On 1/26/10 4:26 PM, Kristofer Layon wrote:
> I have some clients' sites on www1, but could happily move them. I can't
> think of an argument for keeping them there; I'm sure most clients would
> gladly go to a /name.umn.edu/ domain instead of their current
> /www1.umn.edu/name/.
>
> (though I'm sure, now that I said this, someone would surprise me…)

Actually, I'd be curious to hear what others have experienced in 
this area. We [very] rarely run into a situation with a central (TC 
or systemwide) initiative where we can't obtain a name we're hoping 
for, that really does seem to apply to our situation, because it's 
already in use by a unit for what may be a very narrow purpose.

It seems like it's in the best interests of some groups to identify 
with with their ancestors, i.e. the department that offers that 
basket weaving course might have more clout if their association 
with their college is clear, and their college might have more clout 
if the fact they're a part of the U is clear (I believe there's data 
to support the unit to the U as a whole portion, going back to the 
brand policy). This could be done on the site and also through the 
hostname.

Just an example: maps.umn.edu. The interactive side (and eventually 
the static pages) of the TC campus maps are under 
campusmaps.umn.edu/tc. We had to avoid www1 for technical 
considerations, but maps.umn.edu was already taken. Not trying to 
sound greedy here, and I imagine you (Kris) and some others have 
come across similar situations, but it seems to me like this is a 
clear example of something where a much broader audience could be 
served in the maps.umn.edu space. Be thankful for redirects, I 
suppose (umn.edu/maps does something useful).

Not that campusmaps.umn.edu is bad name.

We've been talking a lot about the architecture of the U lately, and 
I think it would be helpful for us to understand where all the other 
units and developers/ecomm folks are coming from. Five models come 
to mind when you drop down a level, under a college or VP or vice 
chancellor, for instance.

    umn.edu/unit/something
    umn.edu/something
    unit.umn.edu/something
    something.unit.umn.edu
    something.umn.edu

The something.umn.edu does make sense for functions of units that 
serve campuswide or systemwide purposes, regardless of where they 
are in the org chart (i.e. onestop.umn.edu, which serves a huge 
audience and has a cool name).

What makes sense to everyone? And why? Is the idea of different 
hostnames for everything driven more by the client or by the developer?

-- 
Peter Wiringa
Electronic Communications
University Relations
University of Minnesota
(612) 625-3252
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"I gotta hold on to my angst. I preserve it because I need it. It 
keeps me sharp, on the edge, where I gotta be." - V. Hanna