GNY Region Site Operating Policy |
| I. |
General Principles |
| |
A. |
The Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous Will Always Be the Final Word in All Matters Pertaining to this Web Site. |
| |
|
This Web site is an instrument of an official service body of Narcotics Anonymous. As such, it is completely bound by the Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous. |
| |
B. |
This Web Site is the Property of the Groups of the Greater New York Region of Narcotics Anonymous. |
| |
|
In all matters pertaining to the operation of this Web site, the final decision is ultimately up to the groups. They may appoint trusted servants to run and design the site, but the groups have the right to supercede any decisions made by these servants.
That being said, it is impossible to run a Web site without allowing the caretakers of the Web site a great deal of latitude and autonomy. It is expected that the groups will carefully choose these servants, and allow them this freedom. It is also expected that these trusted servants will always keep in mind that they are caretakers of a public trust. |
| |
C. |
All Materials Used in this Web Site Must be Completely Free and Clear of Any Claims Outside of the Greater New York Region of Narcotics Anonymous. |
| |
|
This means that all images, code (HTML/JavaScript/PHP/Perl, etc.,) and content (text, etc.) must either belong to the Greater New York Region of Narcotics Anonymous, or the GNYRNA should have complete and perpetual rights to display and/or use this material.
Absolutely nothing is to be posted unless it is known to pass the above test. In addition, the GNYR Web site cannot be used for any purpose other than to directly serve the groups of the Greater New York Region of Narcotics Anonymous. All work done by trusted servants on this Web site, or by outside enterprises (contractors, designers, etc.,) is considered the property of the groups of the Greater New York Region of Narcotics Anonymous.
Any code and/or content that is not explicitly the property of the GNYR MUST be properly licensed, or permission to display must be explicitly received and verified.
The provenance of all materials used in this site must be established. This means that we can't just be satisfied that an image is OK because "So-and-so says it is," we must ensure that the image has been received from an appropriate source. |
| |
D. |
The Authors of This Site Are Considered to be the Greater New York Region of Narcotics Anonymous. |
| |
|
No individual or entity can take credit for this site. All work is considered to be done as a donation, or paid work is considered wholly owned by the GNYR.
To be absolutely specific: There can be no links to this site from any entity other than the Greater New York Region of NA, claiming authorship.
Of course, we cannot, and should not attempt to, control links to our site from other sites, which may include rehabilitation centers, Web standards bodies, search engines, etc. However, we must insist that no claims be made upon this Web site of authorship, endorsement or ownership, as per the Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous. |
| |
E. |
The Site Privacy Policy Must Be Treated as a GNY Policy |
| |
|
The privacy policy of this Web site must be considered a Regional Policy, and should be subjected to review and ratification by the groups of the Greater New York Region (as represented via their trusted servants in the existing service structure of the Regional Service Committee.) It cannot be changed by the subcommittee alone, as it affects all visitors. |
| II. |
Specific Policies |
| |
A. |
No Individual Can Take Credit for this Site Outside of NA |
| |
|
This site is a tool to serve its owners: The Groups of the Greater New York Region of Narcotics Anonymous. In order to reduce the risk of Tradition violation or loss of primary focus, it is our strict policy that no individual, whether an addict member of NA, or an outside contractor, hired to provide services and/or content, may claim authorship of this site. Of course, within NA, we may discuss the roles that individuals and/or outside entities play in the construction and maintenance of this site, but no indication of this should go beyond NA.
To make it perfectly clear: As outlined in I.D, above, no entity outside of GNYRNA may claim ownership or endorsement of this site, and no indication should ever be placed on this site that establishes claims of authorship, ownership or endorsement. |
| |
B. |
Any Major Changes in the Site MUST be Ratified by the Groups of the Greater New York Region (as represented via their trusted servants in the existing service structure of the Regional Service Committee.) |
| |
|
Of course, smaller changes, such as maintenance, bug fixing, basic site changes, administering the calendar and meeting list are considered the standard "day to day" duty of the subcommittee responsible for maintenance of the site.
