• Introduction
• Intranet for all staff
• Setting up & maintaining a site
• Architecture
• Presentation
• Informatics technology
• Multilingualism
• Accessibility
• Interactivity
• Legal notice and notice on editorial policy
• Quality control
• Toolbox
• Updates
• IPG in PDF
• Annex 1- IntraComm transfers
• Annex 2 - Metadata
• Annex 3 - Privacy Statement

Rule 8 - Interactivity

1. Rule

Websites ought not to be mere one-way platforms for posting information - visitors should also be able to react to the information they find there.

2. Justification

If readers of a paper publication have the opportunity to react by writing a letter to the author, then information providers should take advantage of Internet technology to enable visitors to interact with their site by personalising the page presentation, asking questions, giving feedback, replying to questionnaires or discussing issues with other users.

3. Description

User interaction on IntraComm can be divided into two categories:

Interaction with the site creators :

• personalisation
• online consultation
• feedback mechanisms

Interaction with other users : fora

Before initiating an interactive service, you must first assess how many staff will be needed to implement it.
The technical details of all interactive functions are covered in Chapter 5 .

3.1. Interaction between users and site creators

3.1.1 Personalising webpages

In this way, users can adapt the parameters so that the information is presented in a way that best matches their profile: this entails changing colours, font size, screen width, the order in which data is displayed, type of information displayed, etc.

3.1.2 Feedback mechanisms

Mailto

The easiest way to obtain feedback from users is to include an e-mail address in your webpages.

Each page published on IntraComm must include a "Contact" link to a mailbox (see Chapter 4). The advantage of using a group mailbox instead of a personal mailbox is that you are not affected by changes of staff or internal organisation. However, you are not permitted to create a link simply to the general IntraComm "Mailbox" page.

Tips on maintaining a mailbox

See the code of Good Administrative Behaviour

• Reply as soon as possible. If it is going to take you slightly longer to prepare your reply, you should at least send a receipt confirmation informing the user that you will reply to the query as quickly as possible. Do not forget that when corresponding by e-mail users expect to receive replies much more quickly than by traditional mail.
• Whenever you can, include in your replies the relevant URLs which the user can consult to find all the information he/she needs.
• If you are going to be absent, avoid setting up an automatic reply for the mailbox explaining your absence. Group mailboxes should never be left untended - it is precisely one of their advantages that they can be maintained by your replacement when you are not in the office.
• If you do not know which person/department to forward a query to, you can send the mail to the IntraComm management team.

"Mailto" is a very easy and convenient way of allowing users to send e-mail. It opens a mail window with the destination address entered by default. Exactly how it does this varies considerably according to the local configuration of a user's system.

• A browser can have its own built-in e-mail system.
• A browser can have an integrated link to an e-mail client from the same family of products.
• A completely independent e-mail client can be configured to intercept all "mailto" links encountered by a browser.
• There may be no link to an e-mail client, or no e-mail system at all.

In the first three cases the exact implementation of "mailto" may be very different, and in the last case it will not work at all.
For these reasons, some constraints have to be applied.
Requirements:

• Use the format HREF="mailto:Aaa@ec.europa.eu" where Aaa is the registered name of the intended recipient
• Check the exact e-mail address in the Commission's address book
• Use only functional mailboxes instead of the address of an individual official (If it is specifically required to use a personal mailbox then obtain the agreement of the recipient).

Restrictions:

• use the format "mailto:Aaa@ec.europa.eu?subject=xxx" only when really necessary - it may not always work
• avoid the use of other parameters such as "cc=xxx" and "bcc=xxx".

Mailform

If you want the information on your site to be well-structured, it is advisable to use special forms designed for gathering information.

The answers can be processed automatically and stored in a database for purposes of statistical analysis.
Mailform is a programme provided by the Data Centre which you can use to create complex multilingual forms.
For the complete summary of Mailform functionality and examples, go to http://www.cc.cec/Publishing/mailform.htm

JavaScript can be used to validate the data entered in the form.
The person or group responsible for the page content must be identified on each page. Mailform can be activated by a "Contact" button or link. Users can use this function to contact the person(s) responsible for a page using an electronic form. They can also use mailto, albeit with the limitations described above.

Online questionnaires

Online questionnaires are used to canvass users' opinions on a given subject, such as satisfaction with the site or any other issue.

Before launching an online survey, you must determine its objectives (what do you want to know?) and ensure you will have the necessary technical resources (to set up the form for completion by users, maintain the answers in a database, etc.) and human resources (to process the answers to open questions, etc.).

Results of surveys give an indicative, non-scientific impression of tendencies among users. They cannot be used to deduce precise information about IntraComm user profiles and behaviour. Users reply on a voluntary basis and are therefore not necessarily a representative sample of all users - (unlike with opinion polls). Surveys cannot replace more systematic tools such as statistical analysis of website hits, they can only complement them. Their role is to give users a chance to express their views.

3.2. Interaction between users

Visitors to a website share a common interest in the site content. They can use the Internet to communicate with one another about the content.

3.2.1 Fora

Forums give users the opportunity to carry out such discussions - they can post messages here which other users can read and reply to.

See: http://forum.europa.eu.int/

4. Technology

Cookies

The use of cookies is allowed with certain restrictions.
It is important that IntraComm should follow the Commission's guidelines on privacy and data protection and reassures users that cookies are not being used in any intrusive way.
The use of cookies on IntraComm is therefore allowed only with certain restrictions :

Cookies can only be used without explicit permission if they are limited to the current session.

In the exceptional case where a cookie must be stored beyond the current session, explicit permission must be obtained, including an explanation of why it is necessary and the expiry period must not exceed one year. Furthermore the exact information which will be gathered must be listed and an assurance given that it will not be used for any purpose other than the one stated.

If refused, the cookie must not simply try again indefinitely, nor must access to the site be refused.