This website is devoted to exploring quality in the
media, including film, video, audio, interactive multimedia, and now the web.
This "quality" refers to conceptualization, writing and production of those
media, and to the quality of life in the world that these media help
create.
Most of the Main Topics deal with traditional forms of mass
communication, providing resources for professionals in those fields. The "Life
Online" section deals with communication content, and life issues in general.
There is a section called "Meet Your Host" where you can learn more about me,
the work I do, the reasons I chose some of this stuff, and so on.
Navigation: Use the Home Page
(toppage.html) as the starting point for hierarchical browsing or
searching. The rectangular images on the Home Page work like icons.
Click your mouse on the image, and you'll go to the corresponding section,
where you'll see the same image at the top of the page. (NOTE: each "topic"
image is only "clickable" on the Home page. When it appears on the other pages
it serves only as a topic banner. This plan could be criticized in terms of
ergonomics; but it was done in the interest of bandwidth economy -- as well as
my own economy of saving time.)
Many sections have subsections, which are generally identified and
reached with textual hotlinks. To navigate through the rest of the site, use
the buttons at the bottom of each page. Note: I've added "previous" and "main
topic" buttons to some pages, for convenience only. But because some topics
have multiple "layers," navigation may not be purely linear. That is why a
"previous" or "main topic" button may not always get the same effect as using
your browser's "back" button.
In short, you have many options. For random access browsing, you
can always jump directly to most pages from the Map/Index page. This
provides access to most topics via keywords, page titles, or other references
to guide you to the information you seek. You can go from the Menu page
directly to the Map/Index page -- and vice-versa. You can also reach the
Map/Index from virtually every other page on this site.[Return to top of this page.]
Also speaking of choices: all Internet users have the choice of what
media content to read/see/hear. It is their responsibility -- not mine -- to
shield themselves from things they might find offensive. I believe my website
to be really innocuous -- a family kind of place. But I have no idea what some
other person might think. I also have no control over the rest of the planet,
or what some other person might say on a website that is linked to from my
site. So this is a specific legal disclaimer of any such responsibility, just
in case.
As an experiment, the original edition of this
website (at its previous web address) participated in a voluntary self-ratings
program called RSAC/Internet. RSACi is one of several providers of "PICS"
ratings, which are a very new method by which parents may screen their kids'
web use, among other things. The ratings are keyed to the URL of the website,
so with its new address, I will have to resubmit the site to be rated again.
The goal is to make the site accessible (and appropriate) for kids to use as
well as adults. But parental guidance and supervision are still advised, just
the same -- for all Internet use, as well as this website.[Return to top of this page.]
This whole website is copyrighted, as stated on the top page. You'll
also find copyright notices in the source code of every page. The copyright
extends to all content hosted here, including navigation buttons, other
original images, sound files, and so on. It is a shame to have to put
disclaimers all over the place, but some people just don't understand or
respect intellectual property rights.
For those who wonder -- I have indeed pursued every instance where I
found pages, or identifiable parts of pages, reproduced on other websites, and
saw to it that the infringing material was removed from the Internet. I do take
this seriously.
So here's the deal. Generally speaking, the content of this website is
provided at no cost to anybody. I encourage visitors to make free, unfettered,
personal, non-commercial use of what they find here. This
basically means you can look at it, download, it, print it, line the birdcage
with it, whatever. Before you ask: Yes, I may grant other uses -- especially
for teachers or students -- but only when written permission is sought
beforehand. That permission will be finite and time-limited. All other terms
and limitations mentioned here will remain intact.
For example: you can't post any
page or image anyplace else, in any form that could be considered publication
or redistribution. That means print and electronic media, including the
Internet and BBSes, even in-house Intranets and LANs. If you want to "share"
the riches of this place, just tell people the URL and let others login
themselves. And no framed links! I wish I didn't have to mention all
this, but there it is. [Return to top of this
page.]
Staff size working on this website: just one (me). (Check the credits
page [link below] for other contributions.)
Number of pages: depending on how you count, there are over 90
individual pages making up this website, over half of which are "dynamic,"
meaning that they change from time to time to fix broken links or expand their
coverage of a topic. It is ridiculously large for a non-profit, one-person
site, which is why maintenance is not as rapid as I would like.
