KAIROS     What's New in Issue 2.1

 

New Interface
What most readers will notice first about this issue is our new interface. In response to readers' concerns about the reduction of reading space by our use of frames, Production Manager Jason Teague created a "remote control" that eliminates our old left frame and gives readers more direct control over their navigation within Kairos. In order to activate this remote control, click on the "Remote" button on the right side of the upper frame. When you are done with it, just minimize or close the remote's window until you need it again. For more information on the remote, see Jason Teague's Logging On piece in this issue.

External Links Pages
As we continue our discussions about the nature of Kairos  and our efforts to archive the journal, we began to wonder how to address the inevitable instability of links leading beyond this server. The Web is constantly changing, and so some of those sites our authors link to will probably change URLs or disappear altogether. Obviously we cannot archive every site to which our authors refer, nor do we want constant "404" messages making hypertexts confusing.

Our solution is to introduce "External Links Pages," which will act like annotated bibliographies of all external links in our hypertexts. These pages will probably be rarely accessed in newer issues, but should you be reading an archived hypertext and run across an external link that no longer works, you can refer to that piece's External Links Page to see a brief description of that link's original destination and purpose. Sure, a brief description will not be as useful or interesting as the remote page itself, but we feel it is better than readers scratching their heads, wondering where a link was supposed to go and why.

Kairos  Interactive
After some lengthy staff and board discussions, we opted to change two of the "sections" previously available in the journal. Where once you saw "InBox" and "Pixelated Rhetorics" as different kinds of feedback sources for readers and contributors, we've collapsed the borders a bit further, introducing Kairos  Interactive. Now, net.Thread is your instant online feedback to Kairos.  You can go directly to the discussion from here, or from various points throughout the journal. Just look for the icon (above) as you read, and remember, the password is Kairos.

Publication Schedule
First and foremost in this area, we have opted to publish Kairos  twice, rather than three times, per year. While primarily practical reasons led to this decision, we felt that the unbounded bindings, if you will, of webspace make the decision an easy one to accept. We are not limited to a certain number of pages per issue; therefore, we will not necessarily be publishing fewer webtexts; we will simply be "announcing our publication dates" only twice a year.

Recently on our staff discussion list, the editors of also reached a decision regarding the particulars of our publication schedule. This is an idea we have been kicking around since before publication of Issue 1.2 last June and just before the 1996 Computers and Writing conference in Utah. In the spirit of the name of the journal -- "kairos" means, quite literally, "attention to the occasion" -- we have decided to begin releasing Kairos  concurrently with an appropriate occasion such as a conference or other notable event. We admit this might also provide for a decidedly attractive drama to the release! The occasion will be selected well in advance of each issue, and generally be in February/March for the first issue of each year and October/November for the second. For the Spring 1997 issue, we have opted to release it concurrently with the Conference on College Composition and Communication in Arizona the weekend of March 14th.

Staff Changes
We are happy to announce the addition of several new stafff members to the ranks of the "Kairoi." If you want to learn more about these new staff members, click on their names to see the press releases that accompanied their appointments to our staff. Welcome to the team!

Amelia DeLoach, Associate Editor
Douglas Eyman, CoverWeb Coordinator
Claudine Keenan, Sections Editor
Karen Chauss, Copy Staff
Kelli Cargyle Cook, Copy Staff
David Dayton, Copy Staff
Sandye Thompson, Copy Staff

Homesite Revisions
In addition to reflecting the staff changes mentioned above, our revised homesite now includes a more accurate description of our interactive peer-review process. If you are considering submitting to Kairos, we encourage you to visit our homesite for information on the submission and review processes.

 

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