Frequently asked questions
How does the video player work?
The video player on the ArkansasOnline.com and Arkansasonline.com/video require Adobe's Flash utility to play a specific type of video file. ArkansasOnline uses this Flash utility throughout the site, so downloading this free plug-in is important for the optimum experience on ArkansasOnline. You can download the free plug-in from Adobe at http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/
Why are complete Arkansas Democrat-Gazette stories not available through the News, Sports and Features links in the menu bar?
ArkansasOnline provides brief versions of many Arkansas Democrat-Gazette articles and full stories from various wire services without a membership. However, complete versions of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette stories are available for 7 days after publication only to newspaper and online subscribers who have a username and password. To get a username and password go to the subscription required tabs on ArkansasOnline.com.
Why do you charge a subscription fee for full access to newspaper stories?
Very simply, it costs us money and effort to produce the stories for the online edition. Web advertising alone does not cover the costs, and it seems unfair to us to charge newsprint readers in our core market for this information and then to offer it free to a global audience. An online-only membership is available, or membership is free with a subscription to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Why are some stories from the Associated Press and other wire services only available to subscribers?
All subscriber only stories, including those from news wires are thoroughly copyedited and sometimes merged with other stories to create a better product for our readers. News aggregators do not do this. This better news product requires manpower and extra cost. An online-only membership is available, or membership is free with a subscription to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
When I click on some articles or comics in the "printed edition online" edition they don't appear in a larger screen.
Due to copyright and permissions agreements some articles and comics are not available online. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette makes every reasonable attempt to republish all newspaper content in our online editions. The Sunday comics section are produced by an outside company and inserted into the newspaper; therefore, those comics are not available online. Here is a quick list of items that are restricted: How your Delegation voted, Foreign Rates, Most widely held stocks, Money market funds, Cathy, Cul de Sac, Doonesbury, Garfield, Overboard, Tank McNamara, and Dennis the Menace and Judge Parker.
How do I change my user name (email), payment information, address, or find my lost password?
We have created a menu on our help page to answer many of these questions. Registered users can change their email address and password, find your lost password, or subscribe to daily email and breaking news emails through our automated system. Click here to go to that area Subscribers can manage their account using the MyPaper feature. For security you will need to create a MyPaper user name and password to access your account information. You will also need your Account Number, which you will find on your most recent statement, or by calling customer service at 501-378-3456.
What is a Screen Name?
A "Screen Name" is your online identification. It is the name that will be shown for anything you publish yourself on ArkansasOnline.com. Your Screen Name will appear next to any comments you write on articles, photos you publish or messages you post while on ArkansasOnline.com. If you don't publish anything to ArkansasOnline.com, your screen name will never appear. You can change your screen name at any time by visiting the edit your profile page
How do I change the email address where I receive daily email updates.
This is probably the most simple, yet unnatural things to do. When you recieve an email at an old address, simply click on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email. This will remove your old email from the email list. Then come to ArkansasOnline.com and subscribe to breaking news emails by entering your new email address. If the old email address is no longer valid, it will be automatically removed. Just click on the "Get Daily e-mail updates" link on the homepage and enter your new address. Entering a new address through the "Get Daily e-mail updates" link will not change your login information, which must be corrected through the "Change email" page discussed in the previous question. Make sure you add noreply@ardemgaz.com to your address book and to your list of allowed mailings to keep your email provider and email program from moving alerts to your Junk or Trash folders.
What is RSS and how does it work?
RSS is a syndication function for news outlets and blog writers that allows readers to quickly see new content without going to the site. For instance, readers can view the latest headlines from ArkansasOnline from the Firefox or Safari browers by clicking on the orange link in the address window. This will give you an option of saving the RSS feed as a link. Once this bookmark is saved, you go to that bookmark in your list and get a drop down list of headlines. This way you quickly see new content and link directly to a story you want to read.
Where did the "Enhanced Edition" go?
