[Chad]

The Sil Launches New Website (Finally!)

By CHAD FULLERTON, MACINSIDERS

It would appear that The Silhouette, McMaster's student newspaper, has finally launched a new website after over a year of seeing a site with no updates since Friday March 30, 2007.

Well that's all changed as they've upgraded to a more streamlined, and open-source blogging system - Wordpress - for their new website found at http://www.thesil.ca

You will now be able to visit their site for the latest stories and articles normally found in the print version of The Sil which is distributed on newsstands throughout campus on a weekly basis. While the site appears to still be in the draft stages as they fill it with content, it's great to see that they've decided to have a web alternative to their regular print version.

Posting news on the web is clearly an avenue that students want. The endless interactive possibilities of the Internet make it easier for students to engage with each other in discussion, build friendships, and ultimately share opinions and advice that would otherwise not be heard by the rest of the student community.

[lorend]

I'd like to point out that the Sil editors haven't updated this site since April 30th of this year either.

[rlevitin]

I'd just like to say "FINALLY".

I was frustrated with them for the latter half of second semester because they didn't have a functional site (among other reasons). Especially when I could so easily locate articles on York's Excalibur, or Carleton's Charleton websites.

[rlevitin]

looking around the site.... its very glitchy, articles are repeated consistently and things are missing. It still needs work.

[lorend]

they didn't have a functional site for first term either, or last summer.

i think it needs a lot of work, still...

[Chad]

It's clearly in draft stages you guys

I'll be meeting with the new Editor, Adam, and get more details on their web launch soon.

[rlevitin]

Chad... I think you may be very well setup here to outdo the Silhouette.

I give it another year or two tops and more students will be using MacInsiders for their daily dose of Mac Campus news than the Sil!

[lorend]

Especially cuz the Sil is a weekly publication. Heh.

[Chad]

Thanks Ron.

I think MacInsiders and The Sil have different styles of news.

Our homepage serves as more of a reporting blog rather than a newspaper. If we were a newspaper our header would read that we're a "student life newspaper" - but instead we're a community and I think there is a big difference.

Because we're online we tend to post news up quicker and the majority of what we post tends to be announcements that are usually kept short and to the point so you can read it and be on your way (ie. quick updates, dates to remember, events coming up, immediate announcements, etc). While the MacInsiders team does write longer articles (of which we've now reached over 1,300 staff-written articles!), I suppose you could compare those to The Sil, but they tend to be more advice-based... useful things that will help you over your time at McMaster, not things that will be considered old news tomorrow. There are cases though where I feel we have done a better job at coverage, such as with the recent MSU Presidential Elections (we've been complimented many times on our coverage and bio's of the candidates as being superior). So sometimes the power of a student community and having online discussion forums can bring out breaking news, which is great.
In contrast, The Sil have paid staff and a much larger team to go out and gather news, facts, and have time to do research and indepth journalism - its part of their job. They are a service, and we aren't. The only funding we see is what comes from sponsors and the MSU for being a student-run club. We're just a small group of students that do this in our spare time, and we do it because we wish we had a community like this when we were new to McMaster, and we feel that promotion of the many opportunities available on campus is lacking and there should be a destination where you can be informed about these things and improve your student experience at McMaster. Plus the fact that having an online community for students is highly beneficial since it gives everyone a chance to ask questions and help each other in a friendly environment that is student-driven.

But anyways, I'll stop my rambling. I guess it comes down to how you want to consume your news, and the type of information you're looking for. MacInsiders provides an environment for you can get an interactive experience with a large community of students and read news that is short and updated frequently. Far different, I think, from the journalistic reporting that comes from a weekly paper.

[sarahsweet]

The community here is what makes macinsiders special and you can't build a great community like this one over night, so long live macinsiderss!!