BaBar Web Authorship Guidelines and Tips

Introduction

• Dos and Don'ts for web authors
• Standard HTML elements
• For new users of AFS, here are some notes about AFS disk space
• Tips for writing good HTML

Guidelines: Dos and Don'ts

• Do place your pages in the appropriate sub-directory under $BFROOT/www/. If you don't know the appropriate sub-directory for your page ask the WebMaster. Please do not keep BaBar related pages on other servers. The SLAC Unix server is setup to read $BFROOT/www for BaBar pages. In the past, web authors have deleted files in their own areas (other servers), forgetting that there still remained links to those files from pages residing under $BFROOT/www.
• Do password-protect your pages, and protect them from editing and viewing by non-BaBarians over AFS, if the information is meant to be for BaBarian eyes only. There are instructions on how to do this.
• Do include standard HTML elements on your webpage.
• Do use only approved images of the BaBar elephant to avoid copyright infringements.
• Don't keep Babar related web pages in your home directory. Once you realise your page is useful to other BaBarians, copy it to the web under the appropriate directory in $BFROOT/www/ and update any links to reflect the location.
• Don't use frames.
  • Frames present a security risk.
  • Frames make pages difficult to access by bookmark or by direct reference to the URL.
  • Frames prevent search engines from finding information.
  • Frames diminish the ability to print a screen's worth of data. Consequently, each frame must be selected and printed individually.
• Don't use customized colors to set the colors of visited/unvisited links. By default, typically, unvisited links are blue and visited links are red. Users often take advantage of knowing which colors their browsers use for followed and unfollowed links.
• Don't use light text on a dark background. This is difficult to print and often unpleasant to read. Use standard, uncoloured, black text instead.
• Don't use background pictures.

...And what about that elephant

• A collection of approved images reside in $BFROOT/www/Images. All though the directory contains a variety of images, this is by no means a complete set. If you do not see images you like you may contact Kathy Webb for other images.
• All images, regardless of size, must bear the trademark and copyright information. Nelvana has approved images, which when clicked, show the Babar trademark and copyright information. For an example of this, see the BaBar Detector home page or the Operations page (click the Babar picture). Printed documents must display the trademark and copyright information.
• The pose, the colors, clothing, and any other aspects of the Babar image may not be altered unless first approved by Nelvana. Barbara Barrera can tell you how to go about getting approval.
• Nelvana has the right to deny use of any of its images if it feels the agreement is not being honored.

Guidelines: standard HTML elements

Two sample templates:

• Template (no text included in the body)
• Template (text included in the body)

Notes on AFS disk space

All Babar web pages reside under  $BFROOT/www/ in UNIX sub-directories. Each sub-directory is controlled by AFS and each is assigned an access control list which determines whether users can read, list, insert, delete, write, lock, or administer files in that sub-directory. Most sub-directories under $BFROOT/www/ will be readable and writable by any BaBar collaborator. For information on password-protecting directories see the main web info/tools page.

Tips for writing good HTML

• When you are including code or e-mails in your web pages remember to replace angled brackets by the appropriate special symbols, because browsers assume that any text within angled brackets (e.g. <text>) is a HTML tag or an attribute of a tag.

  For example, replace occurences of "<BFMAIL>" by "&lt;BFMAIL&gt;" even within <PRE></PRE> tags.

• Use logical rather than physical tags.

  For example, use <STRONG> and <EM> rather than <B> and <I>. This ensures that your page is viewable from more than one type of browser.

• Use relative font sizes.

  Use the "+" or "-" when specifying font sizes so that web browsers will increase or decrease text based on the browser's default settings.

  For example, if the default font size=3 and you want font size=6 use <FONT SIZE=+3>and not
  <FONT SIZE=6>

• Warn your audience when your page contains a link to a page that is slow to display.

  For example:

           PLACE SLOW LINK HERE (large file)
  

• Always specify heights and widths for images and tables in percent. This allows users with slow connections to see the rest of the page while tables are filled in.

  For example, use <TABLE BORDER=0 WIDTH="65%" HEIGHT="65%"> and not
  <TABLE BORDER=0 WIDTH="200" HEIGHT="200">

• Use colors that can be recognized by all browsers [test this by viewing your webpage on different browsers!]. Also, design pages so that they will be readable and functional even without color.

• Space out your lists using pairs of <P></P> tags rather than single <P> tags because the testhtml tool - and thereby the wrapping process - deletes lone <P> tags.

  For example:

  • one

  • two

  • three

  This was written as:

  <P>
  For example:
  </P>
  <UL>
  <LI><P>one</P>
  <LI><P>two</P>
  <LI><P>three</P>
  </UL>