Note that the RTRFM web address is now rtrfm.com.au and that this is about how precise my user documentation ever gets.
Hello. Three major technological boosts, beyond Genge’s new solar powered duck, have struck the station recently which you all should pay some serious attention to:
1) the whizzbang new PC (Windows personal computer), situated in the admin office, which has recently been connected to the internet;
2) with this new-fangled technology to access thousands of the world’s computers, archives, databases and websites also comes YOUR ability to research, collate and contact interviewees and like-minded strategists through e-mail and the internet; and
3) RTR FM now has its own internet website which is being viewed by people all over the world, including an audio link to the on-air broadcast – people are now listening to you on their computers around the world.
AC note, June 2023–View the early, but not earliest, incarnation on Internet Archive
This is all still very new technology, not only to the staff at the station but also to the very people constructing the internet ‘world’, so firstly, I implore you all to BE PATIENT as RTR FM is still grappling with station policy in the areas of access to the station’s internet terminal, distribution of e-mail messages and, most important of all, construction and control of the RTR FM website. Terms I might use willy-nilly herein (including willy-nilly) may have to be clarified with a friend of yours who knows what the hell I’m on about and, at this stage, the staff are pretty vague about the terms us nerds use too. But please find comfort in the fact that all this planning is taking place to simplify things as much as possible for the staff, members and station as a whole.
Firstly, 1) the new station computer/internet terminal/e-mail reader. BIG RULE NUMBER ONE: there is to be absolutely no unauthorised software to be loaded onto the computer. Similarly, there is to be absolutely no software downloaded to the computer from the internet. ‘Thou shalt not download shite plug-ins to watch Benny Hill Editor’s Cuts on the station computer’. To police this I am looking to disable the computer’s floppy drive to stop unauthorised and dangerous software being loaded onto the computer. RTR FM staff could well ram a pencil up your nose if your prized virus-and-bug-ridden pirated Photoshop 5 closes down the station machine. We have everything we need on the machine, thank you, it is in good hands, simple hands and hands with an eye for accessibility for all, not just you computer programmers.
We are currently working on a simple front-end display so members and staff can check the station e-mail for any messages directed to them. It currently involves Microsoft Outlook Express because it forms better compatibility between e-mail and internet (Internet Explorer) programmes. If you get a chance, play with these programmes on an internet terminal near you. We are trying to iron out all the complexities so please, again, don’t fiddle with the settings or move stuff around on the station machine. I envisage a day when you can tap an RTR staffer on the shoulder, who will obviously be wearing a netball bib with “net savvy!” emblazoned upon it, who can make all of your technophobic nightmares dissipate. This is in the pipeline, the bibs are at the printers.
At the moment – and keep an eye out for those fetching clip art ‘station reminder’ posters in the toilet for updates – the staff can help you check e-mail and get you started on researching information on the internet for station and programme matters. Please confine internet use for RTR FM purposes only – Mar Bucknell is permitted to read bomb making recipes as research material for his show and his show only. The internet is quite simply the best research resource and it would be great if you all get used to its ways and wiles.
Now, 2) checking station e-mail. The RTR FM e-mail address is rtrfm@iinet.net.au and e-mail is collated on the station’s new computer in the admin office. Obviously this disadvantages the majority of members because most programmes are out of office hours. A solution, though not set in concrete, is for everyone at some stage to let the staff know their e-mail address so they can forward on messages. Then again, most of you may not have an e-mail address. It would be hard at this point to print and hand out messages to individual members so we are working on ways to get the messages out and the replies in, though I think I have an answer: the RTR FM site’s guestbook system. I will cover this in a moment.
At the moment, on the station computer a) launch Outlook Express; b) check the ‘Inbox’ mailbox first for messages for you. Then check the ‘RTR FM Members mail’ mailbox for messages for you. If you can reply to any of the queries do so by clicking ‘reply’ and type away. Click ‘send’ to send it on its way.
I can’t begin to list the amount of feedback we have received so far, but I will: Brazillian dance fans, Canadian queries, Pennsylvania, London expats, French soccer hooligans, Melbourne and Brisbane public radio comparisons with RTR … the lot. To have a look speak to the staff at the station during office hours.
Oh, if you want your own e-mail address try these FREE e-mail providers on the internet: www.hotmail.com and www.excitemail.com
Finally, 3) the RTR FM internet site. The RTR FM site address is simply rtrfm.ii.net and that is all! You can add to this http://rtrfm.ii.net if you feel like saying “haitchteeteepeecolonslashslash” before the RTR FM address (on air), but it sounds silly these days and we would rather just rtrfm.ii.net (RTRFM dot eye eye dot net). Just type rtrfm.ii.net into the top of an internet browser window to access the site from any internet-able computer anywhere.
At the moment there is a quite simple site available to visitors of rtrfm.ii.net – a ‘home’ page with a spunky image which changes depending on whatever major promotion the station is running and a thingy which tells the viewer what show is on air at the moment; a ‘welcome’ page which tells viewers about the station; a programme guide which has links to programmes already with internet sites (ie. Folk West, Difficult Listening, Rock Rattle and Roll, Critical Mass, Behind the Mirror amongst others); and a guestbook, where viewers from everywhere can leave comments, messages, queries and suggestions about RTR FM and the site. This guestbook, I reckon, is where all members can play a part in replying to e-mail.
If you go to the guestbook (called ‘RTR FM comments’ on the site) you can read the 90+ messages that people have already left and reply to them really, really easily. Please make an effort to visit this regularly and display that you and your programme group are watching it for queries, requests and the like. This is the real interactive stuff, the reason why the site is such a great idea and a brilliant feedback mechanism between your listeners and yourself. 660 visitors in June, with no promotion, is a fine start. Mint aye!
Finally, the big question on everyone’s lips – how do I get my own programme’s internet page/site/cyberchurch on the RTR FM site. Well, as is the way with RTR FM (and why we love it), you must do it. The official station site at rtrfm.ii.net has to be closely monitored and constructed with a zillion elements in mind – access for older browsers (‘devolution’ away from internet gimmicks is currently the word), access for station staff and promotions, access for the visually impaired, security issues … the list is truly endless. What you have to do is construct your own programme’s site which the station can then link to the official site through the programme guide and other special areas. Then you, and you alone, will have full control over the way your programme is presented, with the onus on you to update it etc.
Staff will soon be looking into deals with ISPs (nerds who let you use their computers to store your site and let you access the internet) to offer members something special, but at the moment check out other avenues like, say, FREE site space at places like www.geocities.com and usa.net who give you site space if you carry their advertising. When it comes to designing the page/site, talk to friends and colleagues and nieces and nephews about how to do it, or get them to do it for you. Web publishing is excellent fun, just organise someone to slap you if you start using the words java, hypertext and browser in everyday speech.
Phew, I have only scratched the surface here. Like I have said, watch the RTR FM site and the traditional ‘loo read’ at the station for more members’ information. I hope that everyone at RTR FM can grasp the opportunity to use these new technologies often and fruitfully because they are truly a wonder to behold.
Adam Connors – a nerd
Originally in RTRFM Static Newsletter, the official organ (nod to Wanda Honeywell here) of Perth’s leading radio station. See and HEAR them on the web at rtrfm.com.au.
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