Record moving to new web site address June 5th

Ken Johnston
Editor

We're moving!

Well not exactly... but sort of! The Rainy River Record will move to a new website address on the internet next Tuesday when the paper is updated on the net.

For the past two years the Record's address has been http://fortfrances.com/rrrecord.html. The new address will be rainyriverrecord.com. The obvious advantage to this is that it is much easier to remember and easier to find on the internet.

The move will also be coupled with a revamped website that will offer more features for readers. In addition to getting the top stories from the week, there will be a weekly poll which readers can participate in on line. Ken's Korner will also go electronic. Obituaries that have photos will have those photos accompany them on the site; something that was not done previously.

Web master at the Fort Frances Times Electronic Publishing department, Lincoln Dunn, said that the new site will also feature something that people will get to access for years to come. An electronic archival system will be on the site. At this time plans are to put the current issues into an archive. As for the previous 82 years no decision has been made as of yet. The electronic archives will be free for the immediate future and will likely have a charge attached to them in the future.

The weather will also be available on line.

Dunn said that regular visitors to the Record's website will find rainyriverrecord.com much easier to navigate around. It will also have links to the new Fort Frances Times site which will be launched May 30th.

The redesign is part of a regular evolutionary process that Dunn said is good to revisit about every 1.5 years. He noted that as things change on the web so should web sites.

One change that will please people who do not wish to download everything on the website all at once is the front page of the site will have highlights of the stories. To get the entire story one will have to click on it. Photos will also be smaller and less time consuming to download. Only when clicked on by the visitor will they get bigger.

Record Editor Ken Johnston said that the paper will also see some changes next week as it too evolves with this new medium. "Wherever possible we will make the paper and the website interactive with one another." For instance, the on line poll will appear in the paper with the question of the week and the results from the previous week. As well photos appearing on the web will have the web address in them so people can go there and see them in colour.

People are encouraged to change their bookmark of the site to rainyriverrecord.com on June 5th. If anyone has questions they can call the Record at 852-3366 weekdays.