Okay, here's the scoop. A couple of months ago, you may have noticed that we switched to a new ISP - VEI Internet. Those of you who had linked to or bookmarked http://gotc.base.org/ were still in touch; that URL continued to work despite the changes. (That's why we got that URL in the first place.) In addition, you may have noticed the new rating form on the front page, where you can tell us and the eZines Database what you think of our work. Well, some other changes are coming up that won't be quite so easy to phase in.
As part of my agreement with VEI, I've managed to get a new URL for GOTC - http://www.feelthehate.com/ - and it should be effective now. The old URL will still function, but I'm not going to renew it - so when it expires, that's that. Hopefully that won't be until the end of this year, but I urge you to change to the new URL as soon as possible.
The more sweeping change relates to some server-side software that VEI has installed and is allowing me to make use of. iHTML is a wonderful package that combines some of the utility of CGI scripting with a lot of the ease of HTML, and winds up being much safer to use than CGI scripts or, sometimes, even JavaScript. (After all, not everybody uses JavaScript, and there are at least five different versions of it out there now.) This makes my life a bit simpler, and also helps me ensure that more people have the same experience at this site without having to worry so much about which browser they're using. (Some of you may not be aware of the cheap gags and in-jokes that are currently only visible to people with JavaScript-capable browsers - but you will be soon.) In particular, Netscape 2.0 presents some unusual JavaScript problems, primarily stemming from its lack of support for the <NOSCRIPT> tag. With iHTML, I can get around this more easily and reliably.
The downside to iHTML, though, is that it requires me to use a different filename extension. This is easy enough for me, but it has the awkward side effect of breaking any links that people may have made to some of the individual pages. There's a chance that I can work with VEI to get around this, though; stay tuned for updates and don't touch anything yet.
Also, I want to give you a sneak peek into some of the other things that may be happening in the next couple of months. I'm in negotiations with the owner of a weekly email list based on the separation of church and state, and things are looking good. As soon as that's finalized and he's back from vacation, which looks to be around late March or early April, we should be carrying that list as a weekly column. Furthermore, someone has expressed interest in writing another column, which may materialize sooner but is a bit more nebulous at this point. The archive pages are still in the works, as is a possible link page. There's even been some talk of a webring and maybe a page or two showcasing some of our wilder fan mail. (Yes, Gianni, this means you.)
I know our production has been kind of spotty for the last couple of months, and I apologize for that - but we're working on the problems and hope to have them resolved as soon as possible. I won't lie to you; we have been running low on columns lately, and I've been painfully aware of that fact. Our goal is, as always, to provide politically incorrect entertainment and discussion in an increasingly PC world - and we all hope you'll stay with us for the ride. Hell, tell some friends - we could use the publicity, and word of mouth is the best advertising we could hope for.
Stick around, folks - it only gets better from here.
| - Rev. Robert L. Hood Publisher and editor |