Attachment D
Table of Contents:
Operations Vice President
Archivist
Audio-Visual
Committee (Slides)
Audio-Visual
Committee (Video)
Cave
Files Committee
Headquarters Facilities Committee
Internal Organizations Committee
Information Technology Committee
Discussion Board Subcommittee
Office Automation Committee
Market
Analysis Committee
NSS
Library Committee
NSS Operations Manager
Photo
Archives Committee
Speleo-Museum
Committee
Tom Rea; 765-653-4423; tomrea@ccrtc.com
The Department of the Operations Vice President consists of 11 committees, plus the NSS Operations Manager and the NSS headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama. The committee and sub-committee chairmen have provided the information in this report, although, being an editor, I have edited it to my liking. I have listed the telephone number and e-mail address of each committee chairman below. Additional addresses and contact information for all people in this report can be found at:
http://www.caves.org/nss-business/bog/table-4d.html
Progress:
Since my last report a hard disk failed at the service
provider for our Web site. This isn't news to anyone, I'm sure.
Value Web was not backing up our data and this was a surprise to
everyone. The good part, the very lucky part, is that I had a
volunteer to take over the committee one week before this
disaster. What an introduction to the job. Josh Bailey and Kelley
Prebile worked together and got most everything back on line in
good time and backups are being done, although small things are
still being found that need to be repaired. Josh will be on the
agenda for confirmation.
The Discussion Board has been reestablished with new software and a new committee. All threads on the previous Discussion Board were lost in the disk failure. Wayne Harrison has agreed to continue as Administrator. A committee of Board members has prepared a simple policy for the operation of the Discussion Board, which will be on the agenda for approval. The Terms of Service under which the Discussion Board is now operating conform to this policy.
The Board referred the Discussion Board motion at the fall meeting to the Operations Vice President for study and a report. The above paragraph and the pending policy are my report.
Evelyn Bradshaw has requested to step down as Co-Chairman of the Internal Organizations Committee. Since Keith Wheeland, the other co-chairman, has already been approved by the Board, I will simply list him as Chairman and Bradshaw as a committee member.
Problems:
None to speak of right now.
Archivist Committee:
J. Reynolds Duncan, Jr; 256-852-4522; reynolds.duncan@worldnet.att.net
Progress:
As I mentioned in my last e-mail, we have been traveling in
Canada and have been without e-mail access while in Newfoundland
and Labrador. We have just returned to the States and downloaded
our e-mail and found your request. If you can still add this to
your report, I have nothing to report since we have been
traveling since my last report. Should be back home soon and can
get back to the Archives then.
Audio-Visual Committee (Slides):
Timothy C. White; 256-508-1908; kd4goc@bigfoot.com
Nothing to report. The slide archives are just setting there.
Audio-Visual Committee (Video)
David Socky; 540-989-7693; sockydr@cox.net
Progress:
New video entries coming
This years entries will be entered into the AV library as soon as the convention is over.
Completed!
Convert slide programs to CD format
My plan is to work with Jonesy in getting more slide shows converted and into the AV library.
Talked to Jonesy at the NSS Convention. He indicated that he has been converting more programs. I still need to get the ones he has done into the library
Produce New educational video
Tray Murphy has expressed interest in helping with an educational video about caving for children.
No progress
Convert more VHS programs to DVD format
DVD is becoming the format of the future. More and more people are requesting programs on DVD.
No progress
PDF Library catalogue
Produce a ‘downloadable’ PDF catalog of the slide and video library.
No progress
Update descriptions in library
Most of the descriptions for the video and slide selections are very terse, and not very helpful. Programs need to be reviewed and better descriptions written.
I have updated a few programs, plus new entries are getting complete descriptions right away.
Plans:
New videos
A new high definition format documentary featuring caves in national parks has been produced by the National Park Foundation and Discovery Communications. It is called "Caves: The Wonder Beneath". Need to get this entered into the Video Salon and the Library.
I’ll also be reviewing several videos from grottos for possible inclusion in the library.
On Line Catalog additions
I plan to make a "What’s New" page so users can easily find new programs that have been added.
Problems:
none
Cave Files Committee:
Richard Blenz; 812-825-2345; rblenz@ucs.indiana.edu
The Cave Files are operating as usual.
The total number of caves to which I have some reference is 44,325. I am waiting for a promised injection of data from West Virginia which should increase our count by 2,000 or maybe more.
