Welcome to ZCom's web site, including ZNet, ZMag, ZVideo, ZSpace, ZBlogs, ZForums, ZStore, and much more. Clicking Welcome in the menu to the left, instead of only rolling over Welcome as you did this time, to generate this content, will take you to ZNet's top page which is the main repository of latest and featured content, news, and updates. By rolling over other links in the left hand menu one can alter the focused material in this two column display overlay area of the top page, as this overlay itself demonstrates. you can always close an overlay, by the way, by using the red x in the upper right corner of the overlay. The rollover capability of the left menu can be conveniently toggled on or off. Its default is on, and when the rollover effect is on, rolling over items in the menu, such as places or toipcs or types of content, generally provides a summary display of new material from throughout ZCom, brought here, to the viewing area. The rollover menu refines the display, that is, from the default which is a range of most recent entries, to instead highlight only new material from some place, topic, or style of content, giving you more in depth links bearing on more concerns. The tabbed menu, which always appears above, always offers easy entry routes to all major components of the site. If you roll the sursor over a tab you see options below. If you click an option, you go to that portion of the site.

This is ZCom's web site, including ZNet, ZMag, ZVideo, ZSpace, ZBlogs, ZForums, ZStore, and much more. These sites are maintaned by a staff of two, Chris Spannos and Michael Albert, plus numerous volunteers. The Z Magazine staff, which also handles ZVideo, is Andy Dunn, Eric Sargent, and Lydia Sargent. All five together work on ZMI. For Z Magazine queries, submissions, etc. please use zmag@zmag.org For ZNet and other web operations please use chris.spannos@zmag.org For the Sustainer Program, ZSpace, etc., please use sysop@zmag.org For ZVideo and ZMI please use lydia.sargent@zmag.org

ZSpace is the central vehicle by which Z's online activities generate self sustaining revenues. It is also the key way in which our online activity generates ties among people, community, participation, etc. It is, in these respects, central to our operations, purpose, and existence. ZSpace gives members, writers, and sustainers, their own ZSpace pages. It gives participants blogs access and even your own blogs, forums access and posting, uploading quotes, lyrics, graphics, poetry, and articles, mutual aid access and use, books and film preferences entry, ability to comment on content throughout the site, discounts in our store, extensive rss feeds, and much more. ZSpace culls user preferences creating a database of content about books, films, etc. ZSpace provides a system of mutual aid and a means for mutual organizing and sharing of information and resources - via individual and also groups pages. Honestly, you simply have to visit to get a feel for it! There are multiple donation and membership levels to become a ZSustainer and thus a ZSpace partiipant, from free to paid, which provide access to a wide variety of features and services. Click Join ZSpace to see the various donation levels and, should you decide to support us and also enjoy the many benefits, to fill out the membership form. Can we make a brief entreaty, please? Z Sustainer donations - from ZSpace participants - are what makes this site possible, both as is and with continual growth. For the price of a slice of pizza a month, or evne less, you can contribute at a high level, getting diverse benefits, and doing your part to keep ZCom alive and well. Without this aid, there will be no site. Please seriously consider helping...

Welcome to Z Communications. This is a very large and diverse site. We recommend that you just play around a bit, looking at some links off the top splash page, and off ZNet and ZSpace. Try some place and topic pages, for example, and then the writers page, the blogs, ZSpace, and then perhaps also the forums, the audio section, and so on, to get a feel for what is available. Just prowl around, at first, and it will enhance your experience of the site later. Then try the search facility, a very powerful tool for providing specific content. To navigate, note that you can toggle the submenu to the tabs at the top of each page on and off with the red/green arrow in the row of tabs. We think having the submenus on, displaying automatically when you roll over the tabs, is vastly better for quick and easy navigation, but some people will prefer more viewing area. Try using the tabs, first, though, please. You can also toggle the left menu rollon/rolloff feature on many pages. Again we think having this feature on is vastly better for rapid navigation, once you get used to it, but you do have to get used to how it works and to handling your mouse a bit more carefully than usual for it to be advantageous. For a much more in depth introduction to all the parts of Z communications, please just click the New Uers link to the left.

