Policies

Policies and Guidelines for FPG Child Development Institute Web Services

The Policies outlined below are designed to keep the FPG web site consistent . The Guidelines presented below are to assist contributors to the FPG web site in developing materials that are ready to be published on the World Wide Web.

The following policies and guidelines have been adapted from the UNC-CH policies and Guidelines for the World Wide Web, and additionally reflect the efforts of the FPG Web Team.

Web Site Security Rules

1. You are prohibited from violating or attempting to violate the security of The State of North Carolina, The University of North Carolina at Chapel, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, including, without limitation,
(a) accessing data not intended for you or logging into a server or account which you are not authorized to access,
(b) attempting to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system or network or to breach security or authentication, measures without proper authorization,
(c) attempting to interfere with service to any user, host or network, including, without limitation, via means of overloading, "flooding", "mail bombing" or "crashing", or
(d) sending unsolicited e-mail, including promotions and/or advertising of products or services, or
(e) forging any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any e-mail or newsgroup posting. Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability.

The State of North Carolina, The University of North Carolina at Chapel, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, and the Webmaster will investigate occurrences, which may involve such violations and may involve, and cooperate with, law enforcement authorities in prosecuting users who are involved in such violations.

2. General Rules. You may not use this Site in order to transmit, distribute, store or destroy material (a) in violation of any applicable law or regulation, (b) in a manner that will infringe the copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property rights of others or violate the privacy or publicity or other personal rights of others, or (c) that is libelous obscene, threatening, abusive or hateful.

Policies: Copyright

Please follow these basic guidelines.

Always get permission before including copyrighted text, photographs, audio, video, or other media in your Web pages. Keep a copy of that permission, preferably on paper. No permission is required for anything in the public domain.

Notice of copyright is not required, but it's a good idea to include a copyright notice to remind people.

Use the registered trademark symbol (®) to show use of registered trademarks.

Additional information is available in Summary of December 20, 1995, Web-Walkers meeting on Copyright. http://www.unc.edu/campus/aboutweb/walkers/mtgs/95dec20.html

Policies: Disclaimer

Note: A link to this Disclaimer is included on FPG's Home Page, at http://www.fpg.unc.edu.

Access to and use of the FPG Web services (pages linked to from the FPG home page at http://www.fpg.unc.edu) are subject to the following terms and conditions:

All parties storing materials on the FPG Web represent and warrant to FPG that the installation, copying, distribution, and use of such materials in connection with the FPG Web will not violate any other party's proprietary rights and that these materials do not contain any libelous or defamatory statements.

FPG is not responsible for any errors in the materials provided on the Web. The FPG Web and all materials maintained on the Web are provided "as is" with no warranties of any kind.

The links accessible from the FPG home page are subject to change without notice.

FPG has the right to delete files. Conditions for deletion include, but are not limited to, the following:

The information in the file is out of date.

The file is considered by the System Administrator of the Web Server as causing significant performance problems for the Web server.

The file is in violation of the law or University policy.

Attempts will be made to notify the owner of the file and correct the problem.

While every effort has been made to ensure service, FPG does not guarantee that the system will function error-free or without any interruptions.

FPG shall not be liable for any damages of any kind, including consequential or incidental damages, arising from the submission, installation, maintenance, transmission, copying, modification, distribution or use of any materials.

This policy will be reviewed as deemed necessary.

Policies: Links to the UNC-CH Home Page

If an icon is used in a link to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Home Page (http://www.unc.edu), please use the following HTML code:

To UNC-CH Home Page</a>

Policies: Photographs and Audio and Video Clips

The use of photographs in the FPG Web is subject to the same conditions as the use of photographs in printed documents, and the use of audio and video clips is subject to the same conditions as photographs.

When you ask persons to participate in a photo, audio, or video shoot, ask them to sign a release, such as the standard FPG Release Form, before you record anything.

