Policies and Requirements

The system on which Central Virginia's Community Online resides is operated by Virginia Commonwealth University. Therefore all Web materials on that system come under VCU's Web Publishing Guidelines. The following is a summary of these guidelines as they apply to all Information Providers using the facilities of Central Virginia's Community Online to publish their Web pages:

General Page Design/Content Standards

1. All pages must be in compliance with the appropriate VCU policies and applicable local, state, and Federal laws, including copyright.
2. Links that lead directly to materials with "sexually explicit content" must have warnings stating that fact.
3. Since there is no way to control who is accessing pages on our server, and since distributing "adult materials" to minors is a violation of law, pages containing materials with "sexually explicit content" are not allowed to reside on Central Virginia's Community Online's server.
4. Pages on Central Virginia's Community Online's server may not be used to promote commercial activity, personal business, or to promote personal financial gain, except as may be permitted by other University policy or regulation.
5. Links to commercial sites are strongly discouraged, with the exception of Web browser software and plugins (e.g. Netscape, Adobe Acrobat Reader, et.al.) and links to various search engines that include advertising. If such links are necessary, the following disclaimer must be used on the primary page from which such links are made:

   "[Name of your organization] does not endorse the following commercial provider or its products or services."

Community Web Pages

1. Each organization creating pages is responsible for maintaining those pages in a timely manner with the latest information.
2. All pages must contain a signature block with the following information:
   • the date of the last revision, the expiration date or the revision frequency;
   • the name of the organization responsible for the page; and
   • an e-mail link to the person responsible for the page.
3. All pages must contain a link back to the organization's homepage. Links to Central Virginia's Community Online's homepage are suggested, as well.
4. Organizational homepages must contain a link back to Central Virginia's Community Online's homepage. In addition, they should contain the street address, U.S. Mail address (if different) and the telephone number of the organization's office or main representative.
5. Organizations creating pages should provide links, if necessary, to pages containing authoritative information outside their areas of responsibility rather than creating the pages themselves. This is to ensure that the most up-to-date and accurate information is being provided.
6. Pages located on Central Virginia's Community Online's server may not be used to promote commercial activities, personal business or personal financial gain.
7. Careful attention to spelling, grammar, punctuation and word use is required.

Use of Central Virginia's Community Online's server by Community Organizations is a privilege and not a right. Any organization violating these policies and requirements may be removed from the server at Central Virginia's Community Online's sole discretion.

Definitions

Homepage
The initial HTML document for an organization from which any subsidiary web page or others' web pages can be accessed.

Sexually Explicit Content
"Sexually explicit content" means (i) any description of or (ii) any picture, photograph, drawing, motion picture film, digital image or similar visual representation depicting sexual bestiality, a lewd exhibition of nudity, as nudity is defined in Section 18.2-390 of the Code of Virginia, sexual excitement, sexual conduct or sadomasochistic abuse, as also defined in Section 18.2-390, coprophilia, urophilia, or fetishism.

Last Modified Nov 5, 1998
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