Right now, we are receiving more requests than we're fulfilling. In fact, it's been like this for the past several weeks. I'm interested to know if any of you happen to have any ideas for ways in which we might decrease the number of requests, while still making sure we get the discs to those who need them most. IMHO, I think the best way to go about this is to increase the inconvenience factor for placing a request. Right now, people can just click on the form, drop in their info, and submit it. The ease of this process has undoubtedly caused a lot of impulse requesting by people who may or may not ever use the discs we send them. However, if we could somehow make it more work for the requester, but still something that isn't terribly arduous for the people who really want the discs, I believe we could solve the queue problem, at least in the short-term. Of course, the devil is in the details. Any ideas on how we could implement such a system? Any thoughts or arguments for or against? Sincerely Aaron Cannon -- E-mail: cannona@fireantproductions.com Skype: cannona MSN Messenger: cannona@hotmail.com (Do not send E-mail to the hotmail address.)
Aaron, This probably won't solve the problem, but how about requiring a $1 donation through paypal? The cost is low, and it puts a large enough barrier (in my mind) to prevent needless requests, while permitting people who truly need/want the CD/DVD to get it. I know there are numerous problems with this method, but I wanted to throw it out there for discussion. -brandon Aaron Cannon wrote:
Right now, we are receiving more requests than we're fulfilling. In fact, it's been like this for the past several weeks. I'm interested to know if any of you happen to have any ideas for ways in which we might decrease the number of requests, while still making sure we get the discs to those who need them most.
IMHO, I think the best way to go about this is to increase the inconvenience factor for placing a request. Right now, people can just click on the form, drop in their info, and submit it. The ease of this process has undoubtedly caused a lot of impulse requesting by people who may or may not ever use the discs we send them. However, if we could somehow make it more work for the requester, but still something that isn't terribly arduous for the people who really want the discs, I believe we could solve the queue problem, at least in the short-term.
Of course, the devil is in the details. Any ideas on how we could implement such a system? Any thoughts or arguments for or against?
Sincerely Aaron Cannon
-- E-mail: cannona@fireantproductions.com Skype: cannona MSN Messenger: cannona@hotmail.com (Do not send E-mail to the hotmail address.)
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It's a great idea, and one I would go for, if paypal were available in more countries. You bet it would decrease the number of requests, but it would also keep people from the poorer countries from gaining access. Unfortunately, I don't really have a better alternative. The only idea I came up with was to have the person type their e-mail address into a form. They would then be e-mailed a password which they could use to fill out the form like they do now. However, the catch would be that they couldn't return to fill out the form until 72 hours had elapsed. If they forgot, then they probably didn't want the discs anyway. Thoughts? :) Sincerely Aaron Cannon At 04:27 PM 2/26/2005, you wrote:
Aaron,
This probably won't solve the problem, but how about requiring a $1 donation through paypal? The cost is low, and it puts a large enough barrier (in my mind) to prevent needless requests, while permitting people who truly need/want the CD/DVD to get it. I know there are numerous problems with this method, but I wanted to throw it out there for discussion.
-brandon
Aaron Cannon wrote:
Right now, we are receiving more requests than we're fulfilling. In fact, it's been like this for the past several weeks. I'm interested to know if any of you happen to have any ideas for ways in which we might decrease the number of requests, while still making sure we get the discs to those who need them most.
IMHO, I think the best way to go about this is to increase the inconvenience factor for placing a request. Right now, people can just click on the form, drop in their info, and submit it. The ease of this process has undoubtedly caused a lot of impulse requesting by people who may or may not ever use the discs we send them. However, if we could somehow make it more work for the requester, but still something that isn't terribly arduous for the people who really want the discs, I believe we could solve the queue problem, at least in the short-term.
Of course, the devil is in the details. Any ideas on how we could implement such a system? Any thoughts or arguments for or against?
