Cyber jams 'add to web misery of rural users'

OVERSIZED and over-designed websites and emails from Government departments and large organisations are making life difficult for rural businesses and farmers battling against poor and non-existent internet services, it is being claimed.

Rural business organisation the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) says large urban-based organisations in both the public and private sector should be more mindful of how weak internet access can be in the countryside and do their bit to reduce "cyber congestion".

People in many of Yorkshire's rural areas, and elsewhere in the UK, face well documented problems with poor access to the internet, in particular to broadband, with business leaders in the countryside having long-complained the urban-rural divide is holding back their ability to compete with their city and town-based counterparts.

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The issues have gained national attention with Prince Charles among the most prominent critics of the disparity.

The CLA is now calling upon web users to be more considerate and careful with how they use the internet so as not to place further strain on the already weak service many people in rural areas have to endure.

The association has launched its "Internet Charter" to help to improve the situation and highlight how bulky emails and websites that may work for government bodies and other organisations with super-fast computer networks may not be accessible for rural internet users.

The CLA's head of rural business development Dr Charles Trotman said: "Until everybody can access an acceptably fast connection of at least two megabits per second, organisations must consider all end users when they send emails or have design work done on their websites.

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"While not wishing to stifle creativity, we feel there is no need for organisations to use every feature in their software or to pad out their information with oversized and irrelevant graphics.

"Many people ignore or simply forget that a lot of rural users are still on dial-up.

"It is often difficult for farmers and other rural businesses to comply with Government regulations to file their tax returns online. We need to reverse this trend and hope senior managers will use the CLA Internet Charter to influence the way their staff communicate.

"One day everyone should benefit from high speed broadband, but until then we need to communicate in a way that is accessible for all, especially when delivering public services."

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Among those to have suffered from poor web access is farmer Stephen Elsdon from Appleton Whisk, near Northallerton.

He told the Yorkshire Post: "We are unable to get any of the decent broadband packages. We are by no means out in the sticks here but they are just not interested in putting the proper cabling in.

"I have to register my cattle movement online, to do so without the internet involves a mountain of paperwork. A lot of my tax issues and general admin needs to be done online too. The industry is trying to get us to move online but if you can't get a connection it's very difficult. Even just looking for spare parts is troublesome."

Among the recommendations in the charter are to refrain from sending attachments, to avoid signatures or logos, and to only enclose pictures if they are absolutely essential.

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The Government had initially set a target of two megabytes per second as the minimum speed that should be available to all homes in the UK by 2012, but this deadline has since been put back to 2015.

THE GUIDE TO KEEPING IT LEAN

The CLA's Internet Charter makes the following recommendations:

No email should be bigger than it needs to be.

Do not send unsolicited attachments.

Avoid signatures or logos and never add them if you do not know how to reduce the file size.

Enclose pictures only if they are a vital illustration.

Do not routinely produce PDF files.

Do not "reply to all" or copy numerous people in on your routine emails.

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You do not have to use every effect in your design software.

Do not include anything on your website just for the sake of it.

All current information should ideally be accessible from the homepage of your website in no more than three clicks.

If you did not understand any of the above, insist on training.