Synthetic Rags.

`Web readers are different from print readers," notes Intellectual Capital editor Pete du Pont. "They like their articles shorter, they like them punchy, they like to get to the point in the first paragraph." The differences don't end there. After plunking down $2,000 for a computer and $19.95 in monthly service fees, web surfers expect more from an online magazine than they do from the $2.95 newsstand variety. Bells and whistles are important, so long as they don't impinge on ease of use, and interactivity and timeliness are crucial. But as with print, content matters most.

Although e-zines (periodicals that exist exclusively or primarily in electronic form, as opposed to websites for established print media) number in the hundreds if not thousands, most are glorified personal webpages, with long addresses and short shelf lives. (In general, the longer the Internet address, the less professional the operation--a long address indicates the Net equivalent of renting space in someone else's office.) In the political realm there are three established zines, and several up-and-comers.

Slate (www.slate.com), the product of Michael Kinsley's imagination and Bill Gates's checkbook, is a technical marvel--easy to navigate and loaded with animated graphics. It is also loaded with text--much of it from prominent journalists, much of it quite good, most of it quite liberal. Regular features include "the compost," a complete archive; "the fray," a readers' free-for-all; and a virtual "back of the book" of reviews, arts, and poetry. One drawback: Slate focuses more on what pundits say about issues than on the issues themselves. Navel-gazing has its limits, and animated graphics can be dizzying. For comic relief, see Stale (www.stale.com) and Stall (http://c3f.com/stall/).

Pete du Pont's Intellectual Capital is neither as hip nor as eye-catching as Slate, but makes up for its stylistic deficiencies with substance. Each week's issue features an extensive array of articles, from wonkish analysis to light satire, by an impressive crew of journalists (NR's Rob Long, Kate O'Beirne, and Stephen Moore are regular contributors). Bi-partisanship reigns, with conservatives counterbalanced with the likes of Faye Wattleton, Nadine Strossen, and George McGovern. Interactive bulletin boards, which include several high-quality postings, follow every article-perhaps web surfers are more sophisticated than old-media types concede. IC dabbles with multimedia in the form of on-demand audio talks and interviews, the poor sound quality of which indicates that e-zines still have a way to go.

"We believe," write the founders of Salon (www.salonmag.com), "that communication in the '90s can be more than the ugly cacophony of talk radio." But Salon is better than its mushy bring-back-the-"civil"-in-civil-discourse mission statement. The site includes such bombastic columnists as James Carville, David Horowitz, and Camille Paglia (alternately castigating feminists and extolling Allen Ginsberg's pedophilia), and includes extensive, often contentious, bulletin boards connected to each piece. Kinder, gentler fare can be found in the "mothers who think" feature, a daily update for cybermoms (soccer moms beware), and in book, film, and entertainment reviews.

Among the less well-known, lower-budget electronic periodicals that merit at least one visit are: The Frumious Bandersnatch (www.bandersnatch.com) a (slightly) right-of-center humor weekly that, despite inconsistent wit and consistently bad design, scores points for sheer creativity. The Washington Weakly (www.federal.com) provides a much-needed conservative voice to the zine scene, but offers nothing in the way of innovative use of the new medium. Worse yet, its price tag: $16.95 for 48 issues--a steal by print standards, but highway robbery in the zero-cost world of electronic publishing (all the other zines reviewed here are free of charge). Like IC and Salon, Re:Focus (www.re-focus.com) does a good job. Each month, Re:Focus offers a dozen or so conflicting views on two controversial issues of the day (e.g., abortion, TV ratings, school prayer), lifted (legally) from policy statements by relevant journalists and advocacy groups. The format is impressive and simple to use, but the "balance" is overrated. Wanted: one good, unabashed (and free) right-wing e-zine.

--CHRIS WEINKOPF

Mr. Weinkopf is NR's online editor.

Mr. du Pont is policy-chairman of the National Center for Policy Analysis and editor of Intellectual Capital.