A site as large as ZCom must have excellent search capabilities or else its vast stores of information will be only poorly utilized. Our facility permits searching the site overall, or within parts of the site, such as searching by area, topic, place, type of content, or any included text, in any combinations. Our Search Facility also makes more complex searching easy - such as if I want to see content by only a certain writer, on only a certain topic or place, or perhaps only interviews, or blogs, or both, or video, and so on... There is also searching by keyword, of course. Search now...

ZNet Article ZMag Article Commentaries ZBooks ZBook Reviews ZFilms ZFilm Reviews ZLyrics ZPoems ZAudio ZVideo ZGraphics

About/Contact ZCom This is ZCom's web site, including online ZNet, ZMag, ZVideo, ZSpace, ZBlogs, ZForums, ZStore, and much more. The web sites are maintaned by a staff of two, Chris Spannos and Michael Albert, plus numerous volunteers. The Z Magazine print staff, which also handles ZVideo's DVD Productions, is Andy Dunn, Eric Sargent, and Lydia Sargent. All five staff together work on ZMI. For Z Magazine queries, submissions, etc. please use zmag@zmag.org For ZNet and other web operations please use chris.spannos@zmag.org For the Sustainer Program, ZSpace, etc., please use sysop@zmag.org For ZVideo and ZMI please use lydia.sargent@zmag.org

Welcome to Z Communications. ZCom is a large and diverse site. If this is your first visit, we recommend that you play around a bit, looking at some links off the top splash page, and off ZNet and ZSpace. We also have some Help Videos that walk you through features. Try some place and topic pages, for example, and then try the writers page, the blogs, ZSpace, and then perhaps also the forums, the audio and video sections, and so on, to get a feel for what is available. Just jump around, at first, and it will enhance your experience of the site later. Then try the search facility, a very powerful tool for finding specific content. Note that you can toggle the submenu to the tabs at the top of each page on and off with the red/green arrow in the row of tabs. We think having the submenus on, displaying automatically when you roll over the tabs, is vastly better for quick and easy navigation, but some people will prefer more viewing area. Try using the tabs, first, though, please. You can also toggle for a design that is more suited to small monitors, with less menu space taken at the top. For a more in depth introduction to all the parts of Z Communications, please use the various links to the left and/or the Help Videos.

Join ZSpace ZSpace is the central vehicle by which Z's online activities generate revenues. It gives members, writers, and sustainers, their own ZSpace pages, blog access and even your own blogs, forum access and posting. You can also upload quotes, lyrics, graphics, poetry, and articles, a bio, your photo, and one or more photo albums. You can upload book and film preferences. You can comment on content throughout the site, receive discounts in our store, enjoy RSS feed options. you can enjoy site customization, and use and create polls. You can edit the ZWiki, chat with or instant message other users, have online friends and search other participants by locale or interest, and use a networking facility of group pages for mutual organizing and sharing of information and resources. There are multiple donation and membership levels to become a ZSustainer and thus a ZSpace participant, ranging from free to paid, which provide access to a wide variety of features and services. Click Join ZSpace to see the donation levels and, should you decide to support us and enjoy the many benefits, to fill out the membership form. Or, if you prefer, you could watch the explanatory Join Video....first. For the price of a slice of pizza a month, or actually, much less, you can get diverse benefits, and do your part to keep ZCom alive and well..

