old boys club'. He continued, saying that was to some extent the truth. I thought that could be put a little better. IMO one of our major areas of concentration should be bringing in new members and providing them with the basic information they need to get started. Compared to other areas of the aquarium keeping hobby, killies have far fewer readily available resources for beginners. All too often, those with the most experience are least inclined to spend time explaining to beginners what to them is simple and obvious. We need to be a welcoming, valuable resource for those interested in killies, rather than a group you can eventually work your way into if you somehow learn enough without first getting discouraged and quitting in frustration. We need to expand the list of answers to the question: What's in it for me? 3

Ron Skylstad Exactly. And in an age where information is largely free (this FB group would be a primary example)...what is the benefit for the member in paying money to the entity to be a member? The value of the society – and how the membership contributes to its intrinsic worth/value – needs to be clearly articulated and communicated so that newcomers understand not only how to participate, but what the future of that participation can look like longterm.
In my work, the companies and brands that are truly successful are the ones that tell a story where the customer/member is the hero, not the company. The company's value is in helping that individual be the hero. As far as the AKA is concerned, it could be helping people be the best killifish keeper/breeder they can be, etc...but the point is less "Look at how important us founders are" and more "We want to ensure that the American killifish hobby – and all those involved – is sustainable and successful 100 years from now, and that all those involved are the best possible stewards of these animals they can be." The difference is a message (even if subconscious) of either exclusion or inclusion.