Major changes are changes that affect things such as (including but not limited to):
| • |
Changing the hosting environment. |
| • |
Changing the overall "look and feel" of the site. |
| • |
Changing the format of the printable meeting lists or significant changes in the searchable meeting list. |
| • |
Anything else the groups decide. This is, after all, THEIR property. |
|
| |
C. |
No Major Changes Should be Made to the Site Without first Obtaining the Approval of the Groups of the Greater New York Region (as represented via their trusted servants in the existing service structure of the Regional Service Committee,) or Should Only be Made at the Behest of the Groups of the Greater New York Region (as represented via their trusted servants in the existing service structure of the Regional Service Committee.) |
| |
|
To put it simply: The Webmaster cannot make major changes to the site without approval, or unless they are directed by the groups of the Greater New York Region to make major changes.
Remember that this is the property of the groups of the greater New York Region. The Webmaster has considerable power to make changes or to refuse to make changes, but they must always abide by the wishes of the groups of the Greater New York Region (as represented via their trusted servants in the existing service structure of the Regional Service Committee.)
The groups of the Greater New York Region (as represented via their trusted servants in the existing service structure of the Regional Service Committee) will determine the mechanism for making decisions about this site. That mechanism is beyond this policy. However, this policy does state that the persons running the site MUST respect and abide by that mechanism, regardless of their personal opinions and/or beliefs. |
| |
D. |
Passwords and Access |
| |
|
The Web site uses several passwords and network access points. These need to be cataloged, stored and changed regularly. These are the principal means of accessing the assets represented by this Web site, and are critical. They are also extremely sensitive. These passwords should be carefully guarded and only persons with a justifiable need to know should be given these passwords. In addition, anyone given these passwords is not to pass them on to any other party, except by explicit consent of the groups of the Greater New York Region (as represented via their trusted servants in the existing service structure of the Regional Service Committee.)
This policy will describe, exact detail, which persons have access to which passwords. Any change from this policy must be approved by the groups of the Greater New York Region (as represented via their trusted servants in the existing service structure of the Regional Service Committee.) |
| |
|
1. |
Passwords |
| |
|
|
The following passwords are covered by this policy: |
| |
|
|
i. |
Web Server FTP Access |
| |
|
|
|
This is the principal manner in which the Web server is accessed. This is how files are sent to the server for display, and how multiple webmasters may share files. |
| |
|
|
ii. |
Web Server SSH/Telnet |
| |
|
|
|
This is a "command line" access to the Web server. Using this access, the webmaster may manipulate server settings, change access permissions to files and control repetitive timed events (such as a nightly "indexing" for the serach engine.) |
| |
|
|
iii. |
Domain Name Administration |
| |
|
|
|
This is the "control panel" for access to the registered domain names for the site. It may be something other than a simple password, but it should be all of the information necessary to make changes to all of the domain names controlled by the Greater New York Region. |
| |
|
|
iv. |
Mail Server Administrator (Postmaster Account) |
| |
|
|
|
The ISP will allow us to establish 25 POP (email) accounts, and an unlimited number of forwarders and aliases (will redirect to other accounts.) These are all controlled by a postmaster account. The password for this account should not be changed without approval of the groups of the Greater New York Region. |
| |
|
|
v. |
Master Administrator |
| |
|
|
|
This is the administrator that has full access to all functions of the Web site, including control of all users and other administrators. |
| |
|
|
vi. |
Individual Administrators as Assigned by the Master Administrator |
| |
|
|
|
The Master Administrator has the ability to assign other administrators and control their access rights. These can be ASC calendar and/or meeting list administrators, or various site function administrators. Each of these administrators has the right to change their own password and not have that password known by the Master Administrator, but the Master Administrator may change this password at their discretion.
The Master Administrator is responsible for keeping close track of the individual administrators, and ensuring that they are assigned correctly.
The Master Administrator shall only reveal a new password for an individual administrator to duly appointed representatives of the ASC or service entity to whom that administrator is assigned. |
| |
|
2. |
Password Escrow and Term |
| |
|
|
For the passwords under the direct control of the GNY (II.D.1.i -> II.D.1.v), an escrow system must be established: |
| |
|
|
i. |
Password Storage and Encryption |
| |
|
|
|
All of these passwords must be stored in a password-encrypted archive. This archive should be of a format readily decrypted with freely available tools. There are several methods available, and the exact format should be left up to the discretion of the Web site Subcommittee.