Using the Tabbed Menu The mechanics of the tabbed menu are simple. To learn about it, read below or try the helpful ZCom Overview Video. Place your cursor on a tab – don't click – just roll it there. After a slight delay to prevent unintended changes, the submenu will display content related to the tab you highlighted. Click an item in the submenu to go directly to it. Click a tab to go to that section's top page. You can roll up the submenu, for those who feel no need to use it – the link is off to the right side. You can toggle the whole tabbed menu and top of page area to take less space, particularly helpful if you have a small monitor. The best way to see what the tabs do is to click around on tabs, on submenu items, and also on links directly to content. That said, here are a few additional points for those who like their information in hand, before they travel: The ZCom tab leads back to the top splash page. The submenu of ZCom accesses information about the whole site, who we are, contacting us, our mission statement, history, an extensive question and answer, and our finances. The ZNet tab takes you to the top page of the daily updates of the system, and its submenus take you to parts of the regularly updated system. This is what most users will bookmark for daily access. The ZMag tab takes you to ZMag online, both the current month and the compendium and archive of Z Magazine's print contents. The submenus bring you more directly to parts of that whole. The ZSpace tab and sub menus bring you to components of the site that are user driven by our community of members and supporters. This is a rich set of offerings, critical to the community aspect of ZCom. You can find particular writers', members', and sustainers' ZSpace pages with all their content, preferences, etc. There is a friends facility, group pages, associated blogs, compendium preferences about books, plus reviews, essays, poetry, lyrics, quotes, photo albums by users, and quite a bit more, as well. The Z Video Production tab leads to material about our video production project including its mission, history, etc. The videos ZVideo produces and distributes are found through this tab and its submenus. The ZMI/ZEO tab and submenus , provide information about a summer school we host, and our online ZSchool, as well as reading lists and instructionals. The ZIntl tab gives access to numerous translation sites of ZCom content… The Writers page which is a submenu item under ZNet, and ZMag is a handy way to find anyone who writes on the site – regularly or even just only once or twice over the years, and to access their work. Under ZSoace, you can also search members and Sustainers by locale and interest, very useful for finding people to hook up with in your city...or with similar interests for creating a group page. The Topics and Place tabs provide access to pages listing all topic and place pages, and the submenu for each provides direct links to the more prominent ones. Topc and Place pages collect information, links, and of course articles about their topic or place, current, featured, and classic, plus links to associated books, etc. The Vision, Parsoc, and Parecon tabs provide access to more specific content about aims for society and the economy. The submenus give quick access to some of the main features. The Store tab goes straight to our online store, for subs, videos, etc., and the submenu provides direct access to sections of the store.

Using Left Menus Throughout the site left menus play a consistent role. The mechanics are straightforward. To learn about left menus, read below or try the helpful ZCom Overview Video. There are headings with a down or up arrow next to them. You click a down arrow next to a heading to see the associated items under it. You click a right arrow next to an item under a heading, to see associated content in a viewing area that appears to the right. The headings, demarcate sections of the left menu. These vary a bit throughout the site, but for the most part they are Help, Places, Topics, Content Type, Writer. Comments. The Help section, which you are now using, has a list of items which, when you click a right arrow, displays associated guidance. The other areas of the left menu are used, when they have a right arrow next to them, to filter content. What they each do is evident by the name, or trying them. To understand the filtering… Imagine you are on the top page of ZNet. In the first column are about thirty five links to most recent content on the site, from ZNet, ZMag, commentaries, videos, etc. If you go to the left menu and click the down arrow next to writers and the right arrow next to a particular writer's name, the first two columns of the viewing area of the top page will change to a display of recent content from just that writer. If you instead picked a topic, say economy, then the display would change to show only that content and likewise for a chosen place. Or maybe you wanted to see only interviews or graphics – so you clicked the down arrow next to by type and then the right arrow next to the one you wished to display. Imagine, however, instead of being on the top page of ZNet, you are on a place page showing content about only Venezeula or Iraq, say, or you are on a topic page showing information only about race or parecon, say, or you are on the interviews page, with only interviews showing, or the graphics page, with only links to cartoons and other graphics. Now if you pick an item in the left menu you will filter the display further, still seeing only what bears on the page's topic, place, type, etc., but now limited as well by the critiera you picked in the left menu. Finally, when you do use the left menu and you see a new set of content in the display area of an associated page, you can close that display and return to the default appearance just by clicking the little red x in the upper right corner of the new display area. You can also choose another filter and it will overwrite the area.

ZCom's Icons In many places throughout the site, icons give you a visual clue as to content. For example, there may be a link with an author and title, but with it a little icon. The icon tells you what type of content, from what source or main section of the site, the link goes to. Here are our icons and a little explanation of each:  ZNet Article – this is an article posted firstly on ZNet by ZNet staff  ZMag Article – this is an article published first in ZMagazine print, or perhaps ZMag online, posted by ZMag staff  Commentaries – this is a nightly commentary posted by ZNet staff.  ZAudio – this is audio for listening, uploaded by ZNet Staff  ZVideo – this is video for viewing, uploaded by ZNet Staff ZGraphics – this is a graphic for viewing, often a cartoon, uploaded by ZNet Staff or a Sustainer  Lyric ZLyrics – this is a song lyric uploaded to our database by ZNet Staff or a Sustainer  ZBooks – this is a book reference entered into the ZSpace database by ZNet Staff or a Sustainer…for review, preferences, etc.  ZBook Reviews – this is a book review, generally uploaded by a Sustainer  ZFilms – this is a film reference entered into the ZSpace database by a Sustainer…for review, preferences, etc.  ZFilm Review ZFilm Reviews – this is a film review, generally uploaded by a Sustainer  ZPoems – this is a poem written by a Sustainer and uploaded to his or her ZSpace page