Plan is to continue as usual.
We have had no requests for data from anyone for some time. I am receiving newsletter material from probably a hundred grottos, some of which are merely single page reports from their leadership to their membership and some of which are massive expositions of cave descriptions and maps.
Nuf said.
Headquarters Facilities Committee:
vacant
Internal Organizations Committee:
Keith D Wheeland; 814-238-2057; kwheeland@psualum.com
I/O
Committee Report – October 12, 2005
Submitted by Keith D. Wheeland with input from the committee
members
Progress:
I/O Information on the Web.
The I/O web site at www.caves.org/committee/i-o/ is kept up to date. The general
information for Regions, Sections, and Surveys on the NSS website
is updated manually by Gary Bush.
I/O - New, Reinstatements,
and Inactivations
The Committee has had inquiries for new grottos in Virginia,
Texas, and Indiana.
The following two grottos were chartered:
Central Region Arkansas Grotto (448)(Arkansas) - June 2005
North East Texas Cavers (449)(Texas) - July 2005
Consolidation of I/O Files
The I/O files have been housed at the residences of Evelyn
Bradshaw and Keith Wheeland since Wheeland was selected as
Co-Chairman of the I/O Committee. In September, most of the files
were transported to the home of Wheeland. Bradshaw is still in
the process of going through her extensive collection and sorting
out I/O files. These too will be sent to Wheeland. Once the
transfer is complete, Wheeland will transfer some files to
Huntsville for the archives. He will retain files for active
I/Os.
Transfer of Duties
Practically all of the duties previously performed by Evelyn
Bradshaw have now been assumed by Keith Wheeland. Bradshaw will
continue to aid in resolving issues and help review constitutions
and bylaws for new I/Os. Because of this, Bradshaw indicated that
she would like to give up her Co-Chairman role. This was OKd by
Tom Rea.
Plans:
We will continue to be proactive in making improvements to the
chartering procedure, annual report procedure, and resolutions of
issues brought to the attention of the I/O Committee. Eric
McMaster has continued to make improvements to the online report
submittal process.
Problems and Issues:
NSS website: There was a short time when the dropdown box
contents for active grottos had to be updated manually by the NSS
webmaster, even though there had been a prior system in place to
have it done automatically. When the I/O Committee became aware
of the problem and informed Josh Bailey, he corrected it quickly
and efficiently.
Committee Members:
Please address any questions or comments to kwheeland@psualum.com .
Chairman: Keith D. Wheeland. Members: Evelyn Bradshaw (Chairman,
Emeritus), Gary Bush, Eric McMaster, Esty Pape, and Dave Taylor.
Information Technology Committee:
IT Team Chairman: Josh Bailey; 510-303-5287; josh@vandervecken.com
NSS Dedicated Server Operations
Last updated: 09/11/05
Josh Bailey
Summary:
The NSS operates a dedicated server, which is located at
ValueWeb's (http://www.valueweb.com/) facilities in Floria. The
server has an IP address of 207.36.208.8 (address caves.org),
runs Linux Fedora Core 1, has 512MB of RAM and a 60GB disk, and a
bandwith allocation of 1,000GB/month.
The server handles e-mail and web services for caves.org. DNS services are provided by ValueWeb.
Pending tasks:
(I have approved this expenditure - T. Rea)
Office applications:
NSS office staff use http://www.caves.org/office/ to view pending requests, which include new member applications, information changes, renewals, and donations. The requests are viewed over an SSL (secure) connection after NSS office staff accesses this site with a password.
Requests are made via forms and CGI scripts stored on the server at /home/httpd/vhosts/caves.org/cgi-bin (with a lot of common code shared in CavesCommon.pm). Users submit their information via the forms, which the scripts validate in various ways, before placing the results in /home/httpd/vhosts/caves.org/httpsdocs/membership/data.
Thus while the requests are viewed over a secure connection, they are stored in the clear until accessed by office staff on the server. It is proposed to encrypt this information using PGP.
E-mail:
E-mail address/mailbox/alias administration is handled by the Plesk application, at https://www.caves.org:8443/. Doug Marchant is the designated administrator for e-mail. Internally, Plesk does not use separate Unix IDs for e-mail mailboxes – there is no relation between Unix IDs on the server and e-mail addresses.
