Do online stores encourage shopaholics? How do people negotiate those awkward opening moments in a chat room? What's the key to Web site survival? What can log files tell us about site design? The authors tackle these and other questions in our latest issue

    Features that may have encouraged or discouraged unregulated buying were identified at popular electronic commerce sites. Many features may have disrupted accurate self-observation and fostered advantageous social comparisons with other excessive shoppers.

    Identification of types of Web server logs, client logs, types and uses of log data, and issues associated with the validity of these data are enumerated. The authors explain how sources of use-based data can be triangulated to assess Web design.

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    The authors report on student perceptions of a simulated distance learning environment created with Distributed Tutored Video Instruction.

    Longitudinal studies of Web sites can not only trace the history of specific sites but can also provide some guidelines that might help start-up Web sites improve their chances for survival in the ever-changing Web landscape.