Wednesday, February 02, 2011

IMPORTANT CHANGES to stlouis.missouri.org services

Dear community partners,

This email is to communicate important upcoming changes to the City's CIN
internet-based services extended to community stakeholders. In this email you
will find descriptions of the upcoming changes, important dates, and links to
resources.

The most important information is that the City of St. Louis CIN will no longer
be able to host community organization/neighborhood websites, provide email
accounts, and neighborhood electronic lists after May 1, 2011.

We are asking you to work on migrating all services to other solutions by the
May 1, 2011.

Many of you have been involved since the beginning of the CIN services in 1995
and I want to thank you for all you have contributed over the years. Together
we embraced the potential offered by the World Wide Web and helped define a best
practice adopted nationwide.

You may already had a chance to review the new City website
http://stlouis-mo.gov that was introduced for public review and comments on
December 1. We are excited about the new website and the related consolidation
of services, but it does mean the end of CIN community services.

I encourage you to review the site and provide feedback using the form at the
bottom of each page. To avoid broken links to your organization/neighborhood
website, review and update links to city resources on your website. To learn
more about the new website visit
http://stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/information-technology/web-development/news/new-website-is-under-development.cfm


Please review the information below, and do not hesitate hesitate to contact us
with questions.
For additional assistance you can contact us by email at cinweb@stlouiscity.com
or by phone (314) 622-3400 ext. 235 or ext. 279.

I apologize in advance for those of you who will receive multiple notifications
of these changes.

Let me take this opportunity to also wish you Happy Holidays!



Sonya Pelli
City of St. Louis Manager of Internet Services | http://stlouis-mo.gov
email: pellis@stlouiscity.com | phone: 314 622-3400 x258


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Information to assist in planning migration from stlouis.missouri.org

December 1, 2010 - http://stlouis-mo.gov new City Website unveiled for public
comments and review

1. You should review the site and update links to City resources on your site
2. stlouis.missouri.org will remain active for a few more months as the
transition to the new site is completed.


May 1, 2011 -the following services associated with stlouis.missouri.org will end:

1. Website hosting services for neighborhoods and not-for-profit organizations
2. Email service for accounts with YourName@stlouis.missouri.org
3. Electronic mail list service such as shawtalk@missouri.org and
tgetalk@missouri.org
4. The City website http://stlouis.missouri.org will become inactive

Action Items for Migration

1. Secure a new host site and migrate content

2. Secure new email services and notify your contacts of changes

3. Secure new electronic/listserv service and resubscribe users


Available Resources

a) Web Hosting

We suggest the following host sites as resources:

DreamHost: offers free Web hosting to US-based nonprofits and charitable
organizations with proof of non-profit status. The free plan includes
unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, and an unlimited number of hosted
sub-domains. For more information
http://dreamhost.org/

HostGator: provides a free Business Hosting Plan to US-based 501(c)3 nonprofits
and other charities. You must apply for HostGator's Technology Grant Program
via this application form. The Business Hosting Plan includes unlimited
storage, unlimited bandwidth, and an unlimited number of hosted sub-domains.
http://dreamhost.org/

Grassroots.org: offers free Web hosting to all registered US-based 501(c)3
nonprofits as well as registered Canadian charitable organizations. The free
plan includes 10 GB storage, 1000 GB bandwidth, and up to 10 hosted sub-domains.
http://www.grassroots.org/

myhosting.com: this Canadian-based company provides free Web hosting to
registered US-based 501(c)3 nonprofits and Canadian charities as well as
educational and governmental organizations. Unlimited storage, unlimited
bandwidth, and unlimited hosted sub-domains. Dreamhost has a free hosting site
for 501(c)(3) organizations.
http://myhosting.com/

b) Email Services

Free email accounts. All community members can have their own email accounts
which can be accessed through any Internet connection! A number of companies
offer free email accounts.

GMail (Google) http://gmail.google.com/
Bluebottle http://www.bluebottle.com/
FastMail.fm http://www.fastmail.fm
Hotmail http://www.hotmail.com
Yahoo Mail http://mail.yahoo.com/


c) Electronic lists

We suggest the following electronic lists as resources:

Constant Contact is an easy, affordable way to reach your members with email
marketing. http://www.ConstantContact.com/
Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/
Google Groups http://groups.google.com/

I want to thank you again for your loyalty and the years of collaboration.
Please don't hesitate to contact us with questions. I encourage you to visit
the new city website, review it, and let us know your thoughts and suggestions.
For additional assistance you can contact us by email at cinweb@stlouiscity.com
or by phone (314) 622-3400 ext. 235 or ext. 279

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