Classic ASP: Way dinosaur.
ASP.NET: Very much alive.

PHP: Seems to be very much alive but it's not my OS so I don't know.

So, knowing nothing whatsoever about ASP, how would I ask intelligently if this person is using ASP or ASP.net?

I'm running into roadblocks on setting up a simple phpbb which I've done half a dozen times and know how to do.

But the idiots have the site hosted on a server that is a freebie from some business that has nothing to do w/ the non profit it's for. Because it was free.

I tried to tell them they would end up redesigning their site every year if they didn't sit down and think about what they really need and want it for. And here we are, redesigning. My contribution for sanity's sake was to set up a message board. And the server doesn't support php, so they say, although oddly enough, there *is* a phpbb on their site! WTF?

I hate people. Especially people who won't admit they simply don't know something.

Sounds like someone told them ASP is the way to go and they don't wanna hear anything else. I sympathize. I wish I knew more to help.

So is ASP.NET worth learning? I'm pretty much an HTML monkey, but I'm supposed to learn ASP.NET soon. I'm looking to lean more towards design in the future, so am I right in thinking that learning ASP.NET might be a waste of time? I don't mind learning a programming tool/language, but is this the right one? It seems so, Microsoft.

sorry for tacking on, chewa.

To really do ASP.NET well, you need to have some understanding of object oriented programming. It's not really for designers. Don't like Microsoft's sales force fool you.

Chewie, sounds like your idiots are probably on ASP classic. Especially if it's a freebie.

You can tell by looking at the extensions on their web pages. If "asp", it's ASP Classic. If "aspx", it's .NET.

thanks. I looked into a few classes and learned of the pre-req. I did take a javascript class awhile back, but didn't apply it, so I forgot most of it. So where's a good place to start? Visual Basic?
I'm such a bad web guy. shhhhh, don't tell anyone.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh. It's ASP classic. Which is pretty much what my gut was telling me why this chick was so resistent to php. So how hard is it to convert asp stuff over to something else? She wrote a bunch of form stuff here that gets funneled into a backend database. I'm trying to convince them to move the site to dreamhost.

No worries, hellbient.

I just poked around on the site and it is a mishmash of html, php, asp. Oy.

outrageous. are you sure you can't work with what's there? I know for me, once I'm forced to use something, I can at least wing what's there. If it's just a redesign, can't you just rearrange the code a little and keep the ASP stuff?
Or, can you call the ISP and ask them to add PHP functionality? Or, before that, make sure PHP doesn't work on the site?
Note that I may note understand exactly what you have to do.

I posted that before I saw your last comment. Starting to sound like it might be easiest to just start from scratch.

yeah. thing is - it's not my site. and I can hack most things if I get in the range, but this chick is evasive, and the site isn't even with a standard ISP it's buried on someone's business server. I'm ready to give up.

Sounds about right. I just recently quit a freelance job that was driving me crazy with their incompetance. Weird that it was a women's rights kinda organization as well (just making an observation, not a connection) It feels good to be rid of it, even though it was a nice little check every now and then.

I might tell them to provide the files or I'm done. But I'm not in your situation, so I don't wanna sound like I'm being a tough guy or something. Personally, I wouldn't wanna do it without the backend stuff available to me. Seems like a reasonable request, if they want it done.

I hope you're getting paid by the hour instead of flat rate. This sounds all too familiar.

Yeha. well. It's volunteer. I'm one email closer to telling them I'm overcommitted.