For seminars, meetings, and workshops, indicate on the registration material that recordings (photos, audio, video) may be taken and used in publications, printed and/or on-line, and that registering connotes permission to use the images.

Also see Copyright policies. Direct questions to University Legal Counsel.

Requirements for Web Pages on the FPG Web

Applicability

Existing web sites in FPG's domain should use any and all of these guidelines that are practical and relevant. Creators of future sites should abide by these guidelines as much as possible, especially the establishment of their own content review committee.

Appropriateness

Any publication readily available to the public, with the exception of books and other copyrighted material, may be placed on the FPG home page, subject to the following guidelines. In case of dispute, the review committee will make a recommendation to the FPG director.

Teachers should post course-related information, such as course packs, syllabi, etc., on the home page of the appropriate department and then request a link between their name on the FPG staff list and the home page of their department. The Webmaster will advise.

All materials posted on the FPG web site will adhere to UNC web and copyright guidelines and to the media guidelines for FPG. FPG media guidelines include these:

All photos require a signed release form; the signature of a guardian or parent is required if photo is of a minor 17 or under.
Illegal or unethical acts related to communications are not condoned.
Confidential information will not be used for the personal benefit of others.
Material will uphold the credibility, integrity and dignity of FPG.
Authors will not use any information generated by or appropriately acquired by another institution or business without permission.
Materials will uphold the positive public perception of FPG as a deliberate and progressive institution dedicated to quality research.

Project Web Coordinator

Each group must have a person designated as the Project Web Coordinator. This person has the responsibility for the image of the group, ensuring that information is timely and accurate, and that the requirements specified in this document are followed. Web Information Coordinators are encouraged, but not required, to participate in the campus Web-Walkers group, to keep abreast of current campus Web developments. In addition, each group must designate a backup for this person. The Project Web Coordinator and the designated backup must have access to the group’s passwords and other confidential Web related information.

Review Procedures

Each group must establish review procedures for ensuring that its Web pages represent the group's goals. It is recommended that, at a minimum, the head of the group review the group's pages at least twice a year.

Materials to be posted on web site will be reviewed for clarity, succinctness, keywords, links to other web resources (internal and external), ease and speed of reading, quick presentation of topic, style, and appropriateness.

The FPG Web Team will examine all materials to be posted on our web site. Members of the FPG Web Team include: Gina Harrison, Jeff Alpi, Robert Kraus, John Garcia, and Joan Danaher, Co-Conveners. The approval of any two review committee members is needed to post anything beyond routine changes, grammar corrections, etc. on the home page. If a reviewer raises questions, the materials may be submitted to an additional committee member or even the full committee.

E-mail

Each group must include a "clickable mailer" on its home page and establish procedures for processing e-mail in a timely fashion. See the section on Guidelines for E-mail generated from the Web later in this document.

Flow of Material to FPG WebSite

Anyone wishing add something to the FPG Web site should:

attach with the material a list of approximately 10 keywords or phrases that will be included invisibly in the material when it is posted on the web. These are key descriptive words about the content that will be picked up by many search engines.
If an author wishes to format their own copy and needs advice, Gina will advise and can give the author templates, etc. If the author does not want to format his/her own copy, the publications department will do so. However the process is conducted, materials should then be given in hard copy and on disk in plain text format to Gina Harrison. If a summary version of the material is needed, Gina may create the summary and get an approval from the author. The material (and summary) will then go through the review process above. If there is any significant change in copy by reviewers, the material will be referred back to the author(s) for approval. After that, material will go to Robert Kraus for placement on the web site.

When Projects or Activities End

Investigators with projects that have concluded are expected to write a short summary stating that the project has ended, whom to contact, etc. The summary will be posted on the web site, although information about the project may continue to be posted. At some point, the review committee may request that the project materials be archived, leaving only a short summary note about the project on the active pages.

