function validateNewsletterFields() {
	// grab the fields in the form and the form itself
	var emailField = document.getElementById('signupField');

	var whiteSpace = /^[\s]+$/;
	var okToSend = true;
	
	// Check to see if a required field is blank or null. If so, set an error message.
	if ( emailField.value == '' || whiteSpace.test(emailField.value) || emailField.value == 'enter your email address') {
		alert("Please enter your email address.");
		okToSend = false;
	} else if(!emailCheck(emailField.value)){
		okToSend = false;
	}

	// If any of the checks for required information failed, 	
	if(okToSend == true){
		signUpToLetter();
	}
}

/**
 * Sends the actual data in the form to the server via an AJAX request.
 * Change this method to extract whatever data you need to be taken from
 * the form and uploaded to the server.
**/
function signUpToLetter () {
	// grab the fields in the form and the form itself
	var femailField = document.getElementById('signupField');

	// the page on the server that sends the email
	var page = "includes/emailer/addNewsletterSignUp.php?contact=true&xml=true";
	showNewsletterTimer(); // quickly begin the load bar
	
	// convert (&, +, =) to string equivs. Needed so URL encoded POST won't choke.
	var emailField = cleanString(femailField.value);

	// create the data that is to be sent
	var data = "email="+emailField;
	// put the data into the request to be sent to the server

	loadXMLPosDoc(page,data);
}

/**
 * Cleans a string so that it can go in a string
**/
function cleanString(str){
	str = str.replace(/&/g,"**am**");
	str = str.replace(/=/g,"**eq**");
	str = str.replace(/\+/g,"**pl**");
	return str;
}

function showNewsletterTimer () {
	var loader = document.getElementById('newsletterinfo');
	loader.innerHTML = "Please wait while we subscribe you.<img src=\"images/site/spinner.gif\">";
	sentTimer = setTimeout("hideNewsletterTimer()",6000);
}

function hideNewsletterTimer () {
	// Replace the load bar with whatever the server sent back
	var newsletterinfo = document.getElementById('newsletterinfo');
	newsletterinfo.innerHTML = ''+grabPosXML("confirmation");
}