To all members & friends of the club:
 
I am pleased to announce that the club's new web site that we have been working on has now gone live and public at the following address:
 
www.huddersfieldbirdwatchersclub.co.uk
 
The site contains substantial information about the club and about birds in the Huddersfield area in what we believe is an attractive format. It has the massive advantage over the old site that we have been able to build it ourselves, using the relatively friendly software provided by the host company. It can therefore be kept up to date with topical news and information and can become a valuable tool for members and for the public to learn about us.
 
Rather than me drone on about its features, I suggest the best thing is to go and have a look and explore the site. It is designed to be easy to navigate.
 
There are however, some points I would like to make:
 
1. Forum - for technical reasons we have decided to keep the existing forum, which works better than anything we could create on the new site. However, it is readily and seamlessly accessible by simply clicking a link in the 'Forum, sightings & photos' page of the new site and, once in there, it works exactly the same as previously. It remains open to public viewing, but you need to be authorised to post messages or photos. I have taken over from David Holloway as site administrator - so if you are not already registered and would like to be, please contact me.
 
2. For users of Windows Internet Explorer 8 ( the latest version), it is easiest to move between the new site and the forum using 'tabbed browsing' if you have your computer settings as follows: in Internet Explorer open Tools, Internet Options, General and select Tabbed Browsing - within this ensure you have two settings selected with ticks - 'Always switch to new tab when created' and 'Open links from other programs in - a new tab in the current window'. This way you can simultaneously have separate tabs open for the core site and the forum. If you use an older version or any other web browser then you may need to use its help facility or seek advice.
 
3. It is planned to 'kill off' the old site as soon as practicable, apart from the forum, which will only be accessible through the new site. However, for this we need expert help, which we are currently seeking.
 
4. Although there is much in the new site, we also aim to develop it further over time.
 
5. We are considering what publicity we can achieve for the site, which is targeted at the public and birdwatchers at large as well as members.
 
6. We will demonstrate it at a club meeting at the earliest opportunity.
 
7. If you are aware of other web sites that contain details of and links to the club, please let us know so we can get them updated.
 
We hope that you like the new site. It is yours - so it is important that you let us know what you think, alert us to any problems and also let us have your ideas for how we can improve and develop it.
 
I look forward to hearing from you.
 
Best wishes.
 
Mike.