Net users take fast line to new jobs

Use of The THES Internet Service increased by half as the online service, offering job advertisements, summaries of the newspaper's contents, and other resources, entered its second week.

The busiest day was Tuesday, when Internet users were able to preview the job advertisements which appear in today's newspaper. On that day there were 777 connections to the service, and 9,182 queries.

Most users make a query, that is, they request a fresh screenful of information, between 10 and 20 times during a session. A total of 35,362 queries was received between last Thursday and noon this Wednesday.

While the initial surge of interest came mainly from regular readers, news of the service is now spreading worldwide on the Internet itself. The increased number of people sampling the service in its second week probably included many who do not normally see the printed newspaper.

Dozens of readers have sent electronic mail welcoming The THES's online debut. Some suggested improvements and some difficulties. The server is sometimes offline briefly during the European night, while new information is added.

The THES electronic mailbag (theschat@timsup2.demon.co.uk) revealed a strong demand for a full World Wide Web service, combining text and graphics.

The Web homepage on http://www.timeshigher.newsint.co.uk will soon lead into further Web pages as the service develops. Gopher users can access the service on gopher.timeshigher.newsint.co.uk