News and Announcements

My WebSpace - Modifying Group Directory Information

Posted: 2013-06-06 08:57:56   Expiration: 2013-06-10 13:05:39

Disclaimer: This news item was originally posted on 2013-06-06 08:57:56. Its content may no longer be timely or accurate.

Users can now submit requests to the mywebspace-admin@lists.wisc.edu mailing list for the following items:

  1. Request Deletion of Group Directory
  2. Change Name of Group Directory
  3. Update/Change the primary/secondary Administrator for group Directory
  4. Address "Request Failed" error

All four of the above requests should be sent to the mywebspace-admin@lists.wisc.edu mailing list with the following information:

  • The Name of the Directory
  • The Change requested, including any necessary justification
  • The approval of the Group Directory primary administrator

"Request Failed" Error Explanation

The request failed error that presents itself to administrators when attempting to change the permissions for a personal/group directory is typically a result of over-working the software behind My WebSpace. Group directories were not an inherent feature of My WebSpace, and was instead built on top of the original software. This means that the software was not prepared to handle extremely large group directories with many files and subfolders. As each new person has their permissions addeded to the directory, a process runs that re-calibrates everyone's permissions across all of the files and subfolders. This means that the more permissions added to a group directory, the longer it may take to set the permissions.

Once enough people have had their permissions set for a directory, the request to change permissions takes a longer amount of time than the designated timeout period, resulting in a "request failed" error for directory admins as well as My WebSpace administrative staff. The only way to work around this issue is to manage the permissions of a large group directory by organizing users into designated 'Groups'. These permission groups can only be created or modified given permissions by My WebSpace administrative staff.

All requests to have a group directory's permissions managed in groups should be sent to mywebspace-admin@lists.wisc.edu. Please include the group directory name, an organized document that details the requested permissions of each user for the group directory, and the approval of the Primary Administrator of the group directory. Please note that if permissions are set by the designated 'Groups' mentioned above, all future changes to the group directory's permissions, including adding, removing, and changing user permissions, will need to be sent up via requests to the My WebSpace admin emailing list so the respective changes can be made to the permissions assigned to the 'Groups'.

-- My Webspace: Mark Jenkins