The Administrative Procedure Act provides that “general notice of propose rule making shall be published in the Federal Register.� (5 U.S.C. 553(b)). Now notice also must be published on-line.

Notice ensures that the public is informed about agency activity and provides the informational prerequisite to participation. Without knowledge of a proposed rule’s existence, participation is impossible. Notice also provides an opportunity to become informed and to shape a reasoned opinion prior to commenting.

Putting notice on the web makes it easier and cheaper to reach more and new people with better information. It also makes it possible for people to put that information in context and to connect information to action.

Innovation in the notice process should be geared toward ongoing efforts to empower and enlarge the community of practice participating in rulemaking on specific issues. Competing sources of opinions and information must be allowed to flourish and inform the process. In other words, where possible, notice should exploit the screen to go beyond the statutory formality of announcing a rulemaking name and date, and instead should communicate as much information as possible to inform participation.

• providing notice means delivering useful information to inform participation;
• among recipients are non-expert, individual citizens;
• information can be successfully disseminated among interested communities who will, in turn, communicate with their participants;
• information should be tied to the social context; and,
• improved use of the computer screen will facilitate connecting notice to the substance of the rulemaking and the people involved in it.