DAOD 2008-6, Internet Publishing

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Definitions
  3. Overview
  4. Operating Principles
  5. Requirements
  6. Responsibilities
  7. Process
  8. References

1. Introduction

Date of Issue: 1998-01-30

Effective Date: 1998-03-01

Application: This is an order that applies to members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and a directive that applies to employees of the Department of National Defence (DND).

Approval Authorities: This DAOD is issued under the authority of the Deputy Minister (DM) and the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS).

Enquiries:


2. Definitions

Canadian Forces member (membre des Forces canadiennes)

A Canadian Forces (CF) member is a member of any component of the CAF, Regular or Reserve, unless the contrary is indicated.

D-Net (D-Net)

D-Net is the official, national World Wide Web site of the DND and the CAF.

Internet OPI (IOPI)/sub-IOPI (bureau de première responsabilité Internet (BPRI) ou BPR auxiliaire)

An Internet OPI is appointed by a Group Principal, Commanding Officr (CO), or Principal Advisor, and is the only person other than a Group Principal, CO, or Principal Advisor who may authorize the posting of information to the Internet. This authorization may be delegated to sub-IOPIs as required. A list of IOPIs is available on D-Net, under the Defence Electronic Bulletin Board System (DEBBS).

Internet posting (affichage Internet)

Internet posting refers to the process of loading an Internet site, presentation or product onto a publicly accessible Internet server, and creating the links required to make the site, presentation or product "live" or "on-line".

Internet presentation (présentation Internet)

An Internet presentation is a collection of Internet products on a specific subject. An example of an Internet presentation is D-Net's Image Gallery.

Internet product (produit Internet)

An Internet product is any individual communications product that is disseminated using Internet technologies.

Internet products include, but are not limited to:

Internet publishing (diffusion d'information sur Internet)

Internet publishing encompasses all activities related to preparing and distributing information about a policy, program, service, operation, activity, or initiative using Internet technologies such as the World Wide Web, anonymous file transfer protocol (ftp), gopher or other Internet service.

This includes any activity related to the design of Internet sites, presentations and products using any medium incorporating textual, graphical, audio, visual, audio-visual and/or multi-media elements.

Internet server (serveur Internet)

An Internet server is a computer used to provide Internet service. A server may host multiple Internet sites.

Internet site (site Internet)

An Internet site is a collection of information and/or services made available to the public over an Internet server. Most Internet sites include many Internet presentations, products and services.

official DND or CF Internet site (site Internet officiel du MDN ou des FC)

An official DND or CF Internet site is any approved Internet site involving any DND or CAF organization or unit that is made accessible to the public by or on behalf of DND or the CAF.

Web administrator (administrateur Internet)

A Web Administrator is the person responsible for the programming and configuration management of an Internet site. This includes file naming, maintaining file directory structures, providing technical advice, and posting material to the site.


Top of Page

3. Overview

Obligations

3.1 The DND and CAF have an obligation under DND and CF public affairs policy:

  1. to inform Canadians about DND and CAF policies, programs and services in a manner that is accurate, complete, objective, timely, relevant and understandable; and
  2. to manage information in a manner that respects the Management of Government Information Holdings (MGIH) policy.

Intent

3.2 The intent of this DAOD is to establish a flexible corporate framework for managing Internet publishing for DND and the CAF. The framework sets minimal corporate standards for official DND and CF Internet sites, while maximizing design and content flexibility for Commands Groups and units.


4. Operating Principles

Scope

4.1 All DND employees and CF members responsible for any Internet site, presentation, or product that is meant to inform or serve external or internal audiences about DND and/or CAF policies, programs, services, operations, activities, and/or initiatives must ensure that their site, presentation or product complies with this DAOD.

4.2 This includes, but is not limited to, employees and members of Commands, Groups, areas, formations, wings/bases, units, Regular and Reserve Force units, official branches and related DND or CAF organizations such as the Communications Security Establishment (CSE).

Exclusions

4.3 Internet sites that publicize the activities of informal associations or informal groups of DND employees, CF members, dependents or other affiliated individuals do not fall within the scope of this DAOD.

4.4 DND employees and CF members involved in creating or maintaining these unofficial sites must ensure that these sites are in no way understood to officially represent DND or the CAF.

Shared Function

4.5 Internet publishing is a shared management function built on a partnership among managers/COs, professional public affairs officers (PAOs) and Web administrators.

Content Ownership

4.6 Managers/COs are responsible for the appropriateness, accuracy and maintenance of the information they make available to the public over the Internet in accordance with public affairs and information management policy and instructions.

Unauthorized Use of Internet Material

4.7 Individuals and groups responsible for unofficial sites shall not use approved DND or CAF designs, presentations or products. Unauthorized use of approved Internet designs, presentations or products constitutes a breach of the Copyright Act.


5.Requirements

Link to D-Net

5.1 All official DND or CF Internet sites shall be linked to and fall within D-Net.

Official Languages

5.2 All official DND or CF Internet sites, presentations and products shall comply with the Treasury Board Policy on Using The Official Languages on Electronic Networks.

5.3 Commands, Groups and units shall consult their official languages coordinator as required.

Corporate Standards

5.4 All official DND or CF Internet sites, presentations and products shall comply with the Internet Corporate Standards of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces.

Services and Usage

5.5 All official DND or CF Internet services, sites, presentations, and products shall comply with the DND and CAF Internet Acceptable Use Policy (Interim).

