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Webmaster's Elementary

Is it difficult to become a webmaster?	HTML	Webspace	SSI	CGI
Advanced tools	Styles	Other technologies	Names, names...	Non-final conclusions

Is it Difficult to Become a Webmaster?

Yes, it is.

Though "difficult" does not mean "impossible". In this section of my site I shall tell how I have "requalified for house manager" and what I have faced with on this way.

Visitors of my site probably understood that I have linguistic education. In other words, I have no fundamental knowledge the webmaster usually must have. So I had to study in the way of tries and mistakes.

Should notice, that I did not become a true web-designer, and probably never become:-)*. However I got enough knowledge to create and to run my own site. In general, there's nothing to be scared of. You must have a motivation, and the necessary result can be achieved - naturally if the result is extremely necessary.

All began from E-Mail. I had to get an e-mail address, and registered on a free e-mail and hosting server www.chat.ru. Mail is mail, but the bothering idea of megabytes laying without use periodically appeared.

Then surfing the Internet I had come across with rather popular "Practical HTML Guidebook" by Nikolay Chuvakhin, written simply and comprehensively. So I trained in writing small HTML-files - it has turned out. After that I has built some pages and uploaded them to my megabytes at http://www.chat.ru/~alemasov/.

Having started the site, I formally became a webmaster (almost the same as some office hire a person and call him an engineer).

*) However, this statement should not be so categorical any more.
There is a site http://www.tekmetrics.com/ (now http://www.brainbench.com/) where any interested person may undergo one of 42 examinations online. As far as I know, results of testing by Tekmetrics are quoted highly enough and are seriously considered by potential employers.

I have decided to test myself, then passed the procedure of registration and have begun examination HTML Programmer e-certification, which successfully failed (have collected 2.64 points at checkpoint 2.75). It is the first attribute of real examination - to pass is not easy. It was politely recommended to me to read reference books and try again.

Examination consists of 40 questions with variants of answers (from 3 up to 7). Examinee is given 3 minutes to answer a question; countdown begins after the page fully loads. Probably, that one point is equal to 8 right answers as the greatest possible score is 5.0. Questions constantly vary; I realized it when making the second attempt next day.

It was necessary to read HTML 4.0 specification. Feeling more grounded, I have begun to repass, and strangely enough, have passed.
Now I have a right to place this picture on the site:

This history has received a little bit unexpected continuation on November, 22, 1999. The envelope containing two certificates with my name on them has come by mail: HTML Programmer and Written English. Taking into account that I passed the English test on September, 21, the certificates reached me in exactly two months (from Great Britain to Chita, Russia).

Unexpectedness is that I did not hope tekmetrics.com to take postal and other charges (to make papers costs some money). They did not charge a cent from me. Surprising but pleasant.

Is it difficult to become a webmaster?	HTML	Webspace	SSI	CGI
Advanced tools	Styles	Other technologies	Names, names...	Non-final conclusions

Chinese software dictionary pack

All texts on the site composed by me except where otherwise stated. The text of another author will not appear without author's permission.

If the English text was translated by its author, the translator's name is not stated. Otherwise translator's name is stated separately.

The graphics: except for my logo, copyrights to all other logos belong to their respective owners. Photos copyrighted by me except for otherwise stated.

CONTENTS:

Webmaster's Elementary

Is it Difficult to Become a Webmaster?