It has never been crucial for me to provide precise counts of unique
visitors, and I never wanted to impose cookies or other intrusive mechanisms on
my guests. But there are ways to make informed estimates. Before the site
changed its domain name and host company, my conservative guess was at least
100,000 visitors per year. Since early 2003 the site has been on a new host
that provides better statistical tools. They tell me that the site is getting
far more traffic than it used to, even with the dropoff in traffic that
resulted from its address change.
Because the site originated in 1996, when 14.4 modems were still
common, most of the original images still in use are 16-color GIFs. Also, most
of them are re-used on multiple pages. That means, if you browse the site much
at all, most of the images will be stored in your browser's cache file rather
than being transmitted over the internet each time. That makes your visit much
faster and easier. As imaging technology evolved, JPEG format images became
preferable in many cases, so you'll find both here.[Return to top of this page.]
Building and maintaining a humongous website is more work than pleasure.
What keeps me going is knowing that people get some benefit from what I've
created -- and sometimes say so! I've received lots of nice messages from
visitors ever since this site went online. It has received good reviews, some
awards, and has even been mentioned in a couple of books. You can read all
about it on the Kudos and Kind
Words page.
R.I.P. Mediaweb. When this site started, there was an active
listserv and website that helped media-related sites (like this one) to stay in
touch and to share resources. But at the time of this writing, I can't find any
current reference to the service and I can only assume that it died from a lack
of interest, or from an excess of competition. I also know that one of its
strongest early proponents is no longer with us, and his passing may have left
a vacuum that was never filled. An extensive Google and Usenet search did not
turn up anything recent, but if any readers know of ongoing Mediaweb activity,
I hope they will use the link below and drop me a line.
[Return to top of this page.]
The main tool used in developing these pages was HoTMetaL Pro from
SoftQuad, now in version 6. That product has been sold to Corel and won't be
updated again, so whatever I do with this site will be confined to the
abilities of that software. Link maintenance is done by hand and with the help
of a handy tool called Infolink, as well as the occasional foray into Windows
Notepad for quick text editing. The site should be accessible to almost any
browser or operating environment. Unlike many other websites, this one should
not require you to go out and buy the latest version of anything, nor should it
work significantly differently from one browser to another. Most pages can even
be accessed with the text-only Lynx browser under Unix!
I've experimented with specifying fonts on a few pages, like this one.
For those with compatible browsers, you'll be seeing this page in one of
several sanserif typefaces. The other pages will appear in your browser's
default typeface, whatever you have chosen. This experiment will temporarily
disrupt the consistency of the website's total "look" but it's a change worth I
think is worth trying out.
The original graphics work involved Corel Draw, Aldus Photostyler,
PaintShop Pro, Freehand, and others. The first sound files were done with
Creative Labs Wave Studio, with some assistance from Cool Edit (downloadable
from the Audio page). Other sound tools like WinAmp et al are noted on the MP3
demos page. I originally used CuteFTP for uploading, but now use WSFTP and like
it a lot.[Return to top of this page.]
This version uses simple "mailto" web forms for your input.
Someday, I may make custom forms, specific to each area, that will allow a lot
easier data entry. I have started experimenting with GIF animation and a few
HTML tricks that should make the place more visually entertaining once they're
installed.
I have tools for Shockwave animation, Java and other effects, but so
far, I don't see how they would help the website fulfill its mission any
better. The current host does not really support true streaming media like
RealAudio, but with a fast connection, you can get that effect from the MP3 and
other sound formats used on this site.[Return
to top of this page.]
Although there are no "Under Construction" notices, The Online
Communicator is under constant revision and expansion. I try to make updates as
often as time allows, and for most of its life this site was updated monthly.
There were few updates in 2001-2002 due to various time constraints that life
forced on your host. However, the move to this new address in 2003 required
some updates, and I did quite a bit of maintenance in that process. I've done
as much as I can ever since then. I hope to go back to the old ways, keeping
things fresh, with changes, updates, and additions of the new resources. Many
of these will come from users like yourself, so your input is
very welcome.
What's in it for me? you ask. Well, besides getting a more useful
and interesting place to visit, you'll also get credit! Every suggestion
or contribution will be considered, and for all the changes that get
incorporated into this site, there is
a Credits page
devoted to thanking the people who proposed them. You will, of course, have my
personal gratitude, as well of that of everyone else who visits here.
[Return to top of this page.]
ENJOY!