5.6 All links to Internet sites outside of the federal government shall be established with due respect for fairness and competition. Links shall neither endorse nor appear to show bias toward any person, company or commercial product.

5.7 Publication and use of software shall comply with licence agreements.

5.8 DND- or CAF-owned software, when published, shall be accompanied by appropriate disclaimers and conditions of use. Typically, these would indicate that the software is free for use but comes with no warranty, and that DND and/or the CAF takes no responsibility for consequential damages.

Privacy and Security

5.9 CF members and DND employees shall ensure that their Internet activities comply with legislation and policies concerning privacy and security, including the:

  1. Privacy Act;
  2. Canada Evidence Act;
  3. National Defence Act;
  4. Official Secrets Act;
  5. Information Systems Security Internet Connection Guidelines; and
  6. Internet Acceptable Use Policy (Interim).

Information Management

5.10 COs and DND managers shall manage all information posted to the Internet, including e-mail, in accordance with:

  1. Management of Government Information Holdings Policy, Treasury Board.
  2. DAOD 6000-0, Information Management and Information Technology; and
  3. DAOD 6003-3, Records Management and Disposition Policy.

5.11 In addition, COs and DND managers shall manage all information posted to the Internet, including e-mail, as a certified copy of the corporate record (i. e. as a transitory record). Note that only copies of the original corporate record may be treated as a transitory record. Disposal of transitory records shall be handled in accordance with the DAOD 6003-X, Disposal of Transitory Records Policy. (to be developed)

Content Maintenance

5.12 All products posted on the Internet shall include a review date, placed according to the approved design standards. The review date shall identify the date on which the document should be reviewed by its originating organization and updated if necessary, or removed from the Internet.

5.13 The review date for products containing information that may change over time, such as a booklet on missions abroad, shall be no more than one year from the posting date. The review date for all other products shall be no later than the disposition date of the originating corporate record, as defined in the originating organization's retention and disposition schedule. A manager can extend the life of a posted document by first extending the life of the corporate record.

Top of Page

6. Responsibilities

Responsibility Table

6.1 The following table outlines the responsibilities associated with Internet publishing:

The ... is/are responsible for ...

Deputy Minister and Chief of the Defence Staff

  • approving DND and CAF Internet publishing policy, and corporate Internet sites, presentations and products.

Environmental Chiefs of Staff/Group Principals

  • approving Command/Group design standards (within corporate standards), and Command or Group Internet sites, presentations and products;
  • ensuring that their Internet sites, presentations and products adhere to Internet corporate standards; and
  • appointing an Internet OPI (IOPI) and, if desired, an alternate.

DGPA and DND CIO

  • advising the DM and the CDS on Internet Publishing policy;
  • approving Internet corporate standards; and
  • monitoring adherence to Internet publishing policy and corporate standards.

Area, Formation, Wing/Base, and Unit Commanders

  • approving Internet sites, presentations and products within their areas of responsibility.

Director Telecommunications and Spectrum Engineering Support (DTSES) 7

  • overall D-Net administration and maintenance as the DND/CAF Webmaster;
  • determining the appropriate server location and approving the technical configuration of new Internet sites and presentations, including mirror sites;
  • determining domain-naming conventions and approving names of any public Internet site; and
  • advising IOPIs and managers/commanders on the information management and technical aspects of Internet publishing.

8. Process

Process Table

8.1 Managers/COs shall use the following process when developing and updating Internet sites, presentations and products:

Stage Who does it? What happens?

1

The Manager/ Commander

  • decides that an Internet site, presentation or product is needed as part of a public affairs program; and
  • contacts his/her public affairs officer to initiate development.

2

The PAO

  • determines whether use of the Internet is an appropriate element in the public affairs program, and, if yes:
    • contacts the appropriate IOPI and Web administrator;
    • advises and assists the manager/CO on developing the site, presentation or product, in co-operation with the IOPI and Web administrator; and
    • co-ordinates site, presentation or product approval.

Note - When a new site is proposed, IOPIs must contact Director Telecommunications and Spectrum Engineering Support (DTSES) 7 to obtain site development approval.

3

IOPI/Sub-IOPI

  • provides advice and assistance on policy compliance and content development.

4

The Web Administrator

  • provides technical advice and assistance on formatting and programming the site, presentation or product.

5

The IOPI/Sub-IOPI

  • ensures that the manager/CO has received appropriate approvals for the site, presentation, or product; and
  • authorizes the posting of the Internet site, presentation or product.

6

The Web Administrator

  • ensures technical Internet standards are met; and
  • posts the site, presentation or product to the Internet.

7

The Manager/CO

  • manages information posted to the Internet as a certified copy of the corporate record (i.e., as a transitory record); and
  • manages the original or source documents as corporate records using existing records management procedures.

8

The Manager/CO

  • reviews the information no later than the stated review date; and
  • instructs the IOPI to update or remove the information, as required.

Note - Managers/COs shall ensure that they meet quality and design standards by contacting their public affairs officers when updating Internet presentations or products.

9

The IOPI/Sub-IOPI

  • ensures that appropriate approvals have been obtained prior to updating Internet presentations, or products; and
  • removes all information that has not been reviewed by the stated review date.

8. References

Acts, Regulations, entral gency Policies and Policy DAOD

Other References

Page details

Date modified: