This is not a test. It’s the first issue of inFlux, an online magazine planned, written, edited, designed and produced by students in the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication. InFlux is the online companion to the print publication, Flux. InFlux features content unavailable in the print version of the magazine—sidebars and links, audio and video, even animation. It’s impossible to offer most of these features with paper and ink, and we had fun figuring out the best way to present the stories to viewers in the multimedia environment of the Internet. Because even in 1997, half a decade after the Web began to take off, we still don’t know what works for sure.

Our overarching question was how much is too much? The Internet is infinite. We can feature never-ending stories, the slickest graphics, links everywhere and tons of audio and video clips, but when does quality control come in? We struggled first with the length of the stories. Long stories can become tiresome to read on the Web, but we had to be sure not to cut any of the meat out of them. Achieving a balance between endless screens of scrolling text and rich stories covered in depth was more difficult than we anticipated. In addition, finding links to interesting and informative sites was fun, but we had to be sure the places those links took the user were worth the trip. We also had to determine the point at which a site is overdesigned. We wanted a clean yet visually stimulating site. If we designed for newbies or those with the least sophisticated computer equipment, would we lose the power users? On the technical side, we wondered how long people will wait for a graphic or a video clip to load. Discovering what works and what doesn’t is the exciting part.

InFlux is one of the few student Web publications to offer exclusive content—but it won’t be for long. From the obscure alternative ezines to the mainstream news outlets, Web-based publications are evolving into entities unto themselves. They are becoming less derivative of other media, less a secondary consideration. The process takes time, though. InFlux is not quite there, still sharing much of its content with its print counterpart, but the thrill is in the transformation itself.

Online Editor Laura Esterman is a graduate student interested in the convergence of different media, feminist theory, exposing how capitalism is the root of all evil, and drinking lots of coffee. Since moving to Oregon, she’s discovered rain, wide open spaces, and new ways to subvert the dominant paradigm . . .

Webmaster Matthew Conover feels that

Illustrator Ben Thompson came to the university this year with little direction, but soon found his niche in the J-school. Flux was definitely a big learning experience! He'll be back around in the fall after working for Cosmix Web Design in Seattle.

Online Assistant Editor Katie Yahns, who didn't really know what she was getting into when she applied for inFlux, is a junior with too many credits and not enough respect. She summarizes her upcoming stint at a Chicago magazine with a quote from “Weird Al” Yankovic: “I'm just an intern, I still make a mistake or two.”

If you have any comments or suggestions, please email them to Laura Esterman.