In keeping with the trends that are influencing many other organisations, TLT has been gradually increasing its online presence, with a listserver, or electronic mailing list, and a Web site. Although TLT staff have been in email contact for some time, the TLT list was set up in early 1996, and allows the editorial and production staff to share information easily and efficiently. We have been helped greatly in this by Professor Shuji Ozeki, of Chubu University, Aichi.
A number of other electronic mailing lists are now in operation in JALT. Professor Ozeki provided valuable assistance, hard disk space and software to enable our first one, JALTCALL to begin serving the membership in October 1994. Despite its name, this list acts as a forum for any topic related to language teaching (or teachers) in Japan, and is not limited to CALL. Currently there are around three hundred subscribers and almost 7000 messages. To enable archiving, Professor Ozeki has provided many gigabytes of disk space, which is likely to last us for some time to come.
A number of additional lists have been started to serve the needs of other areas of JALT, including the N-SIGs (SIGNIF, June 1995), the Executive Board (JALTEXBO, March 1996), and the region (EFLREGION, May 1996). All are run via the server computers at Chubu University. The latest list (JALTNET, October 1996), of which I am listowner, is intended to bring together JALT members who are active in creating Web sites; discussion typically revolves around Web site protocols and programming techniques.
Perhaps it is these home pages that are the fastest growing area within JALT's cyberpresence, as more and more chapters and N-SIGs upload information about officers, meetings and relevant information. These are all linked to the main Web site, which is itself a jumping board to many useful sites around the world, including TESOL and IATEFL. Of course, TLT Online <http://www.jalt-publications.org/tlt/files/> is well worth a look.
Future directions of the Internet are very hard to predict (with the exception of an inevitable increase in scale), and thus it is difficult to say exactly which direction JALT will take in cyberspace. However, with the help gratefully received from Professor Ozeki, we shall endeavour to remain at the forefront of this powerful and vital new medium.
Paul Lewis
JALTNET Listowner
CALL N-SIG Telecommunications Chair