ePromenader Production Process

Promenader production steps have been arranged over the years to make best use of limited time on the part of many volunteers. One thing that distinguished the Promenader - and hopefully will also distinguish the ePromenader - from other publications is its accuracy and reliability. We plan to maintain this standard through a continued team effort to produce an online resource that readers can rely on for information about dancing in our area.

In terms of production mechanics the new format will flow more directly from the various club reporters and section editors. This is because there will be no more need for page layout and composition, making the editorial job far more “do-able” than it was for the commercially printed version. This was a major goal of the ePromenader transition. But the work of reporting and organizing Promenader content has not changed and the staff of volunteers is still in place as before.

• The process starts on or before each publication deadline with Club Reporters submitting their Club News, Dance Schedules and Flyer/Ads in the prescribed format to the Promenader email inbox. Dick Halstead, our “Roving Reporter,” also submits his articles and photos at this stage.
• To make the next step easier and less error-prone, Dick Halstead puts his “Log-In Editor” hat on and gathers submissions into bundles by category. He converts them each into appropriate format and re-sends them to the inbox.
• Individual section editors, Bonnie Allen (Schedules), Sharon Meyer (Class/Club Dances), and *Your Name here* (We are looking for a volunteer to edit Club News.) then open the “bundles” to organize and combine the contents into a format that “fits” the web site template. When this is done, they re-send these “processed” files to the inbox as attachments.
• The web administrator watches the inbox and pulls out the various sections as they become available from section editors. These are run through a series of semi-automated steps to eliminate “web-unfriendly” characters and add web markup, and establish the needed linkages so that they can take their proper place on the web site. When enough content is ready, it is posted to a special proofreading site and the proofreaders are alerted.
• The proofreaders review all content and report any errors directly back to the web admin and online editor who review them and take appropriate action, identifying and filling in gaps where needed. The proofreading team currently consists of veterans Susan Thomas, Sharon Meyer and Mike Herne, along with more recent volunteers Cindy Adams, Jim Gotta and Carl & Eileen Webster.
• After (hopefully) two rounds of proofreading and corrections the site is ready to be switched to the “live” WNYF space, replacing the previous contents at squaredancingrochester.org. At that point the online editor sends out an announcement to email subscribers that the new “issue” is up for browsing.