Sincerely Aaron Cannon
-- E-mail: cannona@fireantproductions.com Skype: cannona MSN Messenger: cannona@hotmail.com (Do not send E-mail to the hotmail address.) _______________________________________________ dvdvol mailing list dvdvol@lists.pglaf.org http://lists.pglaf.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/dvdvol
_______________________________________________ dvdvol mailing list dvdvol@lists.pglaf.org http://lists.pglaf.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/dvdvol
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Well, requiring a second visit to the web site would cut down on the "Hey, Vern! Lookee here! I can get free stuff from the Internet." I don't know how often this happens now, but we would reduce it. I think that we're all agreed that "third world" access is the most important part of providing the CDs and DVDs. By "third world" I also mean to include rural and more isolated portions of "first world" countries. -----Original Message----- From: dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org [mailto:dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org] On Behalf Of Aaron Cannon Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2005 7:17 PM To: CD and DVD Volunteers Subject: Re: [dvdvol] queue control It's a great idea, and one I would go for, if paypal were available in more countries. You bet it would decrease the number of requests, but it would also keep people from the poorer countries from gaining access. Unfortunately, I don't really have a better alternative. The only idea I came up with was to have the person type their e-mail address into a form. They would then be e-mailed a password which they could use to fill out the form like they do now. However, the catch would be that they couldn't return to fill out the form until 72 hours had elapsed. If they forgot, then they probably didn't want the discs anyway. Thoughts? :) Sincerely Aaron Cannon
I think after the whole filesystem transition is complete for the gutenberg site, we should look at building a delay/confirmation into the dvdlogin.cgi page. When someone submits a request, they get an email, and have to come back 48-72 hours later to confirm the request. At that point, the request is then "confirmed" and is put into the queue. Thoughts? -brandon John Hagerson wrote:
Well, requiring a second visit to the web site would cut down on the "Hey, Vern! Lookee here! I can get free stuff from the Internet." I don't know how often this happens now, but we would reduce it.
I think that we're all agreed that "third world" access is the most important part of providing the CDs and DVDs. By "third world" I also mean to include rural and more isolated portions of "first world" countries.
-----Original Message----- From: dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org [mailto:dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org] On Behalf Of Aaron Cannon Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2005 7:17 PM To: CD and DVD Volunteers Subject: Re: [dvdvol] queue control
It's a great idea, and one I would go for, if paypal were available in more countries. You bet it would decrease the number of requests, but it would also keep people from the poorer countries from gaining access.
Unfortunately, I don't really have a better alternative. The only idea I came up with was to have the person type their e-mail address into a form. They would then be e-mailed a password which they could use to fill out the form like they do now. However, the catch would be that they couldn't return to fill out the form until 72 hours had elapsed. If they forgot, then they probably didn't want the discs anyway.
Thoughts? :)
Sincerely Aaron Cannon
_______________________________________________ dvdvol mailing list dvdvol@lists.pglaf.org http://lists.pglaf.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/dvdvol
I agree. In fact, that's essentially what I was proposing, although you probably said it better. :) I'll CC Greg Newby to see if he has any objections to this. At 03:39 PM 2/28/2005, you wrote:
I think after the whole filesystem transition is complete for the gutenberg site, we should look at building a delay/confirmation into the dvdlogin.cgi page. When someone submits a request, they get an email, and have to come back 48-72 hours later to confirm the request. At that point, the request is then "confirmed" and is put into the queue.
Thoughts?
-brandon
John Hagerson wrote:
Well, requiring a second visit to the web site would cut down on the "Hey, Vern! Lookee here! I can get free stuff from the Internet." I don't know how often this happens now, but we would reduce it.
I think that we're all agreed that "third world" access is the most important part of providing the CDs and DVDs. By "third world" I also mean to include rural and more isolated portions of "first world" countries.
-----Original Message----- From: dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org [mailto:dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org] On Behalf Of Aaron Cannon Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2005 7:17 PM To: CD and DVD Volunteers Subject: Re: [dvdvol] queue control
It's a great idea, and one I would go for, if paypal were available in more countries. You bet it would decrease the number of requests, but it would also keep people from the poorer countries from gaining access.
