Policies for External Links on the After Hours Community Band Website.
01/20/02 Rev 1

Purpose of External Links

“External Links” are hypertext links which point the browser to a web page that is not a part of the AHCB website.  There are several reasons that these links to external sites are desirable:

1)	Dissemination of information to Band members and other parties with an interest in the AHCB website.  External links provide the means by which the information available on the World Wide Web can be accessed.  Hence, external links are a service provided to the users of the website

2)	Increased visibility of the AHCB website.  The AHCB website serves not only as a means for disseminating information to members but also as an advertisement tool for the Band, particularly in garnering audiences and potential members.  To be successful in this role, it is necessary to maximize the exposure of the website.  The inclusion of external links does this in two ways:
a.	 Search engine priorities – Some search engines use algorithms that include, as one of the factors, the number of links to and from a website.  Hence external links can improve the AHCB websites position in search engine results.
b.	Return links – The inclusion of a link to another website frequently results in a return link.  This is part of how the Internet links information of a common nature together.  The more links there are to a site, the more exposure it can be expected to have.  Return links are also considered a courtesy.

Nature of External Links

Internal links (those that send the browser to another page within the same website) provide links to pages which are, of course, the property of and under the control of the owner of the website (in this case, the AHCB).  Inclusion of external links means that an explicit decision has been made to link to material that is not under the control of the AHCB.

Disclaimer

Due to the lack of control or ownership of the material on pages external to the AHCB, all pages on the AHCB website that contain external link(s) shall contain the following text:

“Links to pages external to this website are provided as a service to the user and do not represent an endorsement by the After Hours Community Band, Inc, or its members.”

Responsibility for External Links Policies

The After Hours Community Band is not a monolithic entity, but rather an organization consisting of many individuals.  As individuals, the members will have differing opinions as to what is (and is not) appropriate and desirable material to link to.  Per Article II, Section 3 of the Bylaws, the Executive Committee “shall make policy decisions needed for the operation of the Band” and this includes website policies.  Per Article VIII, Section 9 of the Bylaws, all Committees (which include the Web Site Committee) “are subordinate to the Executive Committee and all committee work shall be authorized by the Executive Committee before undertaken (sic)”.  The Standing Rules in the AHCB Policy Manual further define the responsibility of the Web Site Committee to the Executive Committee:

“The Website Committee will hold periodic meetings to review and recommend changes to the web site.  Changes can also be recommended or requested by any band member.  The Web Site Committee will review all requested changes for appropriateness and consistency with the philosophy, format and content of the website.  Any substantive changes to the content of the web site will be presented to the Executive Committee, with recommendations from the Web Site Committee for approval.”

The Web Site Committee has provided recommendations to the Executive Committee, which has authorized the following external link policies.

External Links Policies

As the After Hours Community Band is a musical organization, and specifically a concert band, it is expected that links will be on the general topic of music.  Because a comprehensive description of such sites is difficult to create, the following lists of examples will be used for amplification.

Examples of links that might be included:

Concert bands, wind ensembles, brass bands, orchestras, military and service bands, instrumental ensembles, etc; amateur or professional

Musical groups of other genres that are related in some way to AHCB; for example those that are community groups, are local, use similar instruments, have members from AHCB, etc.

Sites with information about the instruments and music we play.

Sites for composers, publishers, manufacturers, dealers, etc of the instruments and music we play.

Radio stations, publications, and other media that have concert band music and related genres as part of their content or programming

Sites that are primarily lists of other sites that are related to music and instruments in the concert band genre.

Venues in which we have been or will be performing if there is material related to the AHCB (such as : maps to concert locations, images et al of AHCB performances, etc.)

Information to benefit the conduct of band business, such as local weather and traffic conditions.

Information to support Community Band Weekends, such as local hotel and restaurant information, etc.

Sponsors of the After Hours Community Band and its activities.

Links that are contractually required by website service providers.

Links to allow downloading of any special software needed to use website features.

Examples of links that would be excluded:

Sites which contain offensive (such as pornographic) material as determined by the Executive Committee, or obvious direct links to such sites.

Sites which are related neither to music or the operation of the band.

Personal pages about individual members of the band, unless the focus of the page/site is on music.

Oversight and Resolution

Any member of the Band may request the inclusion or deletion of an external link.  Per the Standing Policies, the website single point of contact is responsible for physically placing and removing all material on the website.  The single point of contact will use the External Link Policies to establish whether or not a link is appropriate and will include, not include, or delete external links per those policies.  All new links, deleted links, and requests for links that are not included will be reported in a timely fashion (usually, this is immediately via e-mail) to the Web Site Committee.  The Web Site Committee may then request that the status of an external link be changed, or bring the matter to the attention of the Executive Committee if a resolution is not feasible.

The Executive Committee will be the final authority on all matters involving external links.

Additional Policies

The technique of opening a separate window for external links has been generally discouraged on the World Wide Web and will not in general be used on the AHCB site for the purpose of “segregating” external links.

Changes to these policies

All changes to these policies will be approved by the Executive Committee.