FTP:
Various users update their web content using FTP. These users are assigned Unix IDs. Doug Marchant is the designed FTP access administrator. An FTP account can be added by running /home/httpd/vhosts/caves.org/bin/grottoftpuser.pl <grotto>, where <grotto> is the name of the grotto to add. FTP passwords can be set with the Unix passwd command (eg. passwd <grotto>). From September 2005 on, users will be set up with SFTP access rather than FTP only.
DNS:
DNS services are provided by ValueWeb. To add/change a host entry within caves.org, open a support ticket. The registrar is GoDaddy, and caves.org is paid up until 2014 (Josh: need to get login details from Kelley).
Regular maintenance tasks:
These tasks should be run periodically (at minimum, monthly, by the server administrator):
Backups:
There are two kinds of backups:
It should be noted that while the automated backup is monitored and multiple copies are kept (on hard disk and DVDs), a complete backup should be done by the hosting company, and complete backups on DVD should be sent to the NSS office periodically (for example every 6 months).
Organisation/Support:
Organisation |
Handles |
Contact |
| ValueWeb | Server hardware, DNS | +1 888 846 5522 |
| Commodo Security Services | SSL certificate | http://www.comodogroup.com/ |
NSS Discussion Board Subcommittee
Wayne Harrison; pinecamguy@gmail.com
Progress:
A new NSS Discussion Board went online on Labor Day after the recent crash of the Caves.org Web site. The board is hosted on the caves.org Web site, but uses the cavechat.org URL, which forwards people to the Web site. It's a little easier to remember cavechat.org than caves.org/phpBB2/ and also reinforces it is a chat or discussion forum about caves.
The software used to run the forum was switched from vBulletin, which requires a yearly license, to phpBB, widely-used open-source software. Since the NSS still has its license with vBulletin for eight more months, the posts on the new forum could be easily ported to vBulletin, should we find major problems with it. If not, I plan to let the vBulletin license expire, thus saving the NSS a yearly subscription fee. The new software allows for a number of modifications, including a badly-needed spellchecker and also a "shoutbox" which is a sort of chat room, but not in a real-time sense. One must refresh the main page in order to see entries. It helps give the forum more of an "immediate" feel and generates repartee between posters. Also added, was a modification that lets me put short messages in the bottom of the browser window such as "Cave Softly" or "Support Great X Cave." I like the new look of the forum and feel it's a little cleaner looking than the old software.
We also started from scratch in staffing the new forum due to concerns about the number of moderators previously used to run the forum. He posted openings on the new board and got a number of submissions, selecting Barbara am Ende, Phil Winkler, and Martha Mills as full moderators (the ability to remove and move posts).
Glenn Mills aka kvart, asked to oversee the joke forum and, since this is an area that needed to be watched more closely for violations of the terms of service (the first joke posted was removed for violation of the terms of service), he was appointed a mini-mod to oversee that specific section. Tim White, likewise, suggested a specific moderator should oversee the vertical and rescue sections in order to watch for inaccurate information and he was appointed a mini-mod of those specific sections. Former moderators were encouraged to continue posting in the sections they had previously moderated over. The only difference is that they can't remove or edit posts.
Scott Fee started documenting the number of posts, posters and people online with the new forum and posting the results. By September 9, we had 178 cavers registered on the board with 226 articles posted. By September 21, we had 259 registered cavers and 920 articles posted. Of interest to note is the fact that we have an average of over 200 visitors an hour to the forum many times. As a result, and at the suggestion of Scott McCrea, I added a "Join The NSS" link to the top of the forum for people who might want to join. It takes them to the Join The NSS page on the caves.org section.
Plans:
I am currently putting together a page of links to other caving forums, such as local grotto forums, to help facilitate the exchange of information across the Internet. This will be posted on the forum for use by anyone.
Problems:
None
Office Automation Committee:
Phil Winkler; 302-984-2698; pwink@dca.net
Progress:
Met with a local Huntsville network team (Dave and Tammy)
during convention to plan the installation and configuration of
our new network. We replaced our 10-year-old Novell file server
with a new Windows 2003 Dell file server. We also replaced two of
the Win98 workstations (Stephanie and Annette's) with new Dell
Windows XP Professional workstations. We kept the existing
monitors as they work fine. Included in the hardware purchase was
a new tape drive and backup software.
