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Proposed Procedure: Creating Aliases

NOTE: This is a DRAFT document and is not intended for public use.

About this proposed procedure

Category Area Setup, Links and Navigation
Required or Recommended Required
Governing Policy Web Governance and Management
Tracking Number NT00000000

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Brief description
(see the full document below for details)

An alias is a short Web site address (that is, a URL) that is easier to remember, type, or say than the full directory path. Choose aliases carefully and use only the “primary alias” when linking from your web pages and in promotional material. Choose secondary aliases to anticipate spelling and typing mistakes that viewers might make when they type in the alias, but use as few secondary aliases as possible.

Description to appear on checklists

Identify an appropriate alias (or aliases) for your TSSMS, request aliases, specify the primary alias and use only the primary alias (e.g., in all code, advertising, press releases, and promotional materials)

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All standards and guidance



Definitions

Alias: a short URL that is easier to remember than the full directory path.
Primary alias: the alias used everywhere
Secondary aliases (or convenience aliases): aliases created to help people who mistype or try to guess at a URL; EPA creates secondary aliases to avoid "file not found" errors, but does not use them in code, advertising, etc.

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Content requirements

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Style requirements

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Required Steps

  1. Choose a primary alias
    • Use the most common word or phrase to describe your Web area.
    • Choose as short and simple an alias as possible; the goal is for someone to remember it after hearing or seeing it once
  2. If necessary, choose secondary aliases to cover alternate words, plural vs. singular and common misspellings.  Use as few secondary aliases as possible.  Secondary aliases are not required or preferred but are allowable for the convenience of Web visitors.
  3. Use only your primary alias, including on all advertising, press releases, and email signatures, all code, and all links. Don’t refer to secondary aliases anywhere.
  4. Always include www.epa.gov instead of the shorthand "epa.gov," in code, print, and advertising.  It isn't necessary to include http:// in advertising.
  5. For database driven sites (Domino, Oracle, ColdFusion), request an alias on the public access server either to a redirect page with no delay or to a page using the normal look and feel that provides more information and links to an application.

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How to

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Examples

Choose an alias that is easier to remember than your TSSMS. For the TSSMS “cludygxb” the alias is “monitor.” Therefore www.epa.gov/cludygxb is www.epa.gov/monitor/

Aliases that point below the TSSMS level are also useful. For example, www.epa.gov/airlinewater is an alias for www.epa.gov/ogwdw000/airlinewater/ .

Multiple aliases for wording: www.epa.gov/region1 and www.epa.gov/boston for TSSMS region01

Multiple aliases to allow for misspellings and different guessed URLs: www.epa.gov/leavitt , www.epa.gov/levitt , www.epa.gov/johnson , and www.epa.gov/administrator for TSSMS adminweb

Alias to a redirect page for an application: www.epa.gov/npdes for cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/

Alias to provide more information about various databases: www.epa.gov/edr/ provides links to Environmental Data Registry applications on the Oracle Application Server.

In some cases, it's better to spell out a longer program name than make up an arbitrary abbreviation;  ease of remembering is more important than absolute length.  For example: www.epa.gov/performancetrack is better than http://www.epa.gov/pt or /perftrk

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Rationale

We are forced to create TSSMS names that are exactly eight characters long.  However, the URL that is easiest to remember may be a different length or use different words.  Aliases allow us to offer simpler, more intuitive URLs than relying on TSSMS names.

Use lower case in all aliases because it is simpler to remember and cite verbally.  Although program names and other items may use capitalized acronyms in other settings, it adds confusion and complexity to what people have to remember or speak aloud.

Promoting only one alias makes www.epa.gov consistent, efficient, and reduces costs.  Statistics are kept for each alias, so multiple aliases add time and effort to your analysis.

Furthermore, creating as few aliases as possible reduces costs for disaster recovery.  Our system keeps copies of EPA's Web files by directory name, and treats each alias as a separate directory, multiplying storage costs.

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See Also

http://intranet.epa.gov/webmast3/webguide/aliasform.html

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URLs referred to when writing this standard

http://yosemite.epa.gov/OEI/webguide.nsf/create/alias

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Related governance documents

EPA

Related Policies

Related Procedures

Related Standards

Related Guidance

Non-EPA

None

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