The Enhanced Edition of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette is still available by clicking the "view today's print edition" icon at the top right corner of each page. Only the name and color palette have changed to match our new style. It's now referred to as the ArkansasOnline ePaper.
What happens when I view "today's print edition"?
The ePaper is a compilation of page reproductions, including advertisements, in Portable Document Format. The elements of a page are clickable and separately viewable in either text or image formats. An entire edition may be downloaded in "Page High Res" format, a PDF version of the edition. The article view window also has icons to e-mail a link to the article to a friend or to prepare a printer-friendly version.
How do I navigate the ePaper?
Scrolling over the page will highlight pieces of the page in blue on a PC. The highlighting is absent on a Macintosh, but the function is the same. Clicking on a piece will bring it up in a preview window; clicking on a headline will bring up the entire article and associated text or images in a display window. Then by clicking in the menu bar, there is choice of views: text (plain text without in a scolling window) or paper (an image of the article and all associated elements as they appear on the newsprint page). Some elements (such as information boxes) related to the story are viewable only in the paper view of the page.
In the blue bar near the top of the browser window, date and section pulldowns and a page number box with forward and back arrows allow access to any page in any section in the chosen issue. The red bar at the top of the page offers the choice of Northwest or LR edition.
At the left of the browser window are navigation buttons to "Quick Headlines," providing easy access to selected items from the news sections.
Does the ePaper work on all Web browsers?
Older browsers do not comply with all of the Web standards used in the new framework. Internet Explorer 5.1, Netscape 6, or Mozilla Firefox 1.5 or newer are recommended. PC and Macintosh versions differ slightly: The Macintosh version does not have the highlighting feature in the Enhanced Edition.
What if my browser doesn't show the LR/Northwest choice or I can't see the page-number box?
Upgrade to Internet Explorer 7, Netscape 6 or Mozilla Firefox 1.5 or newer.
Does connection speed matter?
The ePaper works best on DSL or cable connections; a 56K modem is recommended. Downloads will be slower on anything less than a 56K modem.
When are the daily editions available?
ArkanasOnline is continually updated with the latest news from all of our resources. The ePaper is updated daily with content from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Our target is to have all online editions available by 6 a.m., to coincide with our newsprint porch delivery. The ePaper editions are made available online after the newsprint editions go to press. Generally, the LR edition will be available around 4 a.m. The Northwest edition will usually be available by 5:30 a.m., though it may be as early as 4 a.m. All editions should be available by 5:45 a.m.
How do I find obituaries, a favorite columnist, daily record, etc.?
The easiest way is always to use our search feature at www.arkansasonline.com/search/. Type obituaries and hit the "Go News" button for links to every file from the past seven days containing the word obituaries. You can also search for the person's name to quickly locate a particular reference. To search for a phrase, enclose it in quotes: "daily record" or "World Series". In the ePaper, use the search engine in the horizontal navigation bar at the top of the page. It is a "Find" box on Macintoshes, and a "Search" button on PCs.
What are the subscription choices?
Newsprint subscribers are granted free access to online editions, but must register so that we may verify the subscription data. Several levels of newsprint subscriptions are available. We also offer an online-only subscription, which includes access to the daily print content. All subscriptions include online access to articles from the past seven days. Older articles are retrieved from our electronic archives and require a separate registration and payment. Online membership is free, but does not include access to subscription only content.
Why do you ask members for personal information when they register and what do you do with it?
We ask about the age range and sex of our members to get a general picture of our audience in aggregate and to aid in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998. We do not divulge or examine individual information; it is examined only in aggregate. We may occasionally share collective audience information with third parties, such as advertisers. Click here to read our privacy statement.
How do I find newspaper articles that are more than seven days old?
Arkansas Online provides access to newspaper and online subscribers to stories from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for 7 days from the original publication. Some selected stories and features are available longer to provide a community service. After 7 days stories are available through our online archives system at library.ardemgaz.com. These articles can be retrieved using our self-serve electronic archives search. There is a small fee per article to download the text. The archives require a separate registration with a credit card number through a secure server connection.