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This question was put on hold, and is definitely on topic for a webmasters forum.

"I'm a college student and have a practice job (internship) helping a small department on my campus maintain its website. I am using Adobe Experience Manager (CQ). There are about 12 employees with different jobs. Some give lectures, some are lab technicians, and some just write papers.

I need to get content (fill out a news section, calendar etc.) and I wanted to know where to go to learn the best and most frequently practiced strategies that webmasters use to obtain all of this information, without pestering everyone on a tri-weekly basis, like, "What are you up to?" and then frantically writing it down, telling them to send me PDFs/word documents etc. and then adding that to the page.

I wish there was some online community of experienced webmasters who could answer this question; a question that can only be answered by someone with experience as a webmaster."

Can someone tell me why this is completely unrelated to webmastering and more related to business, by Mr. Conde

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  • Did you read the help center? Can you explain how this question is within the scope define in the webmasters help center?
    – Oded
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 20:40
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    The relevant section that Oded refers to is help/on-topic, though reading other material in the help center (help link at the bottom of the page) may also come in useful for understanding how the Stack Exchange format works.
    – user53160
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 20:42
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    This site is for anything that relates to owning, running, or administering your own website. Don't ban me, but my gosh, what is with you guys? It was a practical, answerable questions based on actual problems that I face
    – user3067517
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 20:46
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    Your question has nothing to do with being a webmaster. It is a workplace question - you are asking how to get information from your co-workers. That's nothing to do with being a webmaster. Or, it isn't specifically so - if it is applicable to any job, it isn't something that is about "owning, running, or administering your own website".
    – Oded
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 20:49
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    To somewhat answer your question, you will have to bother people. But if you can make it clear that you intend to disturb them as little as possible and that their contributions really do matter to the company's effort, then it should all work out. One thing I do is mention peoples contributions to their boss and send Thank You e-mails. The more you are gentle and appreciate their concerns and efforts, the more they will chuck in. Sometimes, you will not even have to ask and you will be updated with ideas, information, and documentation. As well, you may find an active volunteer!!
    – closetnoc
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 23:50
  • As tools for creating websites mature the role of webmaster is less about creating content and more about supporting those tools. Creating content often belongs within a marketing/PR department, or even with other operational departments.
    – paulmorriss
    Commented Jun 11, 2015 at 11:15
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    Closetnoc and paulmorriss' answers were really helpful, as was Oded's action in calling my attention to the relevance issue with my question. Thank you all for your time.
    – user3067517
    Commented Jun 11, 2015 at 18:24

1 Answer 1

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It sounds like as an intern, you're now in a position of responsibility to others in a very public way, which might be a stressful transition from being a CS student, and you're looking to learn from others here.

Participating on Stack Exchange sites requires a bit of a learning curve too since each site has its own specific criteria as to what its community considers on-topic, in addition to somewhat standardized Q & A guidelines for Stack Exchange sites in general, which often isn't clear to new users.

Although your question was about your responsibilities as a webmaster for your campus department, it unfortunately doesn't fit with our guidelines requiring questions to be about issues related to their website that can be answered specifically.

Asking how How can I solicit web content from a client and where to go to learn the best and most frequently practiced strategies that webmasters use to obtain all of this information is really too broad and open-listed a question to answer specifically. We usually put broadly scoped questions like this on hold, allowing the OP to edit the same question (versus re-posting it again) after reviewing the comments and documentation in the Help Center.

Also, if asked in a respectful way (versus just disagreeing), we'll try to help guide you to editing the question so it might be on-topic and get reopened, if seemingly possible. Other members in the community might also help with comments and edits. But a tone of appreciation does help to motivate others to take the time to do so, as well as to answer your questions.

I'm guessing that the stress and frustrations from your position helped to shape your tone here, however, this too can be a learning experience related to your question: it's always to your advantage to be nice to others when seeking their cooperation and help. That will go a long way in your current position, your career, and also on sites like this one. Good luck.

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    Thank you very much for your help getting started. I certainly appreciate the existence of a forum like this, and I'll be following your advice.
    – user3067517
    Commented Jun 11, 2015 at 18:21
  • No problem, good to hear :-) If your department doesn't have one setup already, it sounds like you might consider suggesting for them to implement a content management system (CMS) or Wiki in which authorized users can create and edit posts (like a blog), approved and edited by yourself or someone in your department. We have a Community Wiki question that explains more and how to select them here. You can also ask for other feedback in our chat room as John suggested.
    – dan Mod
    Commented Jun 12, 2015 at 2:19
  • Looking forward to your participation here in the future as you progress in your position there and career.
    – dan Mod
    Commented Jun 12, 2015 at 2:21

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