Unfortunately, I don't really have a better alternative. The only idea I came up with was to have the person type their e-mail address into a form. They would then be e-mailed a password which they could use to fill out the form like they do now. However, the catch would be that they couldn't return to fill out the form until 72 hours had elapsed. If they forgot, then they probably didn't want the discs anyway.
Thoughts? :)
Sincerely Aaron Cannon
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Aaron, I in no way meant to steal your thunder =) I was just agreeing with you ;) -brandon Aaron Cannon wrote:
I agree. In fact, that's essentially what I was proposing, although you probably said it better. :) I'll CC Greg Newby to see if he has any objections to this.
At 03:39 PM 2/28/2005, you wrote:
I think after the whole filesystem transition is complete for the gutenberg site, we should look at building a delay/confirmation into the dvdlogin.cgi page. When someone submits a request, they get an email, and have to come back 48-72 hours later to confirm the request. At that point, the request is then "confirmed" and is put into the queue.
Thoughts?
-brandon
John Hagerson wrote:
Well, requiring a second visit to the web site would cut down on the "Hey, Vern! Lookee here! I can get free stuff from the Internet." I don't know how often this happens now, but we would reduce it.
I think that we're all agreed that "third world" access is the most important part of providing the CDs and DVDs. By "third world" I also mean to include rural and more isolated portions of "first world" countries.
-----Original Message----- From: dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org [mailto:dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org] On Behalf Of Aaron Cannon Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2005 7:17 PM To: CD and DVD Volunteers Subject: Re: [dvdvol] queue control
It's a great idea, and one I would go for, if paypal were available in more countries. You bet it would decrease the number of requests, but it would also keep people from the poorer countries from gaining access.
Unfortunately, I don't really have a better alternative. The only idea I came up with was to have the person type their e-mail address into a form. They would then be e-mailed a password which they could use to fill out the form like they do now. However, the catch would be that they couldn't return to fill out the form until 72 hours had elapsed. If they forgot, then they probably didn't want the discs anyway.
Thoughts? :)
Sincerely Aaron Cannon
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haha no problem man. I truly didn't take it that way. I just assumed that you had missed my message from before. :) Sincerely Aaron Cannon At 06:28 PM 2/28/2005, you wrote:
Aaron,
I in no way meant to steal your thunder =) I was just agreeing with you ;)
-brandon
Aaron Cannon wrote:
I agree. In fact, that's essentially what I was proposing, although you probably said it better. :) I'll CC Greg Newby to see if he has any objections to this.
At 03:39 PM 2/28/2005, you wrote:
I think after the whole filesystem transition is complete for the gutenberg site, we should look at building a delay/confirmation into the dvdlogin.cgi page. When someone submits a request, they get an email, and have to come back 48-72 hours later to confirm the request. At that point, the request is then "confirmed" and is put into the queue.
Thoughts?
-brandon
John Hagerson wrote:
Well, requiring a second visit to the web site would cut down on the "Hey, Vern! Lookee here! I can get free stuff from the Internet." I don't know how often this happens now, but we would reduce it.
I think that we're all agreed that "third world" access is the most important part of providing the CDs and DVDs. By "third world" I also mean to include rural and more isolated portions of "first world" countries.
-----Original Message----- From: dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org [mailto:dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org] On Behalf Of Aaron Cannon Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2005 7:17 PM To: CD and DVD Volunteers Subject: Re: [dvdvol] queue control
It's a great idea, and one I would go for, if paypal were available in more countries. You bet it would decrease the number of requests, but it would also keep people from the poorer countries from gaining access.
Unfortunately, I don't really have a better alternative. The only idea I came up with was to have the person type their e-mail address into a form. They would then be e-mailed a password which they could use to fill out the form like they do now. However, the catch would be that they couldn't return to fill out the form until 72 hours had elapsed. If they forgot, then they probably didn't want the discs anyway.
