June 24, 1997
Your Craftsmen Network at Work
The past couple of weeks have found the folks at International Headquarters very busy making preparations for the Gallery judging which has been taking place yesterday and today. With this taking up the lion's share of CEO Kevin Keane and Office Administrator Teresa Sherwood's time we won't have the usual Craftsmen Network at Work articles today. Instead we're pleased to announce the latest addition to the CraftNet website.
We've just completed a new 50 page section of the site called "Communicating on the Internet". This section of CraftNet deals with learning the basics of a few Internet functions. The information is designed not to make everyone an Internet expert but instead to offer basic knowledge of using the power of the web to enhance the communication between members and clubs.
In this section you will learn to determine what browser software you are using and how to change a few of the options to maximize what you view on your computer screen. You can learn the basic rules of e-mail, including setting up signature files, sending file attachments, what "spamming" is and how your club can use e-mail as an effective means of communicating with your club members and the association.
Downloading files is something of a mystery to many neophytes in this digital world. To make it easier we've included explanations of some of the common types of files you'll encounter on the web and how to download them to your computer. You can learn what "shareware" is, how to deal with compressed files and where to find files on the web for downloading. We've also included information for protecting yourself against computer viruses.
Ever wonder what all those strange sounding words are on the Internet? You can find definitions for a few of the more common ones in the Internet Glossary.
A Webmaster section is dedicated to offering tips and suggestions for your club to use when you begin building your own website. Without getting into technical aspects of HTML (HyperText Markup Language--the programming language used to create web pages) we've concentrated on tips for determining what information is important and how much time it will take to maintain it on your website. Gathering and organizing the content of your site beforehand makes the construction process much easier--so we included suggestions for doing this. An extensive list of links to sites on the web are provided to give your club webmaster a running start to learn how to code pages. Part of the Webmaster section includes an Image Archive of web ready graphics that you can download and use on your club site. There are even graphics for members to include on their own or their company website.
Hopefully, many of you will find "Communicating on the Internet" helpful. If there is information that you feel we should add to the section, we'd like to hear from you. Please feel free to contact Int'l CraftNet Chairman Norm Belanger <craftnet@iaphc.org>, Int'l CraftNet Co-chair Don Landers <craftnet2@iaphc.org> or myself, Int'l CraftNet Webmaster, Dan Millsip <webmaster@iaphc.org> to offer any opinions or suggestions.
Yours in digital Craftsmanship,
Dan Millsip
New at iaphc.org (sort of...)
A few weeks ago every club of the association was provided with a calendar of events web page which is updateable without the need or knowledge of HTML. The pages are updated by a representative of each club and are fully automated to minimize the amount of required maintenance. If your club has not yet utilized its page please contact any of the above mentioned members of the Int'l CraftNet committee or call Int'l Headquarters at 800/466-4274 for details. To see if your club page has been updated follow the link to the Club Directory.
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