Content Links In many places throughout the site links are just some text which, if you click one, takes you to the noted item. But there are other places, for example on the top page of ZNet, where content links offer additional information. In such cases, if you want quick summary information without having to go to the referred page, there is a little down arrow to the right of the link. You click it and the link area opens up to provide additional information. Click another, and the first will close, the new one taking its place...

Searching ZCom ZCom has an extensive Search facility. If you click a link for search, or advanced search, you will see the full search page. Searches must be for some type of content which means you must select any combination using the icons - for example some types of articles, videos, blos, or whatever. Once you select the type or types of content you want to survey, you can search by topic, place, type, author, and for text content. The text search option, however, can be slow. The Search page itself has entensive instructions for how to limit searches. It is quite powerful and reasonably intuitive. You just pick your attributes and find the relevant items. One caveat: For older material, it is not always up to date in categorization. If you don't find something that is quite old one way, try another....

ZCom Members/Sustainers   Members and Sustainers enter diverse information in their account pages.We use this, in part, to allow folks to find one another. Thus, using the tabbed menu system, under ZSpace, you can click the submenu link called Sustainers. When you do, you will see an extensive search facility. You can search for people by name You can search for people by country, state, or city You can search for people by interests There is also a letter filter, you can search for groups by first letter of last name We hope this facility will aid people getting in touch with others where they live or work,or with similar interrests, perhaps working toward creating a group page, or meeting in real time, etc.

Z Writers Some ZCom Writers are quite frequent contributors and part of what might be called Z's inner community. Other ZCom writers may have written only once or a few times, or may be relatively unknown to us. The writers page lets users explore lists of writers and pick any whose accumulated work you would like to access. If you visit the page, you can explore by clicking a letter in the alphabet and seeing a list of writers in our inner community, so to speak, with a last name that corresponds to the letter you chose. You can also search for a particular writer by typing in a name or part of a name. This will search all writers, not just the inner core list. You can even search via a pull down menu, either of the inner community of writers, or of all writers – in the latter case, it is a very long list. Links to a writer that display once you make your letter choice or search a name, are to the writers content or ZSpace page. Left menus often also provides a list of writers, whether you are on the top page of ZNet or a topic or place page, etc. These writers are specific to the area you are in...and clicking one will display content from him or her in the two column viewing area. Try it, you will see....

ZCom Topics Content on the site is categorized by Topic, place, writer, date, type of content, and some other variables as well. Some key topics warrant display on their on own page, We call these compendiums topic pages and they provide quick access to our content and also to outward facing links bearing on that topic. Click the topic tab to see a list of all topic pages and click to go any one. Or roll over the topic tab, and in the topic submenu you can pick among a few of the more active and prominent topic pages. You can also search all content by topic via the search page. Using the left menu, you can often see content for a topic or a particular type, etc. The left menu facilities are quite powerful. You might want everything on economics – and so you go to the economics topic page. But maybe you then want only the economics content that is also about India – for that you could search, or you could use the left menu. And then maybe you want Venezuela, another left menu item. Alternatively, you might have gone to the Venezuela page and chosen economy in the left menu there…and so on.

ZCom Places Content on the site is categorized by Place, topic, writer, date, type of content, and some other variables as well. Some key places warrant display on their on page, We call these place pages and they provide quick access to our content and also outward facing links bearing on that topic. Click the place tab to see a list of all these pages and click to go any one. Or roll over the place tab, and in the place submenu you can pick among a few of the more active and prominent place pages. You can also search all content by place via the search page. Using the left menu, you can often see content for a place of a particular type, etc. These facilities are quite powerful. You might want everything on Iraq – and so you go to the Iraq place page. But maybe you then want only the economics content that is also about Iraq – you could get that via the search page, but you could also use the left menu on the Iraq page itself, to filter only that content that is economics, etc.

