HTML Writers Guild Newsletter Volume 6 Number 7, 8 April 2000 http://www.hwg.org/ mailto:editor@hwg.org --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Newsletter Sponsors: eLance, SpeedyWeb --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents 1. Meet your new Executive Committee 2. April is Accessibility Month! 3. Member-Submitted Tips: Effective Use of Color (Next Issue's Topic: Web Accessibility) 4. Mac IE5 released with complete CSS1 and XML Support 5. AWARE Center Bulletin -- April 2000 6. WAI Participation Request 7. Upcoming Online Classes: Take an online class! 8. HWG Events in Your Future: WWW9, Vbits, XML Europe 2000 9. Why Did I Get This Email? And Other HWG-News FAQs --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This issue of HWG-News is sponsored by: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- eLance.com http://www.eLance.com/hwg ATTENTION HWG members: There are currently over 250 PROJECTS in web development, banner design, software programming, and IT consulting waiting for you in the eLance.com marketplace. Click here (http://www.eLance.com/hwg) to join the eLance community for FREE, and SELL YOUR SERVICES to buyers from around the world! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Meet your new Executive Committee (Marshall Jansen, VP of Marketing & Outreach, marshall@hwg.org) I'm pleased to announce that the Executive Committee for the new year has been selected! Joe Cline (joe@hwg.org) has been elected President, this is his second time in the seat! Joe was also re-elected for his position as VP of Technology. Frank Boumphrey (frank@hwg.org) has been elected Treasurer, and was re-elected for VP of Events. Marshall Jansen (marshall@hwg.org) has been elected as VP of Marketing and Outreach. Leanne Phillips (leanne@hwg.org) has been re-elected for both Secretary and VP of Member Education. Fred Barnett (fred@hwg.org) has been re-elected for Assistant Secretary. In addition, Ann Navarro (ann@hwg.org) also holds a seat on the EC, for her staff position as the HWG Chief Operation Officer (COO). The Executive Committee (EC) runs the day to day operations of the Guild, from classes to events to advertising and the budget. They are selected from the Governing Board, and hold their positions for a year at a time. The EC would like to recognize Kynn Bartlett, our past President, for all of his hard work over the years. Kynn has stepped down from the office of the President to pursue career opportunities with a startup company. While Kynn will be stepping down from all of his executive duties, he will remain active as the Director of the AWARE Center and a member of the Governing Board. Thanks for all your hard work Kynn! best of luck in your future endeavors! 2. April is Accessibility Month (Kynn Bartlett, Director, AWARE Center, aware@hwg.org) April 2000 has been designated as the Guild's third annual Web Accessibility Month, a month-long focus on the very important issue of web accessibility! By "accessible", we mean a web site that can be used by everyone, regardless of disability. Unfortunately, many web pages being created are not accessible, because they have unnecessary, artificial barriers to access -- cutting out parts of their own audience! Accessibility problems are very common and present major obstacles to a number of web users. For example, images that are not labeled with the ALT attribute cannot be understood by the screenreaders often used by blind computer users. Deaf users cannot understand the sound tracks of multimedia files, unless transcripts are provided. Users with dexterity or mobility disabilities may not be able to use a mouse or keyboard to access a site. In order to make an accessible web site, web authors need to have an understanding of "non-standard access methods" -- in other words, more than just the latest version of Netscape or Internet Explorer running on a desktop or laptop. The techniques that provide access for people with disabilities can also make a web site usable by people with mobile access devices such as cell phones or PDAs; by users connecting via web appliances such as WebTV; and by users who have older hardware and software. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) -- the industry organization that crafts the standards for the web, such as HTML, CSS, and XML -- created the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) in 1997 to define the techniques necessary to produce accessible web sites. The HTML Writers Guild, the only organization of web designers that holds membership in the W3C, has been an active participant in WAI activities. Some important WAI milestones include the issuance of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines in May of 1999, and the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines in February 2000. (Under development now are accessibility guidelines for browsers and other user agents.) As part of last year's Accessibility Month, the HTML Writers Guild established the Accessible Web Authoring Resources and Education (AWARE) Center as a resource center for web designers who want to learn more about web accessibility. The Guild invites you to become AWARE of web accessibility this April by visiting: http://www.awarecenter.org/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This issue of HWG-News is sponsored by: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- SpeedyWeb http://www.speedyweb.com/hwg.htm SPECIAL LIMITED TIME OFFER! Are you overpaying for your Web Hosting? SpeedyWeb's current special is a massive 450 Megs with FREE Real Audio/Video and FREE Referral logs for only $19.95/month! 99.9% Guaranteed Uptime, Toll Free Customer Support. Sign up today and get 2 FREE ROUND TRIP AIRLINE TICKETS with each site ordered! Call 1-888-416-4678 or...... http://www.speedyweb.com/hwg.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Member-Submitted Tips: Effective Use of Color (Marshall Jansen, HWG-News Editor, hwg-news-tips@hwg.org) The Guild's foundation is members helping members, sharing our expertise and knowledge to improve our skills in the craft of web design. Everyone has something to teach, and something to learn! In keeping with that spirit, the HWG-News Newsletter HWG-News features member-submitted "tips" in each issue, in the space between articles and announcements. What happens if your tip is selected? Each issue, the first-place winner will receive a free HWG t-shirt. Runner-up tips will be also listed in the HWG-News newsletter as space permits, and submissions will be posted on the HWG web site. The topic for this issue, as announced last issue, is: Effective Use of Color When designing web pages, the effective use of color can often make someone more likely to browse the site. Not surprisingly, a bad choice of color can be the quickest way to get someone to hit the back button. How do you get a clean, attractive, and expressive color scheme for a web page, that stands out from the crowd, but isn't garish or distracting? We got many good responses! A full list of all tips submitted can be found online at: http://www.hwg.org/opcenter/newsletter/tips/ Complete rules and information (including size limits) are also listed at the URL above -- please read it! This issue's winner was sent in by Gloria Hazell! [HWG-News Tip: Effective Use of Color -------------------------------] Hi, I always try to match the color in some way, physically or psychologically, to the item that is on the web site, for instance 'pipestone pipes' the color that goes with the pipe, maroon-red and grey. A shopping site has a chocolate feel to it to make women feel comfortable, a housing company to the color of the house, etc. It works. [----------------Submitted by Gloria Hazell ] If you have suggestions for upcoming HWG News Tip topics, you can send those to hwg-news-tips@hwg.org as well. The category for the next newsletter is: Web Accessibility Tips In celebration of April as Accessibility Month, we want to see any and all tips that relate to making the web more accessible to all users. What do you do to make sure everyone can access your site equally? Send in your 5-8 line tips on Web Accessibility to hwg-news-tips@hwg.org before next Saturday, the 15th of April! 4. Mac IE5 released with complete CSS1 and XML Support (Marshall Jansen, HWG-News Editor, hwg-news-tips@hwg.org) Attention Macintosh users! Have you felt left behind in the browser wars by a lack of support for the hot new web technologies? Well, now you can have support for CSS Level 1 and XML on the Macintosh! Microsoft has released Internet Explorer 5 for Macintosh, download it here: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/download/en/default.asp With full CSS support, IE5 will allow Macintosh users to finally utilize the time-saving site design features built into CSS. With stylesheets, you can change the look and feel of an entire site from one page. CSS also allows control of page elements with much greater precision than standard HTML. In addition, XML support will allow you to write and use your own DTD's for your XML applications, as well as parse XML from other sources. 