GUIDELINES FOR PREPARATION AND MAINTENANCE OF ISPRS WEBPAGES

Part of ISPRS Orange Book - APPENDIX B.6

1. Introduction

Conveyance of important information is paramount. Therefore the webpages must be informative, creative, and entertaining, constituting an intelligent, practical and resourceful promotion of the ISPRS and its activities.

2. Responsibility to Prepare Webpages

i. All ISPRS Member Organisations, Commissions, Working Groups and Technical Commissions should use Internet webpage media to promote their work related to their area of expertise.

ii. ISPRS mandated restrictions placed on the development of webpages will be few. While daunting or intimidating technical complexity is not encouraged, nonetheless the ISPRS is promoting the creation of advanced webpages, with the emphasis on both the clarity of the message conveyed and the innovative creativity that will go into their creation.

iii. ISPRS webpages are not only for ISPRS Members, but also for the larger world audience that is interested in the ever-growing fields of photogrammetry, remote sensing, GIS and related technologies and issues. Therefore, the ISPRS encourages the creation of creative and entertaining webpages that will appeal to a larger audience.

iv. A downloadable webpage that can be used as a basic template upon which a webpage can be built is provided at the ISPRS Website: www.isprs.org/samples.html

3. Webpage Design and Content

ii. Graphic and non-graphical. All ISPRS webpages shall be provided in both a graphics- included format and in a non-graphical format.

iii. Logo. All ISPRS webpages should clearly and prominently display the official ISPRS logo on every webpage - downloadable from: www.isprs.org/samples/logos.html

iv. ISPRS Affiliation. A reference to the ISPRS and the function of the Working Group or Technical Commission must be stated clearly at the front of the webpage.

v. Images. Image acquisition, management and processing are the main activity of ISPRS. Therefore, an array of images that demonstrate ISPRS activities should be included where possible (non-graphical options shall also be provided - see 3.ii above). Images with lengthy potential downloading times may be provided in an FTP format.

vi. Hypertext Links. All ISPRS webpages must include hypertext links to the ISPRS Home Page and to other ISPRS Technical Commissions. Links to associated sister- organizations could also be provided.

vii. Design . ISPRS webpages should include the following:

viii. Home Pages of ISPRS Member Organisations should contain the following: names, pictures/photographs, and complete addresses, Commission and Working Group officers; important activities of the Member; hyperlinks to the ISPRS Home Page and to relevant Working Group webpages; and, if available, the address of an email subscription system (list server).

ix. Technical Commission Webpages should contain at least the following: the name and Terms Of Reference (TOR) of the Technical Commission; names, pictures/photographs, and complete addresses of all Commission and Working Group officers; information about Symposia and Commission/WG events with on- line registration forms; and hyperlinks to its Working Group webpages, the ISPRS Home Pages and to other important websites.

x. Working Group Webpages should contain at least the following: the name and Terms Of Reference (TOR) of the Working Group; names, pictures/photographs, and complete addresses of the Working Group chair, co-chair and members; dates and locations of Working Group meetings and workshops with on-line registration forms; and necessary hyperlinks.

4. Technical Issues of Webpages

ii. Browser. Webpages should be designed and updated for the most popular browsers in use at the time. The use of a good and fast browser facilitates a quicker acquisition of images.

iii. Links. Links should be checked periodically and updated. Each page should have a link at its end to the top of the Home Page.

iv. Bulk Data. Documents made available in postscript format should be compressed, with an indication of their approximate size, and the method of compression. A decoder should be made available when needed.

v. Java. Java script and applets may be used, but critical elements of webpages should not depend on Java.

5. Other Issues.

ii. Cultural Sensitivity. As ISPRS is an international organization, with webpage readers from all over the world, comments and statements that could be misconstrued by readers from different cultures must be avoided.

iii. Liabilities and Disclaimers. The following phrases (or variants of them) should be considered for inclusion in webpages : a. "Inclusion in this page is not to be taken as an advertisement or endorsement, nor an exclusion as a criticism" or b. "The authors will not be held responsible for any actions arising from the use of the included data, although the utmost care has been taken to ensure its accuracy. Please contact the authors at the address below."

iv. Ownership. Data or articles made available through an ISPRS webpage should be available for copying or downloading. Sensitive data or copyrighted articles can be requested by email or from a reference URL.

v. Language. All ISPRS webpages shall be in English. Creation of webpages in a language other than English is encouraged as long as an English version of the webpage is available.

vi. ISPRS Notification. All groups who are preparing an ISPRS-related webpage shall inform the ISPRS Web Master, so they can be properly referenced and promoted.

vii. Obsolescence and Data Purging - All webpages shall be deleted from all search registers within 6 months of completion of the event to which they refer, or closure of an ISPRS Working Group. Similarly, Commission Symposia and ISPRS Congress webpages shall be purged within six months of their conclusion.

viii. System Administration and Security. Provisions must be made for:

ix. Task Force. ISPRS will make available a Task Force of experts that has extensive WWW experience for assistance in certain elements of WWW page creation and maintenance. ISPRS WG VI/4 is in charge of consultation for Internet/WWW in ISPRS.