It's November, election time in some parts of the world. In the spirit of the season, we at Inthefray.com thought we'd have a vote of our own--for the magazine's best articles of 2001.

Until the end of this month, you can e-mail us your picks for the top Inthefray articles, in each of the four channels--Identify, Image, Imagine, and Interact--and in the magazine overall. Below is a listing (with links) of all the pieces that have appeared since our launch in April 2001.

The articles that receive the most votes will be featured in our December cycle, along with comments from readers about them.

Voting is easy. Just follow these steps:

1) Send a message to editors@inthefray.com with the subject line "Vote." In the message text, list your picks for each of the four channels, as well as your overall pick for best Inthefray.com article. Every person has one vote in each of these five categories. You may split your vote between two (or three or four) articles in a particular category, if you can't decide which is the "best" one.

2) [Optional] Please tell us what you thought about each article you chose. Why did you like it? What could have been improved? We'll publish your comments in the December cycle, even if your pick doesn't make the cut.

3) [Optional] At the end of the message, give us your general thoughts about the magazine (criticism very welcome, but, please, no anthrax). We'll also publish these reader comments in the December cycle.

4) Finally, sign your ballot with your full name. If you don't want your name or e-mail address to be included with any published comments, let us know. Of course, the ballot itself will be strictly confidential, and will not be read by anyone except the Editor and President.

Providing comments is optional, but strongly encouraged. We at Inthefray.com very much want to hear from you. We want to know what we're doing right, and what we're doing wrong. Please use this opportunity.

Your feedback couldn't be more important than at this time. The Inthefray.com community has grown: We now receive between 40,000 and 65,000 hits--between 1,000 and 4,000 unique users--every month. We are in the planning stages of revamping the site, and by January 2001 we will have a site redesign, an improved Forum, and other changes in place.

Exercise your rights as a reader. Send in your ballot by November 30.

Victor Tan Chen
Editor, Inthefray.com
Boston

Inthefray 2001

IDENTIFY

Caricaturing Lieberman
How the media missed the story on religion in the 2000 election
Written by Ben Helphand | Illustrated by Vasus Das
April 9, 2001

Watchdog under the watchtower
The story of the Heart Mountain Sentinel, and freedom of press at a time of internment
Written by Kelly Yamanouchi
April 9, 2001

The culture war, won?
ISSUE INFOCUS: Gay rights. Lesbian and gay activists joined the mainstream during the Clinton years
Written by Paul Johnson
April 9, 2001

Sex change on a subsidy
PULSE. Plus, the N-word in The New York Times, and why political women are all the rage in France
Written by Kelly Yamanouchi

A higher profile
ISSUE INFOCUS: RACIAL PROFILING. On the top of today's civil rights agenda, racial profiling takes 'driving while black' to another level
Written by Harry Mok | photographed by Dustin Ross
May 7, 2001

Survival of the fittest
Living under body fascism in Los Angeles' gay ghetto
Written by Don Chareunsy
May 14, 2001

Homophobes, racists and anti-Semites
PULSE. And other humorous tales from today's media
Written by Kelly Yamanouchi
May 21, 2001

Finding solace in cyberspace
Stricken with the loneliest of illnesses, people with rare forms of cancer have built their own online communities
Written by Charles Savage | illustrated by Melissa Scram
June 4, 2001

Snowing on the parade
PULSE. Alaskan politicians won't march for gay rights, but gosh those Scots and Jews have pride
Written by Kelly Yamanouchi
June 11, 2001

Today I met the boy I'm not going to marry
For better or worse, the number of unmarried couples is on the rise
Written by Debbie Kuan
July 2, 2001

From race riots to 'Chocolate Cities'
PULSE. Plus: Take our quiz! How do you measure up on views toward homosexuality?
Written by Kelly Yamanouchi
July 16, 2001

By any other name
When the term 'feminist' divides activists
Written by Nadia Ellis Russell and Nicole Leistikow
August 20, 2001

Postcards from all over
PULSE. Of boob tubes, American guns and more
Written by Kelly Yamanouchi
September 3, 2001

New York state of mind
In the fray in New York
Written by Jia-Rui Chong | Illustrated by Lia Chang
October 8, 2001

'The most segregated hour in America'
A look at three churches that worship the multicultural way
Written and photographed by Nicole Leistikow
November 5, 2001

IMAGE

To the root
A photographic essay
Photographed and assembled by Dustin Ross
April 9, 2001

Remnant noise
A photographic essay
Photographed by Yaz Matsui | Assembled by Dustin Ross
May 7, 2001

Them gators (a.k.a. southern negroes)
Hip-hop in the dirty south
Photographed by Jason Lewis | Assembled by Dustin Ross
June 4, 2001

