IX. Specific Notes in Producing and Developing Homepages
(D) Daily Management
1. Visitor records
101. Many websites record the number of visitors. This is not really necessary for Government homepages because a separate set of figures, kept by the OGCIO, is available on-line from the central Visitors Statistics System. Designers considering the inclusion of a visitor counter should bear in mind that this would add considerably to the loading time of the page in question.
2. Email box
102. For bureaux/departments which have adopted the ¡§CLF¡¨ design, the email box should be placed at the welcome page and the content page. For others that have not adopted CLF, the email box should be placed at the index page unless a page on Comments and Feedback is available. A form-type or mail-to-type interface should be incorporated. Departments with technically complex pages may wish to provide different addresses for email from members of the public seeking information, and communication of a technical nature intended for their webmasters. The full email addresses should be explicitly stated to facilitate users who wish to send messages via their own email application at a later time.
103. There should be an email box to receive opinions or complaints and it should be checked frequently. Bureaux/departments should alert Internet users to the fact that the emails they send are vulnerable to third-party interception. They should also inform Internet users of the mail address and fax number so that Internet users may choose to send messages by post or by fax. Letters sent by email should carry the same weight as those sent by mail or by fax. Complaints through email should therefore be treated in the same manner as those received from other channels.
104. It is important that bureaux/departments should respond to emails expeditiously. Bureaux/departments are encouraged to turn on the auto-reply function in emails accounts to acknowledge the receipt of message. Logistic arrangements should be put in place to ensure that email boxes are checked regularly and the mails be directed to the appropriate subject officers for action promptly. Having regard to its fast speed in transmission and the expectation of the sender for a quick response, bureaux/departments should assign an officer of appropriate ranking to check the email box(es) at least twice daily i.e. in the morning and in the afternoon. The email box(es) should be checked and dealt with in the first instance on the following working day after public or long holidays. If incomprehensible emails are received, bureaux/departments should contact the sender for clarification.
105. Email accounts should be in the official form of xxxxx@(bureau/department).gov.hk if the bureau/department has joined the CIG services.
106. Commencing from May 2000, the Hongkong Post has started to provide a new type of e-cert:
e-Cert (Encipherment). An external party, using the webmaster¡¦s e-Cert (Encipherment) certificate, can send encrypted email to the webmaster. Webmasters of bureaux/departments who are required to handle confidential emails should apply for this e-cert. As this e-Cert is not meant for signing by a specific officer and cannot be identified with a particular officer, the webmaster has the option of letting responsible staff to decrypt the mail. In case the digital signature of a specific staff is required, the bureau/department should consider the use of the e-Cert (Organisational) which carries the identity of the staff sending the email. If such a facility is provided, the availability of and the procedure of using such facility should be stated in the website.
107. With the enactment of the Electronic Transactions Ordinance, if bureaux/departments need to receive electronic records required by rules of the law, the Guide issued in ITSD Circular No. 9/2000 and the format, manner and procedure for the submission of electronic information should be observed. Reference can also be found at http://www.ogcio.gov.hk/eng/eto/esubmission.html.
3. Recoverability of web contents
108. Bureaux/departments should keep a softcopy of their web contents so that recovery of the web pages can be swiftly made in case of emergency.
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