When Gutenberg modified a wine press in Mainz, Germany, in the 1400s to print words onto paper, many did not care about or did not understand the implications of this new, faster method of producing documents (Rogers, 1986, 27). This is similar to where the public has traditionally stood on the issue of computer mediated communication. "The parallels between the early history of printing by press and printing by computer are remarkably similar. In both cases, the initial users of new technology -- printing presses or computers -- were slow to recognize the large scale appeal of information transmission by their products to a broad audience" (Valauskas 1994, 44). By the end of the 15th century, the printed word, which began as a luxury for an elite few, spread in the course of two decades to become a medium for the masses (Valauskas 1994, 44). During the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, technological developments for newspaper printing transformed the concept of news from a concern for the "mercantile and political to the experiences of more 'common' people, especially those recorded in reports from the police and the courts" (Weaver 1983, 3). Digital documents seem to be following a similar course. Aimed initially at specialized audiences, they are gradually becoming widely disseminated to the point where, if the printing press is any indication, they will become a new mass medium (Valauskas 1994, 44).