<html> Topic 1

This topic is about introductions

First: Please introduce yourself to the class by sending an email to the ListServ. [When Diane teaches this class in a college, she sets up a ListServ for the discussions. If you are just using this site for reference, simpy ignore references to the ListServ.] Whenever you send email to the Listserv, it goes to the entire class. This will make it easier for us to build a collaborative relationship in the class.

Mark the subject of your message "Class intro". Tell us:

your name,
your experience with the web,
what computer operating system (Mac, PC, or Unix) you use,
what browser(s) you use,
whether you have used an html editor to design web pages,
what web site you admire or enjoy,
what your interests are,
what you will do your web site about for this class.

Please note: the ListServ is an online discussion where classmates can ask questions, raise ideas, get help and share critiques of each other's work. All messages to the ListServ must express basic courtesy and respect for fellow students.

If you are especially interested in using cgi script, be sure your server will host the script (see the reference to sites that host cgi scripts).

If you use AOL, you may need to need to publish using the keyword "myplace."

Second: If you do not have a web site through your internet service provider, sign up for a free web page at some site such as Xoom at http://xoom.com/ or Geocities at http://www.geocities.com or Earthlink at http://www.earthlink.com/. Xoom sends many advertisements to your email if you sign up with them. Geocities puts an unfortunate bit of code on your page that gets in the way of validating. However, these will do for class pages. If you have trouble, send a description of your problem to the ListServ. Once you have an address for your site, please email the address to the instructor.

3. If you use Raggett on HTML 4, read chapters one and two about the history of html. Visit the link for "Readings" for other background information about the web and html.

4. Go to the 5-minute introduction to html called the Project Cool Quickstart Guide at http://www.projectcool.com/developer/tips/quickstart/index.html and play. Don't try to do anything serious; just play! Hopefully, this will give you some feeling for how easy html is. (Note that there is a minor error at this site. The correct tags are <head> and </head>, not <header> and </header> as the site uses.)

Web Version

Instructor: dwang@think-ink.net