<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">For USGS staff:<div><br>
<div><br><div>Begin forwarded message:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ">----------------------------------------------------------------------<br>The USGS has just released the official<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://internal.usgs.gov/gio/eweb/usgs_web_handbook.pdf">http://internal.usgs.gov/gio/eweb/usgs_web_handbook.pdf</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(USGS Web Standards Handbook) and associated<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.usgs.gov/usgs-manual/600/601-1.html">http://www.usgs.gov/usgs-manual/600/601-1.html</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(Survey Manual Chapter). This information has also been added to the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://internal.usgs.gov/gio/eweb/requirements.html">http://internal.usgs.gov/gio/eweb/requirements.html</a>(USGS Web Requirements site).<br><br>From the Survey Manual:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br><br>Access to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) information through the Web is a powerful means of communicating and delivering our science to many audiences. Web sites and Web pages containing science information that is released to the public are official publications of the USGS and, as such, must adhere to various standards and requirements. This chapter establishes and applies policy for USGS Web-related activities, including the responsibilities and procedures for the development and maintenance of all public USGS Web sites and Web pages.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br><br>This is the first ever web policy at the USGS. Up until this point we have seen only guidelines, best practices, etc. Some aspects such as web templates have been requirements. However, the Web Standards Handbook now makes everything that we do on the web, official.<br><br>Please become familiar with the new handbook and Survey Manual chapter. Please be sure to forward this message to any web developer you know of at the Survey as well as make it a part of any "new staff documentation"...even if they're not web developers as some of this information may be useful to those people as well.<br><br>Thanks</span></div><br></div></body></html>