BSA Web Site Maintenance
This information is provided to keep council webmasters abreast of
recent changes to the BSA Web site(s) and, inasmuch as possible, provide
some advanced notice of changes that can be predicted.
Completed Tasks
Details on significant developments/changes ...
January 2007
- Troop Committee Challenge
- http://olc.scouting.org
- An online version of the Troop Committee Challenge has been
added to the Online Learning Center
- National Commissioner's Podcast
- http://old.scouting.org/commissioners/podcast/
- The National Commissioner of Scouting has agreed to do a series
of audio programs to provide support and assistance to council,
district, and unit commissioners.
February 2007
- Everyday Heroes/The Value of Scouting
- http://old.scouting.org/media/heroes
- Multimedia slide-shows of selected Scouts and Scouters who have
had a significant impact in their communities. The photo essays
will be updated quarterly. (Contact Marketing Communications at
the national office if you would like them to consider a Scout
or Scouter in your council.)
- NESA Scholarship Applications
- http://www.nesa.org/scholarships/applications.html
- Applications for Eagle Scout scholarships have been removed from
the NESA Web site as the 2007 deadline has passed. Next year's
forms will be posted later this year.
March 2007
- Boys' Life redesigned
- http://www.boyslife.org
- Boys' Life magazine has redesigned their Web site.
Contact Bryan Wursten (bwursten@netbsa.org) for details.
- Cubcast
- http://old.scouting.org/cubscouts/podcast/
- A new podcast series targeted toward adult leaders in Cub Scouting
is now available on the scouting.org site. Monthly updates are
planned.
April 2007
- Scouting.org redesigned
- http://old.scouting.org
- The "main" Web site for the national council has been redesigned.
No content was added or removed - only the cosmetic aspects of
the site have changed.
- Tour Permit "Wizards" Removed
- http://old.scouting.org/forms/ltp
- http://old.scouting.org/forms/ntp
- The online assistants that walked users through completing the National
and Local Tour Permits were removed. The forms were out of date, and
will soon be made obsolete by MyScouting's fully electronic tour permit
applications. PDF versions (to print and complete by hand) are still
available.
- Cubcast
- http://old.scouting.org/cubscouts/podcast/
- A new podcast series for Cub Scout leaders.
May 2007
- Youth Protection Resources
- http://old.scouting.org/pubs/yp
- A new page has been added to the site to highlight the BSA's efforts,
policies, and resources in the area of Youth Protection.
- Youth Protection Training
- A new person (Norma Cethoute - ncethout@netbsa.org)has taken over
the responsibility of receiving and processing local reporting
requirements for Youth Protection training. has taken that.
(The nature of the document has not changed, just the person who
handles them).
- Staffing the District Committee
- http://olc.scouting.org
- A new training course has been added to the OLC.
- Introductory Guide for Merit Badge Counselors
- http://old.scouting.org/boyscouts/resources/mbc/index.html
- Orientation information for merit badge counselors.
See note below regarding graphics.
- Cub Scout Pack Annual Budget Plan
- http://old.scouting.org/cubscouts/resources/packbudget/index.html
- Guidance for Pack budgeting, including a budget worksheet.
June 2007
- Boy Scout Requirements
- http://old.scouting.org/boyscouts/resources/32215
- The entire content of the requirements book has been added to the
Web site.
- Merit Badge Graphics: Badges and Covers
- http://old.scouting.org/boyscouts/resources/mbc/index.html
- http://old.scouting.org/boyscouts/resources/32215
- The graphic files for merit badges (covers, small badges, and large
badges) has been moved from the counselors' guide (/mbs/) to the
Requirements site (/32215/). Apologies for any broken links - I
don't expect I'll need to move them again in the foreseeable
future.
July 2007
- Old Application Forms Discontinued
- http://old.scouting.org/forms
- A new application form (single form for all programs) is available
and has replaced the program-specific forms on this page. The old
forms have been removed - but because there are many links still pointing to the old versions,
we have replaced them with a PDF with the address to download the
new form.
July 2007
- BSA Extranet Discontinued
- http://extranet.scouting.org
- The BSA's extranet site, which made resources available to field
professionals, has been discontinued. Virtually all of the content
has been removed (we're working on one last item), as all employees
now have access to "MyBSA" and the Intranet site.
August 2007
- Conservation Good Turn
- http://old.scouting.org/boyscouts/resources/21-386
- Added information about the Conservation Good Turn along with
a certificate application.
- Commissioner Unit Visit Tracking System
- http://old.scouting.org/commissioners/uvts
- Application for unit commissioners to gather and reference
information regarding unit visits visits.
September 2007
- Merit Badge Resources
- http://old.scouting.org/boyscouts/resources/32215/mb
- The list of resoruces from the MB pamphlets was added to each
page along with the requirements.
- Scholarships
- http://old.scouting.org/boyscouts/scholarships
- Added a listing of scholarships available to Eagle Scouts.
October 2007
- Uniform Inspection Sheet - Adult Leaders
- http://old.scouting.org/forms/34048.pdf
- A new uniform inspection sheet (covering both male and female leaders)
has been posted. The older gender-specific versions are discontinued
(forwarding pages were placed at their locations).
- Entry-Level Openings
- http://old.scouting.org/hr/openings
- Human Resources has published a list of councils that currently have
entry-level openings for career professionals.
- Scouting Safely
- http://old.scouting.org/healthandsafety
- Health and Safety service has added a section to the Web site that
presents information related to safety issues.
- BSA Insignia Guide
- http://old.scouting.org/pubs/33066
- The BSA Insignia Guide, item no. 33066, has been placed online in
its entirety.
- MyScouting
- http://old.scouting.org/nav/enter.jsp?s=ms
- The new "MyScouting" portal has been launched. This login will
provide a single point-of-entry into all systems/programs available
via the internet for our volunteer leaders.
Current Projects
The projects listed below are currently "on the workbench". While these
projects will generally be completed in the near term, it's not possible to
project a date ... and it is possible a project may be cancelled.
International Division
International Division is reviewing their section of the site
(old.scouting.org/international) with an eye toward a dramatic overhaul of
the content they provide.
Hazardous Weather
A course on weather hazards is under development. The current
plan is to make this course available via the e-learning system.
Boy Scout Fast Start - Spanish
We are nearing the completion of translating the online Boy Scout Fast Start
course into Spanish.
Future Plans:
The information below is an "FYI" about things that may be coming
in the future - but please be aware: the further off a project is, the
more it's subject to be changed/cancelled.
Content Management System
We are currently in the process of evaluating vendors to provide a content
management system that will simplify the behind-the-scenes work in keeping
the content of national sites up to date. In time, we would like to leverage
this system to provide the same capability for councils, districts, and
units.
Thus far, we have viewed proposals from several vendors and have arrived at
our "top three" - the next step in the process is to work with these three
vendors toward developing a detailed project description.
This project, still in the early stages, remains contingent on funding and
we do not anticipate being able to begin until 2008 at the earliest.
Den Chief Fast Start
Cub Scout Division is considering options for providing introductory training
for new Den Chieves.
Commissioner Fast Start
A fast start course for commissioners is under development. The current
plan is to make this course available online, though it may ultimately be
delivered as a video.
Venturing Recruiting Site
A recruiting site for the Venturing program is in discussion. The goal is to
have a site that supports local council efforts to promote Venturing to teens
and promote the values of operating a crew to chartered organizations, similar
to the way that joincubscouting.org and thescoutzone.org do for their respective
programs. This site is presently expected to debut in 2008.
Previous Years' Maintenance Logs: