The success of a venture like this depends on the community it serves. There is plenty of room for dialogue between the Observer and its readers, as well as amongst the readers themselves. And it's simple to contribute. At the end of every article, you'll find an easy-to-use mechanism to add your comments to the discussion.

We've designed a clear and organized format in order to make the Observer as easy to use as possible. On the left side of the page, you'll see our departments: Rockport, Over the Bridge (for regional, national, and international news), Opinion, Sports, and Fun Stuff (reviews, recreation, and other, well, fun stuff). You'll also see the Observer SwapShop, a place for Rockporters to buy, sell, trade, or just get rid of things.

On the right side of the page, you'll find our current Rockport Weather (as well as a link the area forecast), the Kudos section, where we celebrate Rockport success stories (with a primary focus on kids), the Poll, and hopefully soon, our sponsors.

In addition, the Observed section will feature the work of local artists (amateur and professional), and their beautiful images of our town. We're excited to bring Rockport its first newspaper (well, sort of) since the late Walter Priest’s Rockport Eagle in the 1970s, but we're even more excited about providing residents a place to share their views and to hopefully make our town an even better place to live.

We hope you’ll join us.