Richmond Review

New on the Net Column

byHaidee Parker
Suzanne Clouthier
Kelly Clark
Richmond Public Library
Wednesday, May 1, 1996

Food and Recipes on the Internet

B.C. POLITICAL PARTIES MAKE THEIR CASE ON THE WEB

It's election time in B.C., and most of the parties fielding candidates have sites on the World Wide Web. There's some mudslinging, but there's also detailed information on party platforms. While items like photos of the leaders, candidate profiles and press releases are standard, web surfers will find the differences in focus and emphasis at each site fascinating to observe.

The NDP's Campaign Central has Glen Clark's daily itinerary and the text of Clark's April 23rd televised speech. A link is provided to the recent provincial budget. The Liberals' web presence ,done in the party colours of red and white, has a link to a B.C. government site where readers can search for their riding and incumbent MLA. Information about Liberal candidates is searchable either by name or by riding.

The Green Party web site greets readers with a cheery yellow sunflower on a dusty pink background. This ecology-based party has mounted more candidate profiles than any of the other parties. A unique feature is links to other "eco-related" sites on the Web.

The Reform Party of British Columbia offers a well-organized and user-friendly home page, not surprising considering the party's emphasis on "direct democracy". The Progressive Democratic Alliance Party of British Columbia also has a well-organized home page, which includes an excerpt from Judy Tyabji's book Political Affairs and an extensive archive of party articles and news releases.

Political party sites on the World Wide Web enable readers to digest party platforms at their leisure, without the filter of the mass media. The party sites illustrate how the Web can be a democratizing force, since parties large and small have an equal presence. Richmond Public Library's home page provides a good starting point for information about parties mentioned here and others.

Readers new to the Internet will want to call 231-6405 to register for the Library's next free Internet training session, which takes place Thursday, May 23rd at 7:00 p.m. Those without Internet access at home can visit the Richmond Public Library's Brighouse MainBranch and use one of three drop-in Internet stations. There are also two Internet stations at Brighouse Branch's Learning Resource Centre which may be booked up to two weeks in advance by calling 231-6415. The e-mail address for New on the Net is column@yourlibrary.ca.
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