Thoughts? :)
Sincerely Aaron Cannon
_______________________________________________ dvdvol mailing list dvdvol@lists.pglaf.org http://lists.pglaf.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/dvdvol
_______________________________________________ dvdvol mailing list dvdvol@lists.pglaf.org http://lists.pglaf.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/dvdvol
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On Mon, Feb 28, 2005 at 06:02:31PM -0600, Aaron Cannon wrote:
I agree. In fact, that's essentially what I was proposing, although you probably said it better. :) I'll CC Greg Newby to see if he has any objections to this.
Go fur it!
At 03:39 PM 2/28/2005, you wrote:
I think after the whole filesystem transition is complete for the gutenberg site, we should look at building a delay/confirmation into the dvdlogin.cgi page. When someone submits a request, they get an email, and have to come back 48-72 hours later to confirm the request. At that point, the request is then "confirmed" and is put into the queue.
Thoughts?
-brandon
John Hagerson wrote:
Well, requiring a second visit to the web site would cut down on the "Hey, Vern! Lookee here! I can get free stuff from the Internet." I don't know how often this happens now, but we would reduce it.
I think that we're all agreed that "third world" access is the most important part of providing the CDs and DVDs. By "third world" I also mean to include rural and more isolated portions of "first world" countries.
-----Original Message----- From: dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org [mailto:dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org] On Behalf Of Aaron Cannon Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2005 7:17 PM To: CD and DVD Volunteers Subject: Re: [dvdvol] queue control
It's a great idea, and one I would go for, if paypal were available in more countries. You bet it would decrease the number of requests, but it would also keep people from the poorer countries from gaining access.
Unfortunately, I don't really have a better alternative. The only idea I came up with was to have the person type their e-mail address into a form. They would then be e-mailed a password which they could use to fill out the form like they do now. However, the catch would be that they couldn't return to fill out the form until 72 hours had elapsed. If they forgot, then they probably didn't want the discs anyway.
Thoughts? :)
Sincerely Aaron Cannon
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_______________________________________________ dvdvol mailing list dvdvol@lists.pglaf.org http://lists.pglaf.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/dvdvol
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I dunno. I mostly fill requests from east europe, and I don't get the impression that they are being "wasted" Maybe we should give priority to the countries where access to internet is limited; having said that, France, which is by any standards a rich country, has not many people on broadband. Maybe we should push the donation request a little more heavily in the richer countries? Le Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:28:10 -0800, Greg Newby <gbnewby@pglaf.org> a écrit:
On Mon, Feb 28, 2005 at 06:02:31PM -0600, Aaron Cannon wrote:
I agree. In fact, that's essentially what I was proposing, although you probably said it better. :) I'll CC Greg Newby to see if he has any objections to this.
Go fur it!
At 03:39 PM 2/28/2005, you wrote:
I think after the whole filesystem transition is complete for the gutenberg site, we should look at building a delay/confirmation into the dvdlogin.cgi page. When someone submits a request, they get an email, and have to come back 48-72 hours later to confirm the request. At that point, the request is then "confirmed" and is put into the queue.
Thoughts?
-brandon
John Hagerson wrote:
Well, requiring a second visit to the web site would cut down on the "Hey, Vern! Lookee here! I can get free stuff from the Internet." I don't know how often this happens now, but we would reduce it.
I think that we're all agreed that "third world" access is the most important part of providing the CDs and DVDs. By "third world" I also mean to include rural and more isolated portions of "first world" countries.
-----Original Message----- From: dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org [mailto:dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org] On Behalf Of Aaron Cannon Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2005 7:17 PM To: CD and DVD Volunteers Subject: Re: [dvdvol] queue control
It's a great idea, and one I would go for, if paypal were available in more countries. You bet it would decrease the number of requests, but it would also keep people from the poorer countries from gaining access.
Unfortunately, I don't really have a better alternative. The only idea I came up with was to have the person type their e-mail address into a form. They would then be e-mailed a password which they could use to fill out the form like they do now. However, the catch would be that they couldn't return to fill out the form until 72 hours had elapsed. If they forgot, then they probably didn't want the discs anyway.
