HTML Writers Guild Newsletter -- 16 March 2001

                      HTML Writers Guild Newsletter
                    Volume 7 Number 5, 16 March 2001
                           http://www.hwg.org/
                          mailto:editor(at)hwg.org

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Table of Contents 

1. Newly Appointed Guild Governing Board Directors
2. April is Accessibility Month!
3. Project Gutenberg
4. March Town Hall:  March 22
5. Education Mailing List
6. HWG Membership Gift Certificates 
7. Show your support! Buy a NEW Guild T-shirt! 
8. Upcoming Online Classes: Take an HWG Class! 
9. 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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1. Newly Appointed Guild Governing Board Directors
(Fred Barnett, Secretary, secretary(at)hwg.org)

The HTML Writers Guild has appointed three new governing board directors.

Carole Gay
Carole has been a member of the HTML Writers Guild since 1995 and
recently assumed the duties of Director of the Guild's Gutenberg
Project.  She began working for Digital Equipment Corp.(DEC), now a
part of Compaq, in 1983, specializing in office automation and PC
networking. 

Lauren Patrick
Lauren is President of Netforce Inc.  With fifteen years experience in
developing computer and information systems, she has spent most of her
career as a consultant to organizations.  Lauren brings with her a
wealth of knowledge in IBM mainframe platforms, microcomputers,
client/server systems, and Internet-based applications.

Thom Dunaway
Thom has been involved with Internet since 1995, programming mostly
for advertising agencies like DDB Needham and The Richards Group.
Currently Thom works for Richards Interactive. In his career has had
the opportunity to work on sites like Pepsi.com, FootAction.com, and
France98.com. Thom's computer skills include HTML, DHTML, JavaScript,
Perl, PHP, and mySQL. Thom has a strong knowledge in User Interface
Design and has designed and built several web-based application. Thom
is a certified Unix SysAdmin and has helped start two web hosting
companies in the past several years.


As we look forward to an exciting and productive term, please join the
Governing Board in welcoming these new directors. 

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2. April is Accessibility Month
(Kynn Bartlett, AWARE Center Director, kynn(at)hwg.org

April 2001 has been designated as the Guild's fourth 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.)

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/

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3.  Project Gutenberg
(Carole Gay, Project Gutenberg Director, caroleg(at)hwg.org)

What is the Gutenberg Project?  It is the electronic markup of the
world's greatest works and you can be a part of it!  This is an
exciting time for the Gutenberg project!  We are in the process of
refurbishing the site and validating the many documents now ready to
upload.  The Gutenberg project needs a few good wo/men who are
interested in assisting with these tasks.  Please send email to
caroleg(at)hwg.org if you are interested in working in these two areas.
Get involved in the Guild's Gutenberg project at
http://gutenberg.hwg.org/

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4.  March Town Hall Meeting: Thursday, March 22nd
    (Fred Barnett, Secretary, secretary(at)hwg.org)

Town Halls are informal affairs, where you can talk to the governing
board, ask questions, and generally let your opinions be known in a
more public forum than email. We hope to see you there! 

The details on the March town hall meeting are:

22 March Town Hall Meeting 
Date:      Thursday, 22 March 2001 
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.

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5.  Education Mailing List
(Gretchen Lowerison, Online Education Director, classes(at)hwg.org)

If you have ever been disappointed because you found out about a class
too late to enroll, consider subscribing to our educational list.
This list will generate an email to you each time we post a class.
The list can be found at
http://www.hwg.org/lists/hwg-education/index.html

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6. HWG Membership Gift Certificates 
   (Chris Weiss, Controller, treasurer(at)hwg.org)

The HTML Writers Guild is proud to now offer gift certificates!
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/giftmember.html You can purchase a
Gift Certificate good for one year of full membership in the HTML
Writers Guild, with all of the benefits that membership provides. You
can also personalize the gift for any occasion!  Give someone you know
a membership today!

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7. Show your support! Buy a NEW Guild T-shirt! 
(Marshall Jansen, marshall(at)hwg.org)

We offer Guild-logo shirts in both black and white shirt colors. The
black t-shirts are going fast, and our size selection is getting
limited, so order soon! These shirts are high quality, and feature the
Guild logo and URL screen-printed on the front.  The shirts are $24,
shipping included ($28 for foreign shipping), and you can get an order
form here: http://www.hwg.org/opcenter/guildwear/order.txt

You can see the T-shirts here:  http://www.hwg.org/opcenter/guildwear/

Show your support of the Guild by wearing the logo! 

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8. Upcoming Online Classes: Take an online class! 
(Gretchen Lowerison, Online Education Director, classes(at)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 this month and next include:

Beginning Programming with Perl
March 19, 2001 - April 29, 2001(6 weeks)
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/p101.9.html
Learn the basics of the Perl programming language, popular for CGI
programming, system administration, and a variety of other tasks. The
course will cover the fundamentals of the language, such as variables,
looping and conditional structures, regular expressions, modules,
database communication, and system administration.

