`Thresher' Online Project inaugurates online edition
The Rice Thresher can now be read on the Internet. The first complete issue to be placed on the World Wide Web was the Jan. 19 issue, which was coincidentally also the issue marking the Thresher 's 80th anniversary.
The Thresher Online features the full text, photos and many graphics from the printed edition. The URL of the Thresher homepage is http://www.rice.edu/thresher .
The online edition is the centerpiece of the newly created Thresher Online Project.
"The goal of the Thresher Online Project is to make the paper more accessible to our current readers and to draw in new readers from around the world," Online Editor George Hatoun said.
Editor in Chief Charles Klein said, "The Thresher Online will be an invaluable resource for the Rice community. It will provide a research tool for those interested in looking into the history of student life at Rice. In addition, it will allow Thresher reporters to get a better feel for the issues that have impacted Rice over the years."
The concept of making the Thresher available electronically has been around since at least 1992.
"The online edition is the culmination of efforts by many people," Hatoun said.
"While I did most of the programming [to convert Thresher layouts to HTML] in the last month, I have received a tremendous amount of advice throughout from everybody from former Thresher editors to HTML gurus," he said.
The decision to go online now coincides with the Thresher 's 80th anniversary.
"Going online at this time is only fitting because many consider the web or, more generally, the Internet, to be the future of the publishing industry," Editor in Chief Vivek Rao said.
"Most major newspapers have already begun publishing their stories online," he said.
Rao cited the fact that most university papers are now on the World Wide Web. The University of Texas, University of Oklahoma and Kansas State University have been publising online editions for some time, Rao noted.
"It's nice to know that we're keeping up with the best of them," Rao said.
For the future, Hatoun plans to continue to put up current issues of the Thresher while maintaining previous issues in an online archive. Eventually, back issues of the Thresher will also be added to the site.
The format of the Thresher web page will be constantly revised as the project proceeds. In the near future, Hatoun hopes to implement a keyword-indexed search system. A full-text search as well as online submission forms for calendar entries and an electronic staff box are also in the works.
Hatoun said that more graphics and exclusively online features might be seen in the near future.
"Right now, we're exploring a wide range of options for expanding the online edition. Eventually the Thresher Online Project may oversee the productions of made-for-online features and advertising sections," Hatoun said.
"Unfortunately, at present putting the issue online consumes most of the time I would like to dedicate to adding new features. But as we optimize our technique, we will begin to try more difficult things," he said.
Comments about the Thresher Online can be e-mailed to ethresh@rice.edu
This item appeared in the News section of the February 2, 1996 issue.
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