Ecumenism in Canada / Oecuménisme au Canada
Information Partners Policy (draft)
revised: 

Preamble

This policy has been developed to identify opportunities for collaboration between the two sponsoring ecumenical centres, the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism and the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism, and smaller ecumenical and interreligious projects and dialogues in Canada. It is intended as a service of the two centres for the wider ecumenical and interreligious community in Canada that is commensurate with our goal of providing a comprehensive ecumenical resource.

Ecumenical and interreligious projects will be provided a limited web space for basic information, mission statements, and contact details. These information partners (IP) will be allowed to contribute static content only. It is not possible for IPs to directly edit their own space or any other material on the larger domain. In addition to “placeholder” pages, it is also envisioned that IPs will contribute content to the ecumenical calendar and to the permanent archive. It is hoped that the permanent archive might someday include all of the Canadian dialogue statements, papers, and press releases.

    Information partners

  1. Ecumenical projects and organizations may request space on the Ecumenism in Canada/Oecuménisme au Canada website.
    1. IPs may be local, regional, or national organisations.
    2. IPs will normally be groups involved in ecumenical or interreligious activities.
    3. IPs should have a designated contact person, but need not have a webmaster or special technical abilities.
  2. The Website Advisory Committee (WAC) is responsible for making decisions regarding the applications by information partners.
    1. IPs will not be charged a fee for space on the website
    2. IPs will be restricted to a maximum of one (1) megabyte of content.
    3. IPs will not be provided with email services on the Ecumenism in Canada/Oecuménisme au Canada domains.
  3. Each IP will be allocated a sub-directory providing a URL address such as www.ecumenism.net/ip/ and www.oecumenisme.ca/ip/.
  4. IPs are free to advertise their URLs, place them on their letterhead and business cards, and submit their sites to search engines.
  5. The WAC reserves the right to suspend or remove any IP from the website for violation of any website policies or due to changing needs and requirements of the website.
    1. The WAC will attempt to provide reasonable notice to affected IPs, but reserves the right to suspend or remove an IP without notice.
    2. The WAC does not assume any financial obligations towards the IP for any damages resulting from suspension or removal of IP content.
  6. IPs will be listed in the website link collection. Inclusion within the website menus will be at the discretion of the WAC.
  7. IPs must provide a non-exclusive perpetual digital copyright license for all content submitted to the website.
  8. The webeditor has discretionary authority, subject to review by the WAC, to enforce all website policies.

    9. IP content

  9. The website is primarily intended to provide a public image for the two sponsoring centres.
    1. IPs are required to ensure that their content does not claim or imply any direct or indirect sponsorship or approval by the website owners.
    2. IPs are not permitted to use the website logo on their own site, except for the purpose of linking back to the website.
    3. IPs are not permitted to use the website menus, colours, or layout without prior permission of the WAC.
    4. The webeditor is empowered to refuse, remove, or modify any content that infringes on the reputation or image of the two sponsoring centres.
  10. IPs are not required to provide bilingual content.
  11. The website sponsors are registered charities. Therefore:
    1. IPs may not use the website for purposes that will conflict with the charitable status of the website sponsors.
    2. Political activity is a particularly sensitive area with respect to the income tax act. IPs using the website for political activity should discuss this with the WAC prior to submitting any content.
  12. IPs may not engage in any commercial activity, sell advertising, or link to online vendors.
  13. IPs are required to obey all local, national and international laws relating to website content and conduct. These apply particularly to copyrighted material and the promotion of illegal activities.
  14. The website owners reserve the right to approve all external links.
  15. In addition, the website will not permit any pornographic content, or links to sites that serve pornographic content. IPs should be aware that external links to "adult" content will be recorded by search engines and seriously affect the ranking of our website in search engines and web indexes.
  16. IPs are not permitted to develop extensive link collections. IPs should submit appropriate links to the webeditor for inclusion in the website's link collection.
  17. IPs should place a notice on all pages indicating their own copyright.
  18. IPs must place a notice on their index page (e.g. www.ecumenism.net/ip/index.htm) linking back to the main website. The webeditor will provide standard link and text formats for this purpose.

    19. IP file formats

  19. IPs will submit their content to the webeditor for insertion in the website.
  20. No IP will be given password access to the website.
  21. Content in the IP sub-directories may include HTML, CSS, JPG, GIF, and PDF files.
  22. IPs are permitted to use graphics found in the website graphics collection to reduce their own space requirements.
  23. File formats not supported include: ASP, XML, CGI, PERL.
  24. Word processor documents are strongly discouraged.
    1. Microsoft Word documents (DOC) are prohibited due to the ease of transmitting viruses.
    2. IPs are encouraged to use Adobe PDF or Rich Text Format (RTF) if necessary.
  25. JavaScript (JS), SHTML, and PHP may only be submitted with the consent of the webeditor.
    1. This applies to scripts inserted within the HTML and to those called from separate files.
    2. IPs are permitted, and encouraged, to make use of the standard JavaScripts provided by the webeditor on the website. See scripts.htm for a partial list.
    3. IPs using the standard JavaScripts should inform the webeditor in order to ensure that future changes to the script do not adversely affect the IP content.
  26. There will be no provision for databases, streaming video or audio, or dynamic content of any format.
  27. Files submitted by the IPs should be in HTML format, but may with the agreement of the webeditor be submitted in an alternative format.
  28. The webeditor will not be responsible for debugging HTML or other script submitted by the IPs.
  29. The webeditor will attempt to provide a reasonable level of support for IPs seeking technical advice.
    1. IPs are encouraged to seek alternative sources of technical advice.
    2. IPs who make excessive demands upon the webeditor's time will be refused or billed at exorbitant rates.