HTML Writers Guild Newsletter
Volume 6 Number 16, 21 August 2000
http://www.hwg.org/
mailto:editor@hwg.org
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Our Newsletter Sponsors: SearchButton.com, TheShortList.com
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Table of Contents
1. Member-Submitted Tips: Design tips for handheld devices
(Next Issue's Topic: Cross-platform compatibility)
2. New Feature: Get to know your fellow Guild Members
3. August Town Hall: Thursday, August 24th
4. Upcoming Online Classes: Go back to school this Fall with the HWG!
5. HWG Events in Your Future: STC Pan-Pacific Conference
6. Why Did I Get This Email? And Other HWG-News FAQs
(How to change your email address, how to unsubscribe, and more.)
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This issue of HWG-News is sponsored by:
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1. Member-Submitted Tips: Speeding up download time
(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:
Design tips for handheld devices
Now that webphones, Palm Pilots, and other handheld devices
are accessing the web, how do you code your pages so that
these users can access your site?
We only got a handful fo tips this time, and most of them focused on
the same subject. As such, the winner was a bit more difficult to select.
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 Kjetil Kjernsmo.
[HWG-News Tip: Speeding up download time --------------------------]
To make sure pages are accessible to all kinds of devices, separate
presentation and from content, make sure everything validates (with
e.g. ) and comply with the Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines that you can find at
.
[------------- Submitted by Kjetil Kjernsmo ]
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:
Cross-platform compatibility
Not everyone is lucky enough to have a PC, a Macintosh, and a Unix
machine, each running multiple versions of the most popular browsers
on thier desks. What are some of the pitfalls to avoid when designing
web pages so that your pages look good in all environments?
Send in your 5-8 line tips to hwg-news-tips@hwg.org.
2. Get to know your fellow Guild Members: Fred Barnett
(Marshall Jansen, HWG-News Editor, editor@hwg.org)
This issue we are starting a new feature, where we get to know some of the
hobbies and interests of a randomly chosen Guild Member. For the first
time out, the member isn't being randomly chosen, though. Instead, Fred
Barnett, one of the Governing Board Members,volunteered to be our 'Guinea
Pig' and see what the readership thought about this idea.
Every issue, we will give a Guild Member an opportunity to fill out
a short questionnaire about themselves for printing in HWG-News. Now, on
to Fred and his questions!
HWG: What is your name?
Fred: Frederick J. Barnett
HWG: What is your occupation?
Fred: Webmaster.
HWG: Where do you live? (City, State/Country)
Fred: Sorrento, Louisiana
HWG: How old are you?
Fred: 37
HWG: What was the last book you read?
Fred: Rangers of World War II
HWG: What was the last movie you saw?
Fred: If you mean at a theater, then that's probably Star Trek VI: The
Final Frontier. If pay cable counts, then it would be Enemy of the
State.
HWG: Who is your favorite musician?
Fred: Enya.
HWG: What is your favorite TV show?
Fred: Star Trek. The original series mostly, but I like the others too.
Except Voyager, cause I've never seen it.
HWG: What is your favorite Web site?
Fred: Don't really have a favorite.
HWG: What is one of your non-Web related hobbies?
Fred: Astronomy and pyrography (yeah, that's two).
HWG: How long have you been a web designer?
Fred: 5 years.
HWG: How did you learn HTML?
Fred: Some trial and error, but mostly from the HWG mailing lists.
HWG: How long have you been a member of the Guild?
Fred: 5 years.
HWG: Why did you join the Guild?
Fred: I was just starting out in web design, and I was going to create a
new web site for the local astronomy club I'm in. Wanting to do it
right, I decided to join HWG after seeing their logo on the web
site of my first HTML editor. I followed the link, and the rest as
they say, is history.
HWG: What's your biggest pet peeve in web design?
Fred: Right now it's the recommendation to use CSS in your pages, but
having to keep the older tags that CSS replaces in order to insure
your site looks the same or nearly the same in older browsers. It
seems like double the work for no good reason.
HWG: What's your internet start page?
Fred: http://www.eatel.net/~fred/ (I use my personal page)
HWG: Which search engine do you try first when web searching?
Fred: Usually Infoseek, though sometimes I use Yahoo first.
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3. August Town Hall: Thursday, August 24th
(Frank Boumphrey, VP of Special Events, vp-events@hwg.org)
Note: Last issue we said that the Town Hall meeting would be the 31st.
It is not the 31st, but the 24th of the month. We are sorry for any
confusion this might have caused.
Town Halls are informal affairs, where you can talk to the governing
board, ask questions, and generally let you opinions be known in a more
public forum than email. We hope to see you there!
The details on the June town hall meeting are:
24 August Town Hall Meeting
Date: Thursday, 24 August 2000
Time: 6:30 p.m. PST, 9:30 p.m. EST
Server: HWG Interactive, http://interact.hwg.org/
IRC: irc.hwg.org, port 6667
Channel: #townhall
To connect, either go to the URL above and use the Java-based client
available via the web, or use your favorite IRC client and join channel
#townhall.
4. 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:
Macromedia Flash Wizardry,A Master's Course
Dates: August 21, 2000 - October 1, 2000 (6 weeks)
Tuition: $120 Full members, $150 Trial members
Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/a222.1.html
Take your Flash skills to the next level! This class takes you beyond
the basics and into the lesser known aspects of Flash.
Using Macromedia Dreamweaver - Part I
Dates: August 28, 2000 - September 24, 2000 (4 weeks)
Tuition: $25 Full members, $50 Trial members
Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/a131.7.html
Designed for the student who wishes to evaluate the Macromedia
Dreamweaver 3.0 web design tool. The publicly available 30 day trial
version will be available for students to use for this 4 week intensive
course. Topics will include: layout and visual design, tools for creating
tables, frames, and forms, implementing style sheets, and adding
javascript or behaviors. New features in version 3.0 not mentioned in
the current text as they pertain to these topics will also be covered.
Introduction to HTML 4.0
Dates: September 4, 2000 - October 15, 2000 (6 weeks)
Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members
Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/h101.19.html
Leave your WYSIWYG editor behind and explore the nuts and bolts that
make web pages function!
Business Writing Basics
Dates: September 4, 2000 - October 29, 2000 (8 weeks)
Tuition: $25 Full members, $50 Trial members
Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/b101.9.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 Programming Concepts
Dates: September 11, 2000 - October 22, 2000 (6 weeks)
Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members
Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/p010.4.html
Want to take one of our programming courses, but feel you're not
yet ready for the "intro" courses? Here's the class for you! Learn
the programming concepts central to all programming languages, and
you'll be prepared to master your next (or first!) choice of
scripting or programming languages with ease.
Sites that Sizzle: Web Animation with Macromedia Flash 4
Dates: September 11, 2000 - October 22, 2000 (6 weeks)
Tuition: $60 Full members, $90 Trial members
Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/a221.11.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.
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/
5. HWG Events in Your Future: STC Pan-Pacific Conference
(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/
* STC Pan-Pacific Conference
Honolulu,Hawaii
October 18-21, 2000
http://www.pan-pacific.org/
Ann Navarro and Chris Higgs will be giving talks on XML.
If you are attending either of these events, please stop by and introduce
yourself to our HWG representatives, we'd love to meet you!
6. 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: Full members can update their 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. Trial members can send email to
to change their email address.
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 (334) 928-4542. Discounts are available
to Guild Business and Corporate members, as well as for multiple
placements. The Guild's newsletter reaches over 117,000 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.