5. AWARE Center Bulletin -- April 2000 (Kynn Bartlett, AWARE Center Director, aware@hwg.org) The HTML Writers Guild's AWARE Center presents the following announcements from the field of web accessibility: * Announcing the AWARE Center Advisory Board! To help us meet our goal of being the premier resource on accessible web design, the AWARE Center has recruited a panel of distinguished experts in the field. We are pleased to announce the following individuals as charter members of the AWARE Center Advisory Board: * Kathleen Anderson, State of Connecticut * Mike Burks, Internet Society * Deanie French, Southwest Texas University * Charles McCathieNevile, World Wide Web Consortium * Gregory Rosmaita, Visually Impaired Computer Users Group of New York * Cynthia Waddell, City of San Jose * Bebo White, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Our thanks go out to these individuals for their commitment of time and expertise! * U.S. Access Board Proposes Standards for Government Sites The U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board -- also known as the Access Board -- is a government agency that sets policy standard for access to services by people with disabilities. The Access Board has proposed standards for access to web design which are now available for public review. The standards set by the Access Board explain how Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act -- a key piece of disability-related legislation -- should be applied in regards to government web sites. (Contrary to some early reports, the Access Board regulations do not apply to private U.S. sites, save for those which are doing business directly with the government.) Based in part on the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the Access Board's requirements will go into effect in August of this year. Members of the public may view the proposed guidelines and comments may be sent until May 31, 2000. You can read more about these accessibility requirements at: http://www.access-board.gov/ 6. WAI Participation Request (Ann Navarro, W3C AC Representative, ann@hwg.org) The HWG has a long history of participation in the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). After nearly two years of dedicated service for the Guild in this area, our previous represenative, Kynn Bartlett, will be stepping down. As such, we are looking to appoint new representative(s) to the WAI Working Groups. Of particular applicability to the Guild are: * Web Content Authoring Guidelines Working Group * Education and Outreach Working Group * User Agent Guidelines Working Group We are extending an invitation to our Full Members who are interested in this activity to apply for appointment to one of these groups. Eligibility requirements are as follows: 1. The member must be a current Full Member of the Guild. 2. The member must have demonstrated intermediate to advanced mastery of HTML, including the concepts and processes of validation. 3. The member must be familiar with and enthusiastic about promoting accessibility in all aspects of Web design and the Web experience. 4. The member must be able to participate in weekly 60-90 minute teleconferences, most often scheduled during business hours. * 5. The member must be able to travel to face to face meetings of the Working Group on at least a quarterly basis. Meetings are almost always held on weekdays, and may be held on rotating continents. Absences from a primary place of employment between 3 and 5 working days per meeting may be required. * 6. The member must be able to spend a minimum of 5-10 hours per week on the activity. * Please note that the Guild does cover telephone and direct travel expenses (airfare, hotel, meals). However, we are not able to provide any per-diem pay that would "replace" salary or vacation days taken in order to travel. Written confirmation from your employer as to your availability for teleconferences and travel during the work-week may be required before appointment. Interested members should send a letter of application that includes discussion of your relevant HTML and accessibility experience, along with a resume (text only, no attachments) to ann@hwg.org, no later than May 1, 2000. 7. Upcoming Online Classes: Take an online class! (Ann Navarro, Online Education Director, classes@hwg.org) Through a web-based interface, we offer a broad series of online classes designed to teach you the skills you need, in a way that fits your busy schedule. Our instructors are your fellow Guild members, chosen for their expertise in their field and their willingness to pass along their experience to you. Upcoming courses you can take include: Online classes currently open for enrollment include: Designing for Universal Accessibility with HTML 4.0 Dates: April 24, 2000 - June 4, 2000 (6 weeks) Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/d201.8.html Can your web site be used by everyone, including people with disabilities, older browsers, and hand-held computers? If you're not sure, take this course; it could change the way you view the web. Introduction to HTML 4.0 Dates: May 1, 2000 - June 11, 2000 (6 weeks) Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/h101.15.html Leave your WYSIWYG editor behind and explore the nuts and bolts that make web pages function! Business Writing Basics Dates: May 8, 2000 - June 18, 2000 (6 weeks) Tuition: $25 Full members, $50 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/b101.7.html You may be good at HTML tags, but that's just half the equation! Learn how to make your content sizzle in our writing course! Introduction to HTML 4.0 Dates: May 22, 2000 - July 2, 2000 (6 weeks) Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/h101.14.html Leave your WYSIWYG editor behind and explore the nuts and bolts that make web pages function! Sites that Sizzle: Web Animation with Macromedia Flash 4 Dates: May 22, 2000 - July 2, 2000 (6 weeks) Tuition: $60 Full members, $90 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/a221.4.html This course covers the exciting world of Flash 4. You will learn to draw, create, import and manipulate vector objects, making them come to life in frame-by-frame animations and on multiple layers. Introduction to Cascading Style Sheets Dates: May 22, 2000 - July 2, 2000 (6 weeks) Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/h151.10.html Add a little style to your web design! This popular course covers CSS 1 and 2, which can enhance the appearance of any web page! You'll learn which CSS rules are -- and are not -- supported by the major browsers, and more! Creating Web Graphics with Paint Shop Pro Dates: May 22, 2000 - July 2, 2000 (6 weeks) Creating Web Graphics with Paint Shop Pro Dates: May 22, 2000 - July 2, 2000 (6 weeks) Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/g201.6.html Release your inner artist! This graphics course will teach you to create your own stunning images for use on your website, using the Paint Shop Pro program. Implementing Java Applets in your Web Pages Dates: June 5, 2000 - July 2, 2000 (4 weeks) Tuition: $25 Full members, $50 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/h171.3.html Designed for the beginning student with some knowledge of creating HTML files by hand or with a WYSIWYG editing tool. This class will show you where to go to get applets for your pages, and how to customize them using parameters. This is NOT a programming class! Applets will range from simple 'ticker style' text applets, to animations, and to Java games. Introduction to JavaScript Dates: June 12, 2000 - July 30, 2000 (7 weeks) Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/p151.9.html The JavaScript language allows you to add interactivity to your web pages -- this course will teach you the basics of programming in JavaScript for multiple browser types. COURSE FEES Course fees are based on membership level; Full members receive a discounted tuition price, while Trial members pay the standard price. Full membership is only $40 per year, so upgrade your membership before registering, and save money! Payments may be made online via secure transaction; all figures are in U.S. funds. A certificate of completion is available for an additional $5; the request needs to be made at the time of registration. A certificate can be requested after class is completed for $10. Textbooks (when required) are separate and may be purchased through the Guild's online bookstore, The Bookmark. Books should be purchased before the first week of class! In addition, students should have regular access to the web and the ability to post completed assignments on a public (non-Intranet) web server. Sign up today through our online enrollment forms or get more information at: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/ [HWG-News Tip: Effective Use of Color -------------------------------] Effective use of color is not a new problem unique to web sites; graphic designers, photographers, and others working in print media have grappled with it for years. My tip: Learn from those who have gone before. Many excellent books and other resources are available on this and other fundamentals of design -- use them! Familiarize yourself with subjects like color wheels and the emotional responses evoked by different color combinations and you'll have some powerful tools at your disposal. [-----------------Submitted by Tracey [Baker] Wagner ] 8. HWG Events in Your Future: WWW9, Vbits, XML Europe 2000 (Frank Boumphrey, VP of Special Events, vp-events@hwg.org) As part of our ongoing Speakers Bureau program, we are pleased to present this list of upcoming industry events at which the Guild will be participating. More information can be found at our events page: http://www.hwg.org/opcenter/events/ * 3rd Annual Australasian Online Documentation Conference