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Internet Policy Day 5 - Workshop Session No. 9 Internet tools for regulators Prepared for CTO by...
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Transcript of 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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
Topics of discussion
Email Netiquette Domain registration Role-accounts Web sites Mailing lists
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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>
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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)
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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!
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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?
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
Contact Details
Email addresses Phone/fax numbers Postal address Physical address Role accounts
– i.e. [email protected]
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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!
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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?)
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
Tenders
Tender list Archives Info on submission of tenders Overview of tender process
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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.
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
Organisation Structure
An important aspect of any website is an overview or diagram of the structure of the organisation or body
See example
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
Mailing Lists
How mailing lists work– example software– types of lists
Useful for discussions Useful for announcements
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
Types of lists
There are many configurable options for mailing lists– open list– private list– closed list– moderated lists– discussion lists– announcement lists
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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!
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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
CTO / DFID Internet Policy workshop, Jamaica, 22-26 April 2002
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