internet policy day 5 - workshop session no. 9 internet tools for regulators prepared for cto by...

Internet PolicyDay 5 - Workshop Session No. 9

Internet tools for regulators

Prepared for CTO by Link Centre, Witwatersrand University, South Africa

CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002

Sessions Summary Day 1

– Session 1History and technical background– Session 2Market structure

Day 2– Session 3Interconnection, IXPs and voice over IP– Session 4Governance and domain names

Day 3– Session 5The impact of telecommunications regulation– Session 6Internet specific policy issues

Day 4– Session 7Content on the Internet – Session 8E-commerce issues

Day 5– Session 9 Internet tools for regulators


Internet tools for regulators

The purpose of this session is to discover a selection of Internet tools and programs which make regulating the Internet sector easier


Topics of discussion

Email Netiquette Domain registration Role-accounts Web sites Mailing lists


Email

Most widely used Internet technology Cheap - often the price of a local phone call Can be accessed anywhere in the world Email requires only basic computer skills to

use Using it well is another thing altogether

– Netiquette: Accepted rules of online behaviour


Netiquette

Use plain text email– All mail clients can read plain text– Smaller emails = faster transmission– Wide range of technologies mean not all users

have same standards.– Simple and professional


Plain text vs. HTML

Plain textto: [email protected] Please send me info on

product XYZthanksJohn

HTMLto: [email protected] Please send me info on

product XYZthanks

John


Plain text vs. HTMLas seen in a plain text email client

Plain textto: [email protected] Please send me info on

product XYZthanksJohn

HTMLto: [email protected]<HTML><HEAD><META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"

http-equiv=Content-Type><META content="MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000”

name=GENERATOR><STYLE></STYLE></HEAD><BODY bgColor=#0000ff><DIV><FONT size=2><STRONG><FONT color=#ffffff face="Comic Sans MS">Hi

<BR></FONT></STRONG><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"><FONT

color=#ffff00>Please send me info on product XYZ<BR>thanks</FONT><BR></FONT></FONT>

<FONT color=#ff0000 face="Comic Sans MS"size=6>

<STRONG>John</STRONG></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>


Netiquette

Formatting your mail Avoid writing in CAPITALS

(In the virtual world this is the same as shouting) Don’t include the whole message in your reply Make use of reply separators or indentation to separate your

comments from those of the sender Delete inapplicable text

– Decreases size of email– Makes email more readable

Using a signature Put useful information in your .signature

– Telephone number, web site, e-mail address


Sample e-mail

To: Frank Grimes <[email protected]>Subject: E-mail formatting

You wrote:> Do you think it is important to obey netiquette rules?

Yes, definitely. Studies of human reading behaviour show that a well formatted message is likely to have much more of an impact on the reader than a badly formatted or untidy message.

Regards,[email protected] | +34 917 822 212 | http://www.advice.co.aq


Netiquette

What not to do Don’t forward chain letters Don’t forward jokes Don’t forward virus warnings or urban legends

– they are almost always hoaxes

What to do Install and anti-virus package and keep it up to

date Check with recipient before sending large files


Disclaimers

Disclaimers Why disclaim at all? Avoid attaching disclaimers to emails

– This e-mail and any file attachments transmitted with it are intended solely for the addressee(s) and may be legally privileged and/or confidential. If you have received this e-mail in error please destroy it. If you are not the addressee you may not disclose, copy, distribute or take any action based on the contents hereof. If you ignore this message our lawyers will set a pack of rabid weasels on you, give your family’s email addresses to spammers and set fire to your pets.

Instead make use of URL– i.e. http://www.site.gov/disclaimer.html


Registering your own domain

Involves completion of form which is sent to relevant registrar

.com / .org / .net / .gov .xx

– .org.xx– .co.xx– .gov.xx

(where xx is the local country-code top-level domain)


Registration Process

Obtain form from registrar Fill in required domain name Fill in organisation name and contact details Fill in administrative and technical contact

details Organisation address Technical details such as DNS servers Email form to registrar Follow process as detailed by each registrar Set up zone files on DNS server


Domain Registrars

Many services both commercial and non-commercial

List of registrars for .com .org .net athttp://www.internic.net/origin.html

List of registrars for other domains athttp://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-

list.htmlhttp://www.iana.org/cctld/cctld.htm


How do I find out if a domain is available?

