If you have an idea for an article that you think could help other Alpha users, we would like to hear from you.  In return, we'll include a link to your site, or a short bio about you.  Here are some guidelines to help you provide us with a usable article:

First of all, keep in mind that most users are neither newbies or experts -- they are intermediate users that have acquired some skills using Alpha Four or Alpha Five.  While we will try to include articles to cover all users, we will try to make most of the articles relevant to most of the readers.  Therefore, it's a good idea to keep your article in this mainstream (however, we will consider all article content).

Secondly, don't hesitate because you are worried that you're not a good enough writer to produce a finished article.  That's what we (the editors) are here for.  We're looking for good ideas from you, with enough supporting information so we can see what you're writing about.  The article should be short enough to be read in one sitting (say, under 5 pages), but have enough content to be complete (usually about half a page).  

Finally, remember that the purpose of the newsletter is to help everyone in the Alpha community.  The best articles are those that show new or better ways to do things, ways to solve problems, or provide more insight into program development.

If we decide to use your article, we'll edit it as we see fit, and then send it to you for your review.  As long as you're happy with the final result (or you suggest changes that we feel are appropriate), the article will appear in an upcoming issue.

Having said that, here are some things to avoid:

•	Obscene or vulgar language.
•	Commercial content, such as promoting your own products or company.
•	Excessive use of technical jargon.  Remember, just because you understand some of the tech language doesn't mean others do.
•	Disparaging comments about other products.  It's fine to say that Alpha is great, or to say it works better than another database, but it's not appropriate to say how bad that other product is.

Please send your article or any questions to Bill Warner at Compuniq@aol.com or Jim Chapman at jec@iowatelecom.net.