Archives

We recommend out-of-date articles, such as old issues of Early Developments, etc., be archived to an FTP site where the information would be available in text-only format, thus saving space. Robert will advise on how to archive for FTP.

Quality Problems

People who note a problem in an FPG Web page should contact the author of the page that has the problem (there should be a selectable item on the bottom of the page for sending comments). If the author fails to take appropriate action, the FPG Webmaster should be contacted. The Webmaster will attempt to negotiate with the author.

The FPG Webmaster, or the system administrator for a Web server may delete links and files. Conditions for deletion include, but are not limited to, the following:

The information in the file is out of date.
The file is considered by the System Administrator of the Web Server as causing significant performance problems for the Web server.
The file is in violation of the law or University policy.
Attempts will be made to notify the owner of the file and correct the problem.

Guidelines for Group Web Pages

Plan your Web Pages

This is a good time to determine your review and backup procedures. Who, in your group, needs to give the final OK to your Web pages; and who in your group will fill in when the Web Information Coordinator is not available?

Work with others in your group to outline what you'd like your pages to look like.

Explore other World Wide Web pages to see the strengths and weaknesses of what other organizations are doing.

Backup and Documentation

Be sure you have a backup person -- someone who can fill in when you're not around. Make sure they have userids that have permission (for example, for online discussion groups, each group must have a UserID and Password to cull old messages).and they know how to maintain the pages.

Document your work so that your backup person can fill in for you.

Page Design

Although there are some requirements for Web pages linked from the FPG home page, your pages should reflect the creativity of your department and need not look like other FPG pages.

Content

Your home page, that is, the first page people see when visiting your pages, describes your department or organization to the world. You should pay careful attention to its design and content.

Carefully consider the links that you make to Web pages outside your group's directory. Check outside links and sublinks frequently to make sure they still work and that they contribute to the goals of your group's pages.

The home page for a group must contain a description of the group with address and full telephone number (including area code). It is recommended that the name of the group's leader (for example, the Principal Investigator) also be included. Home pages typically include address, phone number (complete with area code), e-mail address (as a clickable mailer), credentials, areas of expertise, degrees, research interests, publications, and public service information, as well as special interests.

Consider Including the Following

Publications
Brochures, promotional documents, annual report (just the latest one), newsletters (perhaps keeping 12 months), technical reports
Research programs
Public service programs
Link to existing resources, if possible.
Other organizations and resources within the department
People
The Project Web Coordinator may chose to provide lists of people with office locations, e-mail addresses, and phone number (work only, not home) or link to home pages for faculty, staff, and students, or both. The Information Coordinator determines whether or not the pages are appropriate for inclusion in the group's section and may request a modified version of a person's home page for this section.
Accomplishments, awards, class projects, research papers
Use links to articles in the University Gazette or the Daily Tar Heel, as appropriate. If you use a Press Release, you should copy the article, since the news releases only stay online for about a week.
Conference information. Highlight any conferences the group or department is sponsoring. Also consider including information on conferences faculty/staff/students are attending, especially if they are giving presentations.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Answers to frequently asked questions,
Placement services information
Teaching assistant positions
Student organizations
Group newsletter, activities, seminars, announcements
Information for and about alumni
Related topics in the Research Triangle area that might be of interest For example, seminars at Duke.
Related topics worldwide that might be of interest

Other Issues

Know your audience and keep it in mind when composing HTML pages. Is a large part of your audience at schools or colleges that use text-only browsers and telnet connections? If so, then your graphics may be gratuitous. Are you trying to reach a home audience of America Online and Microsoft Network subscribers?

Order of Items Within Lists

Use chronological order for periodicals, with the most recent as the first. Use alphabetic order for others, unless there is a reason to do something different.

Keep the Content Level High

Make pages that contain more than just links to other things. Although some pages may be set up for just that purpose.

Put Keywords in Comments

For search engines (such as Google or Lycos), include comment lines at the beginning of the html file that contain keywords describing the document. (Comments fall between the special  markup elements. There must be a space after the initial ) Most web authoring tools handle this formatting automatically.