Our backup routine includes taking the last backup tape done off-site for the night and exchanging it the next day. That ensures the latest data is off-site should a catastrophe happen to our office building. We perform daily backups of our file server.
Installation was completed the last week of August and both databases, NSSTrak and LedgerMaster, are operating again after a few corruption issues on some indices. There is never an upgrade to hardware or software that goes unpunished. This one was no exception.
Created a new process in NSSTrak to rapidly permit deletion of erroneous e-mail addresses. Previously, a lengthy search and delete process made this a very undesirable task. Each deletion now takes just seconds. E-mail addresses surely do change more often then postal addresses, but they do save postage costs each month for renewal notices.
Plans:
Continue to improve office automation and seek a new
volunteer(s) for my position.
Problems:
We have been unable to find a local volunteer(s) to help with
occasional Windows problems so we must pay a pair of
professionals.
In mid October Bill Putnam, an NSS member and independent consultant in Atlanta, has volunteered to assist with the NSS computer system. Although he is not exactly local, having a knowledgeable member volunteer on call will go a long way toward insuring the smooth running of the office.
Market Analysis Committee
Debra Young; 321-984-0028; suzyoung@bellsouth.net
Plans:
Nothing at this time.
Progress:
I met Larry Matthews at 2005 Convention after picking up a
copy of the "Dunbar Cave." It turned out very well I
think. I was also glad to see that "On Caves and
Camera" finally came out and the format and prices look
good. I would be interested to see the sales numbers.
Problems:
None at this time.
NSS Library Committee:
Chuck Lundquist; 256-883-8926; lundquc@email.uah.edu
Progress:
The NSS Library team is catching it breath after the NSS
Convention and the International Congress of Speleology.
The Library open house during the NSS Convention in July allowed members to visit their Library. We judge it to have been a success. Also, at various times during the Convention, the librarian aided members who had research objectives.
The Library Committee chairman attended the International Congress in August in Greece. During the Congress he collected numerous documents for the NSS Library. These included the Congress program book and the CD of the full papers. Also obtained was a CD of the first forty years of the International Journal of Speleology. The librarian is now adding these items to the collections.
Plans:
In the coming months, the committee will turn its attention
to enhancing online services by the Library.
Problems:
None.
Stephanie Searles; 256-852-1300; manager@caves.org
Progress:
YAHOO! the NSS Office is high-tech. We’ve upgraded our
Windows Operating System from Windows 98 to XP for Small
Business. Also, we have a new network server, Windows 2003 for
Small Business Server and Veritas back-up.
This year’s NSS Convention was held in Huntsville, Alabama, July 4-8th. Annette and I were very busy, but we had a good time as well. Annette did an awesome job for this to be her first convention and a big one.
Convention 2005 Bookstore Sales: $14,555.00!
Convention Bookstore Sales (last 3 years):
| Convention Yr | Location | Bkstore Sales |
2005 |
Huntsville, AL | 14,555.00 |
2004 |
Marquette, MI | 7,219.00 |
2003 |
Porterville, CA | 7,137.00 |
| Month/Yr | Orders | Prd $ Total | Month/Yr | Orders | Prd $ Total | Order Variance | $ Variance | |
| Jan 2005 | 156 |
10,312.75 |
Jan 2004 | 155 |
9,718.47 |
1 |
594 |
|
| Feb 2005 | 93 |
5,655.10 |
Feb 2004 | 112 |
9,716.67 |
(19) |
(4,062) |
|
| Mar 2005 | 106 |
5,898.68 |
Mar 2004 | 137 |
6,153.07 |
(31) |
(254) |
August 9, received copies of On Caves and Cameras, edited by Norman R. Thompson and John Van Swearingen IV (NSS new cave photography book – hard back). Cost to NSS Members is $35.00. If you haven’t ordered your copy, yet, you may do so online at www.caves.org/service/bookstore/index.htm or call 256-852-1300.
August 12 sent final Members Manual data to editor, Bob Hoke. Members should be receiving their Members Manual copies in early October.
September 15 sent American Caving Accidents mailing list to EBSCO Media in Birmingham, AL. NSS Members should be receiving their ACA (years 2002-2003) copies in the mail very soon.
Tom Rea and I have been trying to utilize free advertising for the NSS bookstore by placing ads in this year’s ACA, Members Manual and the monthly NSS News. Special thanks for David McClurg, for creating the ads.