ZCom Interviews There are a great many Interviews on our site – text, audio, and video. The interviews page provides easy access, listing the most recent interviews by date. The left menu allows you to filter the list by writers, topic, place, and also type. You can also search even more extensively using the search page and confining yourself to interviews as type. There you can filter, as well, for audio, video, etc.

ZCom Debates There are quite a few Debates on the site and we hope to publish many more in the future. For the most part, since most debates involve multiple contributions in a sequence, these are presented in their own subsection – to access it roll over the tabbed menu's ZNet tab and then click the submenu Debates to access debates content.

ZCom Instructionals There are a handful of very extensive Instructionals on site, with more to follow. The main menu link to them is under the ZMI/ZEO tab. These are major inclusions, far more than articles, but not quite books. They are multipart with their own navigation systems. Really, the only way to see if they suit your interests, or if using them online suits your style of learning, is to give them a try… They are on foreign policy and international relations, global economics, racism, statistics, radical theory, economic vision, and political economy.

ZCom Reading Lists We have assembled numerous Reading Lists to facilitate users exploring areas and concerns of interest via books. These lists are available from under the ZMI/ZEO tab, but also from relevant pages – for example if a place has a reading list, there will be a link to it from that place page, and similarly for topics, etc. Our reading lists will alter and be augmented in light of suggestions from users and also user book preferences entered through our ZSpace facilities. To make suggestions for additions or deletions for any of the above lists, or to suggest whole additional lists, please send to: sysop@zmag.org

ZCom Books ZCom has some rather extensive Book components, including a massive database filterable by topic, place, author, etc. – reviews, book interviews, book preferences of sustainers, and whole books online. The easiest access is via the Books tab itself, or beneath that, any of the submenu items. Over time, we hope to dramatically expand these aspects of ZCom, to aid writers and readers alike.

Viewing Videos on ZCom ZCom has a great many Videos available for viewing, and it is a growing focus for us. Some of these are placed on ZNet but not produced by our staff. Others are literally produced by us. The compendium page of Videos to view is linked from the ZNet Tab submenu. There are also links to specific videos in many places throughout the site. Viewing is easy and requires no special technology. When you access a video, you will typically see links for others by the same person, on the same topic, etc. The left menu lets you filter the display of videos by place and topic, and in this case also by writer. ZCom also includes Z Video Production. This is our operation for creating and distributing video dvds which are available in the online store.

ZCom Audio Offerings ZCom has a great many Audios available for viewing, and it is a growing focus for us. Some of these are placed on ZNet but not produced by our staff. Others are literally produced by us. The compendium page of Audios to listen to is linked from the ZNet Tab submenu. There are also links to specific audio files in many places throughout the site. Listening is easy and requires no special technology. The left menu lets you filter the display by place and topic, and in this case also by writer. When you access an audio file, you will typically see links for others by the same person, on the same topic, etc.

ZCom Graphics ZCom has a great many Graphics available for viewing, and it is a growing focus for us. Some of these are uploaded by ZStaff, some by Sustainers, and many are from Z Magazine's artists. Sustainers can also upload photo albums, accessible from their ZSpace pages. The compendium page of Graphics to view, including a great many cartoons, is linked from the ZNet tab's submenu. The left menu of the graphics page lets you filter the display by place and topic, and in this case also by artist. When you access a graphic or cartoon, you will typically see links for others by the same artist.

ZCom Lyrics Library Under the ZSpace tab is a link for Lyrics. This accesses a database of music lyrics – uploaded by ZStaff and Sustainers. The left menu let's you filter the display by place and topic, and in this case also by artist. When you look at a lyric, you see links to other lyrics by the same artist…

ZCom Quotes Library Under the ZSpace tab is a link for Quotes. This accesses a database of quotations – uploaded by ZStaff and Sustainers. The left menu let's you filter the display by place and topic making it easy to find quotes for specific uses you may have. When you look at a quotes, you see links to other quotes by the same author…

ZSpace Instructions regarding ZSpace appear on pages where they are applicable…as easy guides to use for accomplishing particular tasks such as uploading your bio, pictures, essays, poems, videos, etc. – changing your account information, and so on. The instructions will be more convenient there, where you need them, and for that reason we don't repeat them here.