An Update on the Caucus Website

“FAQ," which rhymes with "smack," and is pronounced "eff-ay-kyu" is Internetese for "Frequently Asked Questions." Most websites will be linked to a FAQ section to help the viewer with problems he/she might be having. Bob Finkel and Lee Miller, the designers of the Caucus website, answer some Caucus Quarterly (CQ) FAQ's about the site.

CQ: What is a website?

Bob: A website is a place on the Internet, on the World Wide Web, that is basically a grouping of text and pictures about a specific thing.

Lee: Our website is called The Caucus For Producers, Writers and Directors, and like all websites, is part of a larger website. Our website is part of the Leonardo website, which in turn is part of a still larger website at USC and on and on,which is how the Internet works and grows.

CQ: How does anyone find the Caucus website?

Bob: We have an address, as does everything on the World Wide Web (www). The address is called a "URL," which stands for "Uniform Resource Locator," which is hard to remember so just remember our address.

Lee: Our address is http://www.caucus.org.. By the way, almost everything on the net is done lower case, which saves times and is less embarrassing to bad typists.

CQ: What do all those letters mean?

Bob: It's all quite simple and after we explain it, you'll never need to remember it. "Http" is hypertext transport protocol-like an 800 number that launches you onto the net.

Lee: The letters "www" mean "World Wide Web" (I bet you guessed that by now). Leonardo is the name of our server. A server is the means by which our website is made available to the www, like GTE or ATT are servers of your home number/address? See, it gets easier as you go along.

Bob: Leonardo is named after the one and only Leonardo (we don't know why, but the pictures are pretty). The "net" means network and "Caucus" is us. Sometimes you will see ".com" or ".edu" or ".gov" or ".org" instead of ".net." The .com means commercial-type venture and .edu means college or university based server and .gov is of course government based server, and finally .org is organizations like us.

CQ: So now, how do we get to Leonardo and the Caucus?

Bob: We assume you have a computer and a modem. And you know how to use them.

Lee: It's a lot tougher if you don't.

Bob: Then you need a browser, a means to reach the www. There are all sorts of browsers. Netscape is the most popular one, with Microsoft Explorer close behind. They do the same thing and are both pretty easy to use.

CQ: So now we have our browser. Are we there yet?

Bob: If you turn it on and type in the address correctly, then wonder of wonders, the computer will hum and wheeze and open up to a beautiful page that has our name on it.

Lee: It's a great looking sight that first page, known as a "home page." It's really just page one of a large collection of pages. But it has the index of what is inside waiting for you. Ours is really a good looking home page.

Bob: At least we have had complements from Bill Blinn, our chairman, who found it with the help of his computer literate daughter in a computer store in NY. (Bill tried repeatedly to access the site on his manual Underwood, but finally gave up.) In truth, we have also had some great compliments from UCLA and Kodak, both of whom are heavily into the WWW of websites.

CQ: What does our Caucus website contain?

Bob: Information! Tons of it! Opinions, pictures, history, aims and objectives, activities, a roster of members.

Lee: Messages from Chuck Fries, Bill Blinn, Jimmy Komack and David Levy.

Bob: A complete library of all The Caucus Quarterlies, all neatly indexed by date and subject; pictures of some of our members in action.

Lee: Our official position on the V-chip, or any other position we wish to take on any subject; a spotlight on key members of the Caucus.

Bob: E-mail! Which I'm sure you have all heard of, as it is the "in" way to send mail in the 90s. Anyone, anywhere in the world can send e-mail to anyone in the Caucus in seconds. Just send it to the Caucus address. For example, mail addressed to rfinkel@caucus.org shows up in our mail box in no time at all. We retrieve it and see that it gets to the right party. We have received requests for information about shows, and directors and writers of specific shows, and requests for information about past shows for college reports.

Lee: We even got a letter from someone who went to high school with Bill Blinn and wanted to say hello!

Bob: It also tells of our seminars, the awards dinner and who won what last year and in years past. It encourages feedback from the general public who "hit" on our site (hit means access). The possibilities are awesome. Kodak told us they, have 14 websites and 10 million "hits" a day!

Lee: We also will soon be "linked" to other websites. This is a uniquely simple one-step process whereby someone on the Caucus website could "click" "a button" on the site and be on the TV Academy website, or the DGA or WGA or PGA websites. People on those websites can just as easily access the Caucus. So you begin to see how the net is "interconnected" and we can be linked to just about any other website we choose and vice versa. It's awesome!

CQ: Wasn't Link a writer?

Bob: Cute! Yes, he was, and also a producer, but these "links" provide the Caucus members with access to any industry related website without limit.

Lee: Leonardo will also offer a reduced rate to any Caucus member who chooses them as their personal server or provider. Since anyone who wants to access the the net needs a provider, and Leonardo is just that, it makes it easy. They also provide all the software and technical support if you need help. And you can live in any part of Los Angeles and use Leonardo as your provider.

CQ: You keep mentioning Kodak. Do they have anything to do with our website?

Bob: Kodak will be a sponsor and will have a link on our website. They will also provide "links" to any other Kodak website.

Lee: They have been extremely helpful with advice and technical know-how in getting us started and will continue in an advisory position with us.

Bob: They were so impressed with our site, that they are helping us financially to upgrade and improve our site to take us to the next plateau. That means, specifically, we will soon have a full-time webmaster, who will oversee all the areas of the website, adding and subtracting information to keep it timely, answering e-mail, enlarging on resumes and information about members and Caucus activities

Lee: There will also be some ads in the trades shortly announcing the official opening of the website to the industry and the public at large.

Bob: And maybe a party for the press.

CQ: It all sounds so easy.

Bob: It is, and it is fun and exciting!

Lee: We hope everyone will take a look at what we've done. It is terrific and will get better and better.

Bob: And it will make the Caucus visible and an important voice in the Internet community.

CQ: Thanks! See you on the net!