Throughout the election cycle, there were a number of pages that received particularly high amounts of use (see Figure 3). The most popular section was the interactive section's chat feature, whose introduction page averaged one hit for every three front page hits.²⁰ In other words, one of every three visitors to the site entered the chat room. The chat program was first introduced on August 14, during the week of the convention, and gained popularity quickly throughout the remainder of the election cycle. Because of the interactive, user-driven nature of the chat feature, it is very difficult to compare to the other parts of the site. One significant difference, however, is that the chat rooms tended to draw back repeat users, whereas the more static portions of the site were more likely to get only one or two visits from any given user.
The most-visited of the static sections was the Principles of Reform. Of the more than 300 pages that comprised the Reform Party site, all ten of the Principles pages were within the top thirty in terms of overall hits throughout the campaign. Many of the individual principles pages even averaged more hits than several of the major section pages, including press releases and the Lend Your Support section.

Comparisons Over Time
Throughout the election period, there was little change in the relative popularity among sections and pages. All followed the same day-to-day fluctuations, with very few exceptions (see Figure 4). The pages of the Principles of Reform section gained in relative popularity throughout the campaign. Just after the convention, the Principles pages were, combined, totaling roughly the same number of hits per day as was the front page. As the election neared, however, the Principles pages began to garner many more hits than the front page, with a steady increase toward November 4. Because the information in this section did not change throughout the campaign, it is unlikely that many of the users who visited the Principles of Reform pages were repeat visitors. As noted above, most first-time users enter the site through the front page. Thus, trends in use of the front page and the Principles section can be assumed to be a result of the actions of the same group of users.
The other section that saw massive gains in popularity throughout the campaign was the chat feature, which was introduced on August 14, during the Reform Party convention period. The first period of heavy use of the chat room came September 10 (see Figure 5). This increase corresponds with the announcement that Ross Perot would not be allowed to participate in the presidential debates. After this point, the chat room continued to gain popularity, peaking, with the rest of the site, on November 4 and 5. Because the chat room use can be largely attributed to repeat users with a heavy interest in the Reform Party, the chat rooms remained more active after the election than did the rest of the site, although there was a significant drop in chat use also.

Communication Tools

The purpose of any web site is to communicate a body of information, and the Reform Party site is no exception to the rule. Its main goal was to provide a channel of information from the party to the electorate, including both party members and non-members. However, the site had to fulfill two important and discrete communication roles: informing and organizing. The first role, informing, required the site to target both Reform Party members and those users who may be curious to find out more about what the party stands for. In many cases this meant presenting information that would be well-taken by both groups. The organization function was targeted more specifically at those users who were already party members or supported the party and were looking for ways to become more involved. The sections that fell into the informing category included Principles of Reform (issue statements), In the News (press releases) and to some extent the State By State and On-line Headquarters sections. A summary overview of the site indicates that the Principles of Reform was by far the most-used of these sections designed to inform the general public who are browsing the site and learning about the Reform Party for the first time.