Editor’s Desk

With the first issue of this eBulletin, IFGA is beginning an adventure in change. We see it as a way to provide more complete information faster and color photos that cannot reasonably be printed due to the costs of the four color print process. Yet this may be the only eBulletin until the IFGA Board votes to move in this direction in November. If the board does not vote to establish an eBulletin, this could actually be the only issue. So we begin in uncertainty, but with high hopes.

Using this eBulletin - There is a great deal that can be done with an electronic Bulletin that cannot be done in Print. One of the most obvious of these is hyperlinks to other web locations. If you are a frequent web user you know how they work. If not click here for a short tutorial. Most of the links in this eBulletin go to pages on the IFGA web site. Yes, that means when you click on certain selections from the green menu on the left, such as “Shows” you are actually moving onto the IFGA web site. You will usually get the blue IFGA web site menu in addition to the green eBulletin menu when you move onto the web site. But this creates a situation where you can use either menu, and if you use the blue one on the IFGA web site, it is possible for the green menu to disappear and for you to get lost in the jungle of the World Wide Web. In most cases you can return to this site by clicking the “Back Button” in your browser. It may take several clicks if you have moved several pages away. However, the green menu will ordinarily stay on your screen, and it is the menu for the eBulletin. As long as it is there you are still in the eBulletin, even though you might also be viewing a page on the web site.

You can help! – In this first issue, I created much of the material. However that is only because this is our first issue and we have no history that has enabled us to gather material. We look forward to receiving both articles and suggestions from you and our other readers. We are kicking around a plan to take a look at all the material in our Articles Index on the web with the thought of critiquing it, making suggestions to the authors, and asking them to improve their articles. The articles on our site are probably the best that exist on guppies. However, there certainly is room for improvement. This ability to improve is in fact another great benefit of electronic publishing. Once it is published, it is not set in paper. We can improve articles, make them as helpful and as correct as possible, and put the newer version on line in place of the old. If you would be interested in working in this project, please let me know. If you have any thoughts that might be helpful, or anything that you don’t like about this eBulletin, let me know. You can reach me at prattc@adminoff.com.

Charles A. Pratt