Broken Websites

Apologies if this is not the most appropriate section to post this, but. . . .

. . . these 2 railways websites have been broken for over a month now and I have not been able to contact anyone at these railways.

Alford Valley Railway at http://www.alfordvalleyrailway.org.uk/

Old Kiln Light Railway at http://www.oldkilnlightrailway.com/

If anyone knows of an alternative website please let me know so that I can update the links on the http://www.heritage-railways.com website.
Alternatively if anyone has contacts at either of these railways, can you please let them know their website is off line (I would hope they already know, but . . . ) and ask them to let me know when fixed (or an alternative becomes available). My contact email address is on my website.

 

https://www.facebook.com/AlfordValleyRailway/

https://www.facebook.com/Old-kiln-light-railway-tilford-Surrey-1674257309533436/ and this web site is meant to be been built/redone.

 

Unfortunately not everybody wants to use (or trusts) Facebook, which is where organisations that use it as a substitute for a web site fall down. As with so many things, you get what you pay for...

The penny is finally dropping with some folk, even by one of its own founders, that Facebook isn't the panacea that it has for so long been lauded as.

 

Thanks GWR Man, but I have to agree with DisusedBranch, Facebook is no substitute for a 'proper' website. I noticed also that the Alford FB page still links to their original broken website.

 

Says the user of a voluntary organisation trying to get information online (most likely) without the skills or time necessary to operate a conventional website…

As it is, the Facebook pages are usable even if you're not logged-in, so whilst not ideal, are not fundamentally different to any other website, particularly in terms of the commitment needed from users. Don't like Facebook? Don't register or log-in. But don't infer there are problems with it that don't actually exist.

Simon

 

Couldn't have put it better myself. Facebook is free, easier to update and many people, especially the new generation which heritage railways must attract, will always use it as their first point of call. I'm not saying it should replace a website if a good one is already in place, but for organisations where spare time and money to set up and run a website are limited, Facebook is a much more practical and effective option

 

Use the right tool for the job (if you can). A full blown website is great for general information - opening times, prices, timetables etc which people need to find clearly and quickly when wanting to visit. Facebook is often better for keeping peoples interest (as well as being a simple substitute if you can't run to a full website due to lack of money or inhouse volunteer talent) - whilst not everyone is on Facebook, a lot of people are, and if you are wanting to engage with people, keeping a steady feed of stories on their news feed does that in a way that a website never will because you have to keep going back to see if its been updated.

 

exactly, son of facebook will come along in due course no doubt but there's no going back
SO many times I have had this argument with people who say " we don't want our private details spread all over the net". Just don't post anything you want to keep to yourself. People get upset regularly when their photos get shared, again, don't post them if they are private or you don't want to share them!

 

But even if you have a website, social media is *much* better at developing and involving an active audience for your activities, rather than providing stuff to read. People can share information with their social media friends, or see what other friends have been viewing, therefore creating free online advertising.

A website might be a useful information source, but is poor at generating or attracting an audience unless someone is specifically looking for that information.

 

Things move on,forums used to be big news but are now very much on the wane for instance. If things didn't move on, we'd be stuck in yesteryear clinging to outmoded forms of transport for instance.

 

Who remembers BBSs? Before the world wide wobble came along, we had to locate a suitable bulletin board system. Dial the number through a modem, and trawl through files of text with no graphical clues. IADBBS was one useful site

 

And differenr generations use different online tools, as the functionality improves and fashions change. You won't find many teenagers using Facebook now, as it's seen being their *parents'* social media! Discussion boards are probably for the older generations too, so not much good at attracting new younger volunteers.

 

yeah the oldies do rule on fb, it's Instagram and the like for my kids (all of whom are grown up so no doubt real kids will find something else soon.). I've no doubt at all something better will replace fb soon.

 

Well it started an interesting discussion, even if it wasn't the one I was hoping for. . .

I think if you are looking for (or want to provide) factual info (timetables, location, history etc) about a railway then a proper website is the way to go, but for current news social media may have the advantage (especially since the news pages of many websites appear to be controlled by the PR guys who use them to promote events etc to the exclusion of other activities on that railway. I may be interested in your forthcoming event, but I would also like to know how the overhaul of your rolling stock, or new station building is coming along).

Thanks for your input guys.

 

One thing I've noticed is that conventional websites are often kept updated by one person who has the magic skills to be able to understand how it works. When that person goes AWOL, gets busy or leaves, the website stagnates.
This often results in 'news pages' that have not been updated in 5 years, which gives the impression nothing has been done.
Social media, by its nature, is easy to use and accessible, and in a few clicks, one can upload images or video of progress done which is automatically sorted by date for you.

 

Was trying to find out dates for Weardale, but they're website has gone down now.

 

I got to page 5 of the Google results for a search for 'patriot project' before giving up, seeing no mention of the thread you link to.

In comparison, the Patriot Facebook page is 7th on the first page of results, and is accessible without 'doing' Facebook (and contains useful information).

Obviously that page probably benefits from the presence of a proper corporate site, but I rather suspect on most topics, a well-constructed Facebook page will be more findable, with or without a dedicated site, than a thread on a forum (and god knows you wouldn't want casual visitor/muggles stumbling on some of the discussions here).

Simon