This is what you get when you spend millions of dollars on an enterprise CMS + integration once every 8 years or so.
Maybe NYC could start with a simple URL
11–20 of 38 posts
Re: Maybe NYC could start with a simple URL
#12Can someone explain why this is? You would think that the developers building it would say, "hey, let's make these urls a bit more friendly..."
I used to work for a company that made custom web applications, occasionally for the government (though more often, not.) This problem is actually a pretty tough one.
The way it usually works is the government agency drafts a request for proposal which has a list of features and other miscellaneous, sometimes random requirements. The thing is, who at the government would think to request friendly or short URLs? They are not web developers. They are probably older than 40, and not really up on all this social media stuff.
Now, some firms that submit proposals are of a high-enough quality that they would know that friendly and/or short urls are a part of modern web best practices. But again, how does the government agency know that seeing that is a good sign?
So sometimes, the agency realizes it doesn't know anything about technology and hires a company who does to develop the RFP. Except, then you're back at the same problem: how does the government agency know how to choose a company that will write a good spec?
Re: Maybe NYC could start with a simple URL
#13To be fair to NYC, they were enlightened enough to let developers compete to build apps on city databases.
Re: Maybe NYC could start with a simple URL
#14To be fair to NYC, they were enlightened enough to let developers compete to build apps on city databases. http://www.nycbigapps.com/
That's really cool. Someone should make a game to compete with your neighbors for lowest power/gas/water usage... Maybe have a Friends Leaderboard on fbook.
Re: Maybe NYC could start with a simple URL
#15Can someone explain why this is? You would think that the developers building it would say, "hey, let's make these urls a bit more friendly..."
I used to work for a company that made custom web applications, occasionally for the government (though more often, not.) This problem is actually a pretty tough one. The way it usually works is the government agency drafts a request for proposal which has a list of features and other miscellaneous, sometimes random requirements. The thing is, who at the government would think to request friendly or short URLs? They…
>They are probably older than 40
Yep it's tough being over 40 - we don't really understand this web stuff. I mean we invented it all 20years ago, we wrote the first browsers and the first servers, we wrote the first pages - but since we don't spend all our time following #britney or end every sentence with LOL we obviously can't understand it.
Now you kids get off my (virtual) lawn
Re: Maybe NYC could start with a simple URL
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
I used to work for a company that made custom web applications, occasionally for the government (though more often, not.) This problem is actually a pretty tough one. The way it usually works is the government agency drafts a request for proposal which has a list of features and other miscellaneous, sometimes random requirements. The thing is, who at the government would think to request friendly or short URLs? They…
>They are probably older than 40 Yep it's tough being over 40 - we don't really understand this web stuff. I mean we invented it all 20years ago, we wrote the first browsers and the first servers, we wrote the first pages - but since we don't spend all our time following #britney or end every sentence with LOL we obviously can't understand it. Now you kids get off my (virtual) lawn
You're right, that was an ageist thing to say, and I'm sorry I said it. My point is just as valid without it.
Re: Maybe NYC could start with a simple URL
#17.../html/home/home.shtml ...there's a certain symmetry, don't you think?
Agreed. To simplify even further: http://www.nyc.gov/shtml/home/home/html/simplicity/html/home...
In fairness, http://www.nyc.gov/nycsimplicity works too, and www.nyc.gov is pretty damn simple itself.
Re: Maybe NYC could start with a simple URL
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
I used to work for a company that made custom web applications, occasionally for the government (though more often, not.) This problem is actually a pretty tough one. The way it usually works is the government agency drafts a request for proposal which has a list of features and other miscellaneous, sometimes random requirements. The thing is, who at the government would think to request friendly or short URLs? They…
>They are probably older than 40 Yep it's tough being over 40 - we don't really understand this web stuff. I mean we invented it all 20years ago, we wrote the first browsers and the first servers, we wrote the first pages - but since we don't spend all our time following #britney or end every sentence with LOL we obviously can't understand it. Now you kids get off my (virtual) lawn
Luxury.
We used to have to gopher our info out of Gopherspace at six o'clock in the morning! And our modems worked if we were lucky! There were no youtubes or graphics, our search engines were named after Archie characters, 'alf the floor was missing, and we were all 'uddled together in one corner for fear of falling.
But you try and tell the young people of today that ... they won't believe you.
Re: Maybe NYC could start with a simple URL
#19To be fair to NYC, they were enlightened enough to let developers compete to build apps on city databases. http://www.nycbigapps.com/
They also advertise this fact publicly on the subway cars!
I hope this is the start of a larger trend for municipal databases. Cities could benefit tremendously by allowing private developers to work with their data and create apps that people actually want to use.
Re: Maybe NYC could start with a simple URL
#20[deleted]