The NSS is going through an audit of FY 2005 accounting records. Ted Kayes, NSS Secretary-Treasurer, has hired a new accounting firm. The Watkins Johnsey Professional Group, P.C., is out of Florence, Alabama. I’ve been working closely with, CPA, Randall Hunt, answering questions regarding NSS accounting procedures, daily operations and pulling accounting records/files. Since this accounting firm is new to our business, Randall has made a couple of trips to the NSS Office and worked out of here.
Welcome aboard to Josh Bailey to the NSS I/O Committee. He did an awesome job getting our server back online after the crash. He’s done a great job working with Annette and I and our website needs.
Plans:
Prepare for TAG 2005, October 6-9th, Lookout Mtn.
Prepare for Bookstore ordering Christmas Rush.
Prepare for NSS Annual Appeal Fund-Raising.
Problems:
Huntsville, Alabama, experienced Hurricane Katrina’s
aftermath. We had a lot of rain and high winds on Sunday night,
August 28th. When we got to the office on Monday, August 29th, a
tree had fallen on the office roof. It damaged the back of the
building near the library area. Thank goodness there was no water
damage. So far, we’ve gotten temporary repairs to the roof,
the remains of the tree up, and we’ve gotten quotes from
local roofers for estimates of repairs. I’ve passed on the
estimates to the adjuster. Ted Kayes got me in touch with our
insurance company and I’m working with an adjuster to hire
the best roofer for the permanent repair.
We are still having a few database issues with our system upgrades. Phil Winkler is working hard and diligently to work out the kinks. "No upgrade goes unpunished" per Phil Winkler.
We currently do not have a p/t bookstore assistant, so Annette and I are handling the bookstore orders, POs, ordering books to maintain inventory, etc.
Photo Archives Committee:
Karen Kastning; 540-639-4666; karen@skyhopper.net
Plans:
Long-term plans: To establish a detailed database for
research purposes. Primarily working on cleaning of old negatives
that were received by the archives in VERY dusty and often
mildewed condition. Work is quite slow due to the need to wash
each negative/strip one at a time - while taking care not to
scratch or further damage the work.
Short-terms plans and activity: Same as last time: work
continues to progress (slowly) at putting sleeves on the
large-format prints, sorting them into appropriate categories,
and filing them.
Progress:
Due to changes in my home and work situations, I lost access
to some equipment that I had used frequently for the Photo
Archives. Therefore, in July I purchased a Delta II Magnetic Copy
Stand, Delta Copy Light Assembly, and floodlights.
I received a request for some previously donated large-format prints to be "borrowed" for a talk in the Cave Photography Session at this past summer's convention. I carried the prints to the convention and provided them directly to the original photographer and then carried them back home.
The Photo Archives received some prints donated through the 2005 NSS Photo Salon (I picked these up at the NSS Convention this summer from Ann Bosted). Also, I received word from Tom Rea that John van Swearingen had bequeathed his photographs to the NSS. Tom has located the materials at the NSS office and will be delivering the collection to the Photo Archives when feasible. The collection consists a file cabinet with several file drawers full of slides. There is sufficient room in my home to house the "Van Swearingen Collection" under climate-controlled conditions.
As mentioned in the plans section, some progress has occurred in reconditioning (primarily B&W negatives) and storage activities (large format prints).
Problems:
Same as recent years: I have not obtained any new photos
directly from any cave photographers this year. I need a HIGH
QUALITY scanner for slides and negatives to make the
reconditioning work easier, as some of the repairs may be tackled
easier with photo-editing software/tools. A scanner was requested
as part of this year's budget request. At this summer's
convention, Tom Rea and I discussed specific needs and
requirements for a scanner, so that he could obtain the
appropriate equipment for the Photo Archives.
Speleo Museum Committee
Craig Hindman, 410-792-0742; ctider@us.ibm.com
Progress:
There was a sampling of the Museum on display at the 2005
Convention. It was titled "How we go down & up." It
consisted mainly of vertical gear through the generations.
We received 33 collections to date this year and have commitments for more to come.
We have taken possession of 10 shipping and storage containers. Six are 42-inch cubes with wheels and four are 24 inches square by 6 feet high with wheels. These now house about half of the collections.
Plans:
To have a display at the 2006 convention. It will probably
have to be shipped both directions
Problems:
None at this time
11/19/05