The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I have frequently used the APS website search tool and scanned journal archives many times in the past and consider this one of the great benefits of my APS membership. For the last several weeks I have been unable to scan or review old journals and articles. Every time I try to search the archives I am directed to the page below. When I enter a search word it again brings me back to this page. Does anyone know if this feature is down on the APS website?

Excellent question. I have been having the same issue but thought it was just me. Hope someone has an answer.

I thought being a member, I would have access to all these articles. But that’s all I ever get too. I thought I was doing something wrong. Thank goodness it’s not only me.

I have successfully used the search tool in years past, but when I tried to use it in February 2020, it didn't work. I contacted APS, and I was told they were unaware of the problem, but would look into it. It is disappointing to me that it is still broken 4 months later.

The ability to search the APS archive is an important benefit of APS membership, the value of which is dramatically diminished when it fails to function as advertised.

Mike,

If you haven't already done this, I'd suggest posting your question (and the screen shot) on the APS forum. If whoever is in charge of their forum support is unable to address it, I'm sure it will be forwarded to a site admin. who can help.

-- Grant

Fonotone wrote:Mike,

If you haven't already done this, I'd suggest posting your question (and the screen shot) on the APS forum. If whoever is in charge of their forum support is unable to address it, I'm sure it will be forwarded to a site admin. who can help.

-- Grant

Grant's advice is spot on. I didn't see this thread until it was brought to my attention this morning, but a message sent through the APS "Contact Us" page:

https://www.antiquephono.org/contact-us/

or posted to the APS Forum:

https://forum.antiquephono.org/

will receive immediate attention.

The problem with the Search feature turned out to be the fault of the current platform of the web site (Wordpress). It wasn't designed for all the features that the APS added to the site, and when Wordpress periodically updates (with no warning), it wipes clean certain additions made to the site - - among them the Search feature. This is pretty annoying, since the APS paid a developer for many hours of work to originally add the Search feature, and then again in February/March to rebuild the feature until it the culprit was finally figured out. Accordingly, in March/April (during the height of COVID, which didn't help) APS volunteers investigated a number of web hosting operations and solicited help from several professionals around the world. A new, improved and expanded APS web site is now in the works for this summer/early fall, and the Search feature will be back. In fact, the new Search feature will allow BROWSING, which means members will be able to, for instance, pick any issue of the APS magazine, or an old issue of In The Groove, or The Antique Phonograph Monthly, and casually flip through it just to see whatever might be there.

The new web site, a new annual Midwest show & sale, and the APS Forum are part of a broad initiative called APS2020, the details of which will be shared very soon with APS members.

Rest assured that APS volunteers are putting in many hours of work to not only restore, but to expand the web site - - along with other activities. I don't understand all the technical angles necessary to bring this about, but my hat's off to the cyber-gurus who are working on this.

George P.

phonogfp wrote:

Fonotone wrote:Mike,

If you haven't already done this, I'd suggest posting your question (and the screen shot) on the APS forum. If whoever is in charge of their forum support is unable to address it, I'm sure it will be forwarded to a site admin. who can help.

-- Grant

Grant's advice is spot on. I didn't see this thread until it was brought to my attention this morning, but a message sent through the APS "Contact Us" page:

https://www.antiquephono.org/contact-us/

or posted to the APS Forum:

https://forum.antiquephono.org/

will receive immediate attention.

The problem with the Search feature turned out to be the fault of the current platform of the web site (Wordpress). It wasn't designed for all the features that the APS added to the site, and when Wordpress periodically updates (with no warning), it wipes clean certain additions made to the site - - among them the Search feature. This is pretty annoying, since the APS paid a developer for many hours of work to originally add the Search feature, and then again in February/March to rebuild the feature until it the culprit was finally figured out. Accordingly, in March/April (during the height of COVID, which didn't help) APS volunteers investigated a number of web hosting operations and solicited help from several professionals around the world. A new, improved and expanded APS web site is now in the works for this summer/early fall, and the Search feature will be back. In fact, the new Search feature will allow BROWSING, which means members will be able to, for instance, pick any issue of the APS magazine, or an old issue of In The Groove, or The Antique Phonograph Monthly, and casually flip through it just to see whatever might be there.

The new web site, a new annual Midwest show & sale, and the APS Forum are part of a broad initiative called APS2020, the details of which will be shared very soon with APS members.

Rest assured that APS volunteers are putting in many hours of work to not only restore, but to expand the web site - - along with other activities. I don't understand all the technical angles necessary to bring this about, but my hat's off to the cyber-gurus who are working on this.

George P.

Thanks George and Grant. I have posed the question to the APS site administrators as recommended. I will post any reply that I get from them here also.

FYI I received this reply:

Michael,



We are aware of and addressing this issue.



Our current and most immediate priorities are:

1. fix, / replace current Search and Retrieval functionality
2. provide Library Catalog functionality for individual document download

Future enhancements desired:

1. Ability to "Hover Over" preliminary Search results to see a snippet of the content to be delivered.


We have no ETA yet but will be making further announcements via APS Forum, APS Website and direct communications from APS via email and / or direct mailings.

Correspondingly, we have other enhancements planned for our Hosting environment including mirrored, globally distributed servers for faster access and 1 terabyte of online storage for versioned backups. We have just implemented new protocols for offsite backup storage, independent of our server-farms, distributed in the Eastern and Western continental U.S.


Rod Pickett

Antique Phonograph Society