WHOIS services– allow you to search on availability of domain

names– allow you to find out details of domain name

owners– e.g. http://www.internic.net/whois.html

Domain registrars offer a search facility Domain names can take from a few seconds to

10 days to be registered depending on the registrar


Role Accounts Role accounts are useful contact addresses for one or

more people If 3 people are part of a working group and they wanted

a means by which they could all be emailed or a single email address to put on all literaturee.g. [email protected]

Types of role accounts– info@ -- general queries– legal@ -- legal department– board@ or exec@ -- all executive-level staff– accounts@ -- accounts department– webmaster@ -- web development team


Answering Email

Advertising email addresses to the public is useless if queries don’t get answered

Unsolicited email affects everyone! Try to provide some answer to queries, even if you can’t

answer a specific question– perhaps refer to someone else who may be able to

answer Follow netiquette guidelines Auto-reply Confidentiality: Careful when forwarding on mail

messages, or posting them publicly


Public input

Electronic communication (email and web-forums) are useful tools for encouraging public participation in policy processes

Low cost communication with affected parties Ease of communication for interested parties

to communicate with regulators Technology allows for filtering and filing and

searching of emails Low turnaround time


Web sites

What makes a web site useful?– Avoid glitz and glam– Contact Details– Submission schedules– Document archive– Tenders– FAQ’s– Organisational structure

Why do people visit web sites:– #1: To find a phone number!


Avoid Glitz and Glam

Many organisations are tempted to go for flashy technology orientated web sites at the expense of form and functionality

Simple but tasteful is best Small graphics / small file size Basic info first with layers of complexity Speed and ease of use are more important than how

much info can be crammed into index page

The one-click test: Can I find a phone number within one click of arriving at the web site?


Contact Details

Email addresses Phone/fax numbers Postal address Physical address Role accounts

– i.e. [email protected]


Submission Schedules

Schedules for submissions and comment documents

Can attach URL (web site address) to press releases and other info

Keep keep date-sensitive portions of your web site updated -- if you don’t have the resources to keep a submission schedule current, rather don’t put it on the web!


Archives

Document archives Submission archives Press releases

Avoid proprietary formats– Microsoft Word (DOC): Proprietary format (bad)– Rich Text Format (RTF): Open standard (good)– Plain text (TXT): Open standard (good)– Web pages (HTML): Open standard (good)– Adobe Acrobat (PDF): Proprietary format (good?)


Tenders

Tender list Archives Info on submission of tenders Overview of tender process


FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions– About the organisation– About the regulatory process– About important issues– About the submission process– About tender processes– About relevant info

Hint: Keep copies of your replies to your <[email protected]> role account, and your FAQs will write themselves.


Organisation Structure

An important aspect of any website is an overview or diagram of the structure of the organisation or body

See example


Example

P erson 1 P erson 2

L eg a l

O ffic ia l 1C h a irm an

O ffic ia l 2V ice C h a irm an

F in an ces M in u tes

S ec re ta ry

R eg u la to ry B od y


Mailing Lists

How mailing lists work– example software– types of lists

Useful for discussions Useful for announcements


How lists work

Majordomo / Mailman– http://www.majordomo.org– http://www.mailman.org

Mail to [email protected] Software intercepts message and resends out

to all subscribers Replies can be sent direct to original sender or

back to list


Types of lists

There are many configurable options for mailing lists– open list– private list– closed list– moderated lists– discussion lists– announcement lists


Discussion Lists

Discussion lists are useful for debating issues and raising questions in an open or closed forum– Everyone has chance to speak– Can be moderated– Very useful for improving public participation in

debate– Similar to telephone conference call but with no

time restrictions– Can be archived


Notification Lists

Notification lists are similar to bulk mailing lists

Useful for contacting or informing a large number of people of important events, processes or dates for submissions

Interested parties can opt in or out of the list

NB: Make sure that subscribers have opted in. No regulator wants to be accused of spamming!


Subscribing to lists

What sort of lists are useful to a regulator? Mailing lists run by other regulators Public industry discussion forums Technical standards mailing lists News lists Internal mailing lists


Summary

Netiquette is a system of polite convention

Role-accounts can direct incoming queries efficiently

Web sites needs to be functional ahead of pretty

Mailing lists are powerful tools for discussion and public debate

internet policy day 5 - workshop session no. 9 internet tools for regulators prepared for cto by...

Documents

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internet technologycheap

internet policyday

workshop session

selection of internet

product xyzthanksjohnhtmlto

plain textsmaller emails

htmlplain textto