The encrypted password archive should be stored on some persistent media, such as a CD-R. It should be stored with instructions for decrypting, BUT SHOULD NOT INCLUDE THE ARCHIVE PASSWORD.
The archive password should be printed on a sheet of paper, and then all electronic copies should be deleted.
The archive itself should be given to one officer of the GNY, and the password should be given to another. Each should be sealed in an envelope that will indicate tampering.
The GNY is responsible for determining the persons to whom the escrow is given, and should determine procedures for auditing the escrow. |
| |
|
|
ii. |
Changing Passwords |
| |
|
|
|
Passwords should be changed, at minimum, once per year, and the escrow updated accordingly. The passwords may also be changed at the discretion of the Web site Subcommittee or the GNY.
Whenever passwords are changed, the escrow (II.D.2.i) must also be updated, the GNY must be notified that the passwords have been changed, and the new escrow must be presented to the GNY members responsible for the storage.
Whenever one password is changed, all passowrds must be changed. This prevents out of date escrows from being used to access Web assets. |
| |
|
|
iii. |
Password Composition |
| |
|
|
|
Passwords should be a minimum of six (6) characters in length, and should not be repeated, unless it is required that they be the same (for example, the FTP and SSH passwords must often be the same.) |
| |
E. |
Recording Changes |
| |
|
Changes made to the Web site structure and HTML/PHP code should always have a note entered on the Web Site Changes page. |
| |
F. |
Accessibility and Compliance |
| |
|
All pages on this site should validate as W3C compliant, and should be accessible as per Section 508 standards. |
|
G. |
External Links |
| |
|
All links to pages not on the same domain as this site (i.e. Not part of the GNY site,) should be opened in a new page. Links to pages within this site should be resolved by replacing the current page with the new page.
Great care should be taken when linking to other sites. In most cases, we should not link to external sites, but there are some cases in which it is best we do so. For example, we may do so in order to refer visitors to the NAWS site, the Adobe Reader site, or some standards sites. An external link may easily be construed as an endorsement, so we should be extremely careful to keep the Traditions in mind at all times. |
| |
H. |
"Badging" |
| |
|
This site should not display any "badges," which are icons displayed in order to indicate compliance with standards, or use of certain software. Badges are endorsements, pure and simple. We cannot endorse any outside enterprise, even nonprofit standards bodies. In any case, a badge should not be required in order to comply with a standard. We can be W3C-compliant without displaying the W3C badge.
We should also not license any software or content that requires a badge or outside link. If we cannot negotiate a deal that allows us to use the content without the endorsement, then we cannot use the content. This is not negotiable. No badges or outside endorsements are allowed. The only exception is that, in some cases, we may have to have a "non-live" (i.e. not functioning as a link) URL or bibliographical reference to an external source to provide credit of authorship, as long as we are given clear and unambiguous permission to use the content. |
| |
I. |
External Site Disclaimer |
| |
|
Every page of the site will have a disclaimer displayed,
indicating that links to external sites will open
in separate windows (or tabs, depending upon the
way the visitor has their browser configured). This
disclaimer will have the following text: |
| |
|
1. |
"NOTE: Any link that opens in a
separate window is a link to a site outside the jurisdiction of the
Greater New York Region, and may not abide by our Site
Policy or our Privacy Policy. We do not
endorse or oppose any entities other than Narcotics Anonymous, but we
may link to outside sites in order to provide the most effective Service
to our members." |
| |
J. |
Meeting Location Disclaimer |
| |
|
The site will display two copies of a disclaimer
on the meeting search results pages. The disclaimer will be displayed
on the meeting search results list, and on the
page that displays individual meeting information.
This disclaimer will have the following text: |
| |
|
1. |
"Narcotics Anonymous is not affiliated
in any way with any of the facilities in which our meetings are held.
We list the names of the facilities only to make it easier to find our
meetings." |