Anywhere U.S.A.
A photographic essay
Photographed by Jason Lewis | Assembled by Dustin Ross
June 18, 2001

Jhota
Photo illustration
By Rosa Lee
July 3, 2001

Soundview
Images from the New School for Arts and Sciences, a high school in the South Bronx, New York
Photographed by Amy Rathgeb
August 6, 2001

The Great Wall
Travelogue from China and Tibet
Photographed by Amy Rathgeb
August 20, 2001

Survivors of sexual assault
Portraits of sexual assault victims
Photographed by Nobuko Oyabu
September 17, 2001

IMAGINE

Wear your heart on your short-sleeve
The T-shirt has come a long way, baby, from its beginnings as underwear in World War I
Written by Jia-Rui Chong | Photo collage by Stephanie Yao
April 9, 2001

Undressed for success?
This Lil' Kim went to the market, and sold her body
Written by Mekeisha Madden
April 9, 2001

Eight letters between old lovers
Poetry serial
Written by Daniel Wolff | Illustrated by Vasus Das
April 9, 2001

The community
A poem
Written by Debbie Kuan
April 9, 2001

Crossing borders
An interview with writer, scholar, and activist Erna Brodber
Written by Nadia Ellis Russell | Photographed by Stephen Ellis Russell
May 7, 2001

When Wu-Tang met Kung Pao
On the big screen and off, African and Asian Americans trade stereotypes, but no kisses
Written by Sharon Pian Chan
May 14, 2001

Remember Pearl Harbor
Now that the World War II epic has exploded into theaters, will Asian Americans feel the heat?
Written by Harry Mok
May 26, 2001

Gettin' in the way
The revolution may not be broadcast, but songstress Jill Scott is still a voice to be reckoned with
Written by Mekeisha Madden
June 4, 2001

Correspondence
A poem
Written by Siobhan Peiffer
June 11, 2001

The sentry
A poem
Written by Angie Chuang
July 2, 2001

Postcards
A poem
Written by Jia-Rui Chong | Illustrated by Melissa Scram
August 6, 2001

Isle of May
A short story
Written by Brandon Walston | Illustrated by Melissa Scram
September 3, 2001

Ethical comedy
Sunday readers know him as 'The Ethicist,' but Randy Cohen got his start writing jokes
Written by Ben Helphand
October 8, 2001

Art for anxious times
What Alberto Giacometti can teach us about our suddenly terrifying world
Written by Jia-Rui Chong
November 5, 2001

INTERACT

Of beetles and angels
NOTES FROM THE MARGIN. Childhood memories of African war and American struggle
Written by Mawi Asgedom
April 9, 2001

Burning the stones
In a place without memory, life becomes art
Written and photographed by Honza Vihan
April 9, 2001

The model Jew
When being a good citizen means giving up Filet-O-Fish
Written by J. Irving Israel | Illustrated by Vasus Das
April 9, 2001

Telling stories
The black press needs to be reborn
Written by Keith Rushing
April 9, 2001

It takes a village
A visit to China reveals what was gained, and lost, in one family's journey to America
Written and photographed by Harry Mok
May 14, 2001

Traffic jam
When it comes to racial profiling, disclosure is sometimes an excuse for inaction
Written by Phillip Reese | Photographed by Dustin Ross
May 21, 2001

Nirvana for sale
Indian religion saturates pop culture as America cashes in
Written by Varun Soni
June 4, 2001

The power of black and brown
When Latinos finally become America's largest minority group, what will that mean for race relations?
Written by Keith Rushing
June 11, 2001

The Occidental Asian
Politically apathetic, socially intolerant, and culturally clueless--let's hear it for the Asian American Yuppie
Written by Debbie Kuan
June 19, 2001

The indispensible enemy
The real reason the West complains so much about the Taliban
Written by Ben Helphand
July 2, 2001

Straight-and-white TV
Today's plain-vanilla programming gives us a skewed picture of reality
Written by Harry Mok
July 16, 2001

Learning to clog
NOTES FROM THE MARGIN. A black woman finds her roots in Appalachia's music
Written by Afi-Odelia E. Scruggs
August 6, 2001

Songs in the key of life
Who do you call when the screaming starts?
Written by Molly Hennessy-Fiske
August 20, 2001

A sense of entitlement
On Martha's Vineyard, wealth is met with shrugs and slightly raised eyebrows
Written by Alexander Nguyen
September 3, 2001

The enemy within
After the 'second Pearl Harbor,' will America repeat the mistakes of the internment years?
Written by Harry Mok
October 8, 2001

Victim and victimizer
We grieve for Wall Street, but when will Wall Street grieve for us?
Written by Robert William Russ | Photographed by Vasus Das
November 5, 2001

E-MAIL YOUR BALLOT > editors@inthefray.com