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RESPONSIBILITIES OF WEB DEVELOPMENT

It is easy to create your own Web page with one of the many WYSIWYG programs that are now available. But if you plan to develop resources that will be a respectable representation of your work, your department, or your organization, and be a reflection the University as a whole, you need to consider the broader implications of Web development.

Before developing materials for the Georgetown Web, take time to get familiar with the Georgetown site and the Web in general. Use the GUide University-wide Search Engine to find other Georgetown pages related to your topic. You may discover documents to link to your own, and you may find that you can refer to existing resources rather than creating new ones.

You will need to invest some time in learning how to use software tools to create Web files. In addition, once Web files are made public, they require maintenance. When you make files available on the Web, you are creating a public access resource that Web users around the world will refer to as they add your URL (Uniform Resource Locator) to their bookmarks and create links to your files from their own Web files.

The metaphor of the "web" is appropriate, in that World Wide Web files interconnect to form an extremely elaborate and sophisticated pattern of cross-references and interrelations. If you move or remove your Web files after they have been made public, you tear a hole in the Web, and anyone who has created links to your materials will find only error messages. Furthermore, poorly maintained Web files reflect badly on the University as a whole, and out-of-date Web materials are in some cases worse than not having the materials available at all. Therefore Web developers should be willing to make a commitment to provide a stable structure and long-term maintenance for their files.

After you have created Web files, you are responsible for transferring these files to another owner or another server before you leave the University. Your service provider is not responsible for files that may be lost when your account is deleted after you leave the University. To host your own files, such as your resume, you will need to find a new Web service provider and transfer files to that account before you leave the University.

Georgetown Web developers are responsible for following all applicable policies and laws that pertain to Web publishing. At Georgetown, these include, but are not limited to, the Computer Systems Acceptable Use Policy, and the Internet Development Mission Statement and Principles. You should also review the relevant information on Copyright in Web development. Web developers must read and agree to abide by these policies before making materials available on the Web. In addition, all members of the University community are bound by federal and local laws relating to civil rights, harassment, copyright, security, and other statutes relating to electronic media.