Each of us probably remember the shipmate assigned to us when we reported on board the Bates. You showed up on your first day on board, and if you had never been on a submarine, it was pretty intimidating. But the U.S. Navy, in its infinite wisdom, saw to it that you were assigned a mentor and, well, baby sitter, in the form of a 'Sea Daddy' who, despite being a complete caricature of a submarine sailor, was knowledgeable and qualified to point you in the right direction and make sure you didn't hurt yourself or someone else. He made sure you had a place to bunk, that you could find the head and the mess decks, would get out of the passageway when an alarm went off, and picked up about 42 pounds of qualification cards. For better or for worse, most of still remember our first 'Sea Daddy'.
But this really isn't about 'Sea Daddies' back in the day.
I'm in the middle of posting another generous contribution of photographs from Michael Yawn related to the period between 1981 and 1985. Now, given that he only kept the ones with him in the picture, you'll get to see quite a bit of Mike, but there are plenty of other shipmates and lots of interesting features worth noting. You'll find them in the Crew Gallery when I finish uploading all 57 of them, but there are already a few new photos in there.
As I was checking them to make sure they were displaying corrrectly, it dawned on me that some of you unfortunate dink non-quals might miss these little gems, if you don't know your way around the website. In a flash of insight, I realized that I have been neglecting my job as 'Sea Daddy' and failing to indoctrinate you in the finer points of life in and around the William H. Bates (SSN 680) web experience.
So grab a cup o' joe, and plant your butt on the workbench, and relish the wisdom hereby proclaimed.
As site administrator, I automatically get notified about much of the activity on the website. New users registering, comments being made, new threads in the Scuttlebutt forum, etc., but I don't get notifications about everything. So I still visit the site every day or two to see what's up, and because I know where things are that are likely to change, I have a little routine I follow to make sure I see what is new.
So here's what I do:
First, I log in - a no-brainer. I have my browser set to remember my password so all I have to do is go to the web page and click in the blank, and my name and password are autofilled. Click the login button, and viola!
When you log in, the site is programmed to take you automatically to the P.O.D page. Read the P.O.D. Now it usually only gets updated every week or two, so you can tell at a glance what is new.
Scrolling down, I glance at the Current Watchsection to see who is online, and if I need to shout them out.
Next, check the 1MC - any conversations going on that are of interest? If so, I immediately click to the Quarterdeck >> Ship's Office >> 1MC Archive because the Archive is easier to read, and longer than the 1MC log itself.
Regardless of the page you are one, I check the Welcome Aboard section to see who are the most recent shipmates to register. Clicking on their names and I can send them a private message of welcome if I desire.
Still scrolling, at the bottom of each page is the Recent Activity box. I see listed all recent articles under Recent Sitreps, Recent Sea Stories, and Recent Updates. If it is a written article, it shows up here, so this is a good place to check to see what is new.
After checking out Recent Activity, I choose Crew's Mess >> Scuttlebutt. The Scuttlebutt threads don't show up in Recent Activity, so you have to check here and see what is new.
Finally, I go to Up Scope! >> Crew Gallery. This also does not update in Recent Activity so there are two links I click here: Last Added, and Last Commented. I quickly can see what new photos have been uploaded, and what photos have been commented on.
So that is the hot skinny. LOG IN : P.O.D. : Recent Activity : Scuttlebutt : Crew Gallery. Learn it, and live it - it will make your browsing on the website enjoyable.
If you are strapped for time, and nothing has changed, you are on and off in less than a minute. If something new is up, you can browse or catch it later when you have more time.
There are many things to see and do on the Bates website, and you can easily spend hours browsing around, but if you learn these five quick check steps, you can stay current without having to invest any time.
Hope it helps!
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