Brisbane, Queensland, Australia April 12 - April 14, 2000 http://conference.hyperwrite.com.au/ Chris Higgs will be presenting at this conference. * WWW9 -- The Ninth World Wide Web Conference Amsterdam, The Netherlands May 15 - May 19, 2000 http://www.www9.org/ We will be presenting a workshop at this conference entitled "Crafting and Reforming HTML Pages as XHTML." * VBits Chicago, IL May 24, 2000 http://www.vbits.net/ Frank Boumphrey will be presenting "Building XML applications using VB". * XML Europe 2000 Paris, France June 14, 2000 http://www.gca.org/attend/2000_conferences/europe_2000/default.htm Frank Boumphrey will be presenting "Using XML in Medical Internet applications". If you are attending any of these events, please stop by and introduce yourself to our HWG representatives, we'd love to meet you! [HWG-News Tip: Effective Use of Color -------------------------------] Less is more. Don't make excessive use of different colors. Instead, try lowering your choice to as little colors as possible. Too many different colors will make your page look 'childish'. [-------------------Submitted by Florian Kunze ] 9. Why Did I Get This Email? And Other HWG-News FAQs (HWG-News Newsletter Editor, editor@hwg.org) This newsletter was edited by Marshall Jansen . Some questions you may be asking: Q: Why did I get this mail? A: You received this newsletter because you are a member of the HTML Writers Guild. This message came from HWG-News, the Guild's mandatory mailing list for all members. If you need more information about HWG-News, please see the List Charter at: http://www.hwg.org/lists/hwg-news/index.html Q. Why doesn't this newsletter talk about web design or HTML more? A. The newsletter is the Guild's administrative bulletin to the membership; beyond the HWG News Tips, we don't include specific information on web creation. If you are interested in the topics of Web design and HTML, then you might want to subscribe to some of our discussion lists devoted to those topics. More information on the Guild's offering of discussion lists can be found at: http://www.hwg.org/lists/mailinglists.html Q. How can I find out more about Guild activities? A. The Guild has set up a one-way announcement list, HWG-Announce, that carries bulletins of day-to-day Guild business. For details on how to subscribe, please see: http://www.hwg.org/lists/hwg-announce/ Q: How do I unsubscribe from HWG-News? A: Since this is a required list in order to maintain your Guild membership, unsubscribing is the same as resigning from the HTML Writers Guild. If you have your Member ID and password, to resign your membership in the Guild and to unsubscribe to HWG-News, visit: http://www.hwg.org/member/resign.html Fill in the pertinent information, and submit it. If you don't have a Member ID, or have forgotten your password, send mail to: mailto:lost-password@hwg.org with a Subject of: Resign membership In the body of the message, provide the following information: * Your email address(es) * Your member ID if you have one. * The list of discussion lists you are on. Please remember that unsubscribing to HWG-News automatically resigns you from the Guild. If you have problems with unsubscribing, please contact the password support team for help. Q: How do I change my email address for Guild mailings? A: You can update your own membership profile at any time by going to this page: http://www.hwg.org/member/profile.html. If you don't know your password, contact the password support team for help. Q: Can my company advertise in the Guild's newsletter? A: Yes; the Guild is offering sponsorship opportunities in HWG-News on a limited basis. If you are interested in advertising your web related product or service here, please send email to advertising@hwg.org or call (205) 422-4340. Discounts are available to Guild Business and Corporate members, as well as for multiple placements. The Guild's newsletter reaches over 115,000 web authors worldwide each month. (Note: The Guild does not make our member database available for third party use. We have a strong privacy policy and will not release our members' personal information; our mailing list is not for sale. Any questions regarding the Guild's advertising or privacy policies can be directed to advertising@hwg.org.) Q: What if I want to comment on this newsletter? A: The HWG-News Mailing List is a "Read-Only" list -- please do not try to reply to this message directly. If you wish to contact the editor of this newsletter, you may do so by sending email to editor@hwg.org. Each article begins with the contact information for the author as well. Copyright 2000, HTML Writers Guild, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Published twice monthly via email and WWW.