Thoughts? :)
Sincerely Aaron Cannon
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-- With best wishes From the lady of the changeable locks, soggy shazadi, duchess of darkness and damp, Barbara Reed, and all the furry friends. Dalie asks you to sponsor her in aid of the Brooke Hospital, you can visit at http://www.thebrooke.org She is walking from Nantes to Brest in 2005 and wants your money to help working animals in poor countries.
At 01:10 AM 3/1/2005, you wrote:
I dunno. I mostly fill requests from east europe, and I don't get the impression that they are being "wasted" Maybe we should give priority to the countries where access to internet is limited; having said that, France, which is by any standards a rich country, has not many people on broadband.
One of the reasons I feel like some of the requests might be just to get something for free is because many people are submitting two requests, even though we ask them very clearly not to do so. Also, many people are using invalid or fake e-mail addresses, and not providing a complete mailing address. I can sort of understand the former, so perhaps we should make it more explicit that without an e-mail we will not be able to process your request, but the latter at least in my mind, suggests that they rushed through the form without giving it much import. Additionally, when we e-mail such folks for their complete mailing address, we often receive no response.
Maybe we should push the donation request a little more heavily in the richer countries?
Any ideas on how this could be accomplished. I'm all for doing more begging, I'm just not sure what we could be doing that we're not doing now. As always, thanks. Sincerely Aaron Cannon
Le Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:28:10 -0800, Greg Newby <gbnewby@pglaf.org> a écrit:
On Mon, Feb 28, 2005 at 06:02:31PM -0600, Aaron Cannon wrote:
I agree. In fact, that's essentially what I was proposing, although you probably said it better. :) I'll CC Greg Newby to see if he has any objections to this.
Go fur it!
At 03:39 PM 2/28/2005, you wrote:
I think after the whole filesystem transition is complete for the gutenberg site, we should look at building a delay/confirmation into the dvdlogin.cgi page. When someone submits a request, they get an email, and have to come back 48-72 hours later to confirm the request. At that point, the request is then "confirmed" and is put into the queue.
Thoughts?
-brandon
John Hagerson wrote:
Well, requiring a second visit to the web site would cut down on the "Hey, Vern! Lookee here! I can get free stuff from the Internet." I don't know how often this happens now, but we would reduce it.
I think that we're all agreed that "third world" access is the most important part of providing the CDs and DVDs. By "third world" I also mean to include rural and more isolated portions of "first world" countries.
-----Original Message----- From: dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org [mailto:dvdvol-bounces@lists.pglaf.org] On Behalf Of Aaron Cannon Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2005 7:17 PM To: CD and DVD Volunteers Subject: Re: [dvdvol] queue control
It's a great idea, and one I would go for, if paypal were available in more countries. You bet it would decrease the number of requests, but it would also keep people from the poorer countries from gaining access.
Unfortunately, I don't really have a better alternative. The only idea I came up with was to have the person type their e-mail address into a form. They would then be e-mailed a password which they could use to fill out the form like they do now. However, the catch would be that they couldn't return to fill out the form until 72 hours had elapsed. If they forgot, then they probably didn't want the discs anyway.
Thoughts? :)
Sincerely Aaron Cannon
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dvdvol mailing list dvdvol@lists.pglaf.org http://lists.pglaf.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/dvdvol
-- With best wishes From the lady of the changeable locks, soggy shazadi, duchess of darkness and damp, Barbara Reed, and all the furry friends. Dalie asks you to sponsor her in aid of the Brooke Hospital, you can visit at http://www.thebrooke.org She is walking from Nantes to Brest in 2005 and wants your money to help working animals in poor countries. _______________________________________________ dvdvol mailing list dvdvol@lists.pglaf.org http://lists.pglaf.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/dvdvol
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participants (5)
-
Aaron Cannon -
Barbara Reed -
Brandon Galbraith -
Greg Newby -
John Hagerson