Use of URLs

Use "relative" URLs with caution (as opposed to "absolute" URLs). A relative URL does not specify the complete "address" for the page. For example, if you had a page http://www.ais.unc.edu/info/ais.home with links from it to another page in the same directory, you could refer to it as href="another_page.html." Relative URLS are shorter and make documents easier to move around, as long as the directory is moved as a whole. However, relative addressing may not work the same way under all browsers.

Style

Basics

Sign your work. It is important to indicate who is responsible for the content, together with copyright information, if there is any. Include author(s), status of the work (in progress, Internet draft, final draft) and date.
In some cases you may want to reference both the author of the original document and the person who is responsible for the electronic version.
Date the page. There are several preferred ways to format the date. Choose one and be consistent. While the US uses mo/da/yr, the rest of the world uses da/mo/yr. The form "year mon day" (for example, 2004 Dec 07) is unambiguous and allows for the turn of the century. This format could be used to automatically check for out-of-date information.
Use complete phone numbers (with area code).

Graphics

Avoid the overuse of graphics.

Check the copyright status of any graphics you download

References to UNC-CH and FPG

Refer to our University as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or UNC-CH (not UNC). Refer to Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute as FPG Child Development Institute, or FPG; but not "The Institute".

Link to your group's home page

It is recommended that you include a link to your group's home page at the bottom of each of your pages.

E-mail

Include your e-mail address on your home page. Use the "mailto:" tag to provide a clickable mailer, specifying your e-mail address, as in the following example, which sends mail to info@unc.edu:

E-mail your comments to:

The comments email link is often placed on the bottom of the page.

Date last modified

Include a "Last modified" date; for example:

Last modified: Jan 23, 2004

This information is often placed at the bottom of the page, along with the comments email link. Be sure to change the date whenever you make a change to your page.

Use links in your home pages

If you have more than one home page, put common elements, like publications, in a separate file and link to them. This will make updating easier.

Guidelines for E-mail Generated from Web Pages

Alias

Set up an e-mail alias for the group; the alias should be used on the Web pages for comments and questions.

Send to first_last@unc.edu a message giving the e-mail address for the group (for example, FPGWEB@unc.edu ) and the full e-mail address of the person to receive mail for the group. The e-mail address of the person does not have to be on the email machine; the e-mail address of the person can itself be an alias. Aliases are not limited to eight characters. For example, FPG_Webmaster@unc.edu could be used instead of FPGWEB@unc.edu .

For example:

Please make FPG_Webmaster@unc.edu an alias for Robert_Kraus@unc.edu.

Changing the e-mail address for the alias

When you go on vacation, be sure to change the e-mail address of the alias to the person who will handle this task while you are gone. Simply send a change request to first_last@unc.edu noting the change.

For example:

Please make FPG_Webmaster@unc.edu an alias for Jane_Doe@unc.edu

mailto:tag

Use the mailto: tag to provide a clickable mailer, specifying the e-mail address for yourself or your group, as in the following example, which sends mail to FPG_Webmaster@unc.edu

E-mail your comments to:

Contact FPG Webmaster

E-mail should be directed to the person responsible for the content of the page, not the designer.

Respond to E-mail

Maintain a list of people who should receive questions on specific topics.

Check e-mail at least once a day. Forward messages as appropriate to people on the expertise list. Reply to the rest. Be polite. Thank people for their messages; recipients appreciate personal attention and your time.

Follow Up

Define procedures for following up to make sure that questions you forward are answered. For example, keep questions active until you know they have been answered, and ask your experts to copy you on their answers.

Log Messages

Be sure to keep a log file of e-mail messages. At the beginning of the month, rename the log file to include the month in the name (for example, log.96apr), starting a new log. Periodically remove the old files.

Reports

Summarize the log each month so that common questions and problem areas can be identified.