Introduction to HTML 4.0
March 19, 2001 - April 29, 2001(6 weeks)
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/h101.27.html
Designed for the student with little to no working knowledge of
creating HTML files "by hand." If you're looking to learn HTML from
scratch or move beyond using a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)
editing tool, this is the class for you.

FrontPage 2000 
March 26, 2001- May 6, 2001(6 weeks)
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/a141.2.html
Microsoft FrontPage 2000 is designed for the student who already has
some basic knowledge of the HTML tags used to create Web pages and
would like to learn a rather quick and straightforward way to develop
and manage Web pages. The course is taught by an Industry-experienced
teacher who uses FrontPage on a daily basis.

Active Server Pages for Non-Programmers 
March 26, 2001- May 6, 2001(6 weeks)
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/ms101.5.html
This course is designed for students proficient in HTML but with
little or no programming experience. The programming techniques of ASP
introduce interactive dimensions to static web pages.  To employ these
techniques non-programmers will develop some basic programming skills
in VBScript.

Introduction to XHTML 
March 26, 2001 - May 6, 2001(6 weeks)
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/h401.1.html
XHTML is the "bridge" between HTML and XML. If you are interested in
learning how to hand-code Web pages that will transition into the XML
future while still remaining backward compatible with current Web
browsers, this class is for you!

PhotoShop Level I
April 2, 2001 - May 13, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/g301.1.html
This course is designed for graphic designers, web designers, digital
artists and photographers with little or no working knowledge of
creating or modifying photographs and graphics for the web or print.

Accessible Web Design
April 2, 2001 - May 20, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/d201.12.html
Today's web is full of thoughtlessly designed sites which can't be
accessed by a diversity of web browsers. Users with special needs,
such as those with physical disabilities, are often shut out from
essential e-commerce facilities, distance learning programs, and
web-based news systems. HWG online education instructor Kynn Bartlett
will show you how to ensure your web site can be used by as broad an
audience as possible.

Macromedia Flash Wizardry: A Masters Course 
April 2, 2001 - May 13, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/a222.5.html
During the 6 week course, we will study the more obscure "actions" of
Flash that few books dare venture into. We will learn Flash 5's new
programming language, its syntax and grammar.  We will play with
variables to acquire information from objects and carry them over to
other objects. We will understand how to create such interactive
effects as to have animations change according to the mouse's position
and movement. We will combine multiple actions and create our own
functions and object classes to create complex effects, etc.

Sites that Sizzle: Web Animation with Macromedia Flash 4/5
April 9, 2001 - May 20, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/a231.5.html
This class sheds a needed light into the complex world of web
animation.  Don't know what Flash is? Visit
http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/ and rush back here to get
into what is considered to be the most important revolution in web
design these days.

HTML Level II
April 9, 2001 - June 3, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/h102.1.html
Ready for more HTML? This class will cover more complex tables, lists,
forms, and the strict DTD. This class presents a brief introduction to
Universal Accessibility, Cascading Style Sheets and Javascript.

Introduction to SQL
April 9, 2001 - May 20, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/ms301.1.html
Learn the basics from a simple SQL statement to more complex 3-table
join. Inserts, updates, deletes, inner joins and outer joins are
covered in this course.

The HWG has been running JavaScript courses for a couple of years.
During 2001 they are taking a new lease of life which will allow the
students to expand their knowledge to an advanced level. The courses
were initiated by Marshall Jansen who has moved on to greater things
leaving behind two of his students to carry on and extend the work he
started.

Students can start with the Introductory Course run by Lester Smith
where they can learn JavaScript structure and syntax, how to interact
with environment variables, use event handlers, perform form
validation, create rollover effects and receive an overview of working
with cookies.


Intermediate JavaScript
April 9, 2001 - May 20, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/p152.4.html
Students will increase understanding of the JavaScript language and
syntax, especially in the area of interacting with HTML forms. Users
will become proficient in manipulating form data to make interactive
web pages.

JavaScript Special Topics:Manipulating Layers
April 9, 2001 - May 20, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/p161.1.html
JavaScript Special Topics: Manipulating Layers will move the students
knowledge further forward into the area of interacting with layers.
Users will become proficient in manipulating layers to produce
animated menus and images.

Get more information at:  http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/ 

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.

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9. Why Did I Get This Email? And Other HWG-News FAQs 
(HWG-News Newsletter Editor, editor(at)hwg.org)
This newsletter was edited by Kef Moulton <kef(at)hwg.org>. 

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(at)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 <lost-password(at)hwg.org> 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
<lost-password(at)hwg.org> for help. Trial members can send email to
<dbadmin(at)hwg.org> 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(at)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 124,000 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(at)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(at)hwg.org. Each article begins with the contact information for
the author as well.  

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Copyright 2001, HTML Writers Guild, Inc., All Rights Reserved. 
Published twice monthly via email and WWW.

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