a. Document - a complete unit of information, a document including a beginning and an end, the result of a query generating a temporary document which constitutes a complete unit.

b. Screen - part of document. Its size is not constant and depends on the application and the hardware used.

c.Site - a collection of documents that are linked and include shared components (such as graphic elements). The site usually focuses on a defined subject.

d. Meta-information - information about information or information that describes other information, e.g., a document that contains a description of other documents on the site (a menu).

e. Home page - the document that introduces the site, the first document on the site.

f. Information server - the hardware and software components that permit dissemination of information over the Internet.

g. Subject index - a list of main topics on the site. The list includes specific documents and documents that contain a list of documents on a certain topic. The index is arranged alphabetically by topics.

h. Site map - a list of the order of documents on the site, according to their links and hierarchy, relative to each other. Also known as the "menu tree" of the site.

i. Icon - a graphic symbol kept in a special file that can be displayed in the software.

j. Toolbox - part of a document, comprised either of a graphics file or a collection of textual components, used to navigate within the document or the site.

k. Banner - part of a document, comprised either of a graphics file or a collection of textual components, used to introduce a document and to provide information on the site and the particular document.

l. Teaser - part of a document, comprised either of a graphics file or a collection of textual components, used to focus users’ attention on, or to advertise, a certain topic.

m. Graphic work files - files that belong to the working process in that they generate graphic elements and documents on the site. Mostly, these are source files of three software applications: Freehand, Photoshop, and Strata. In the context of photographs, the term refers to high-resolution files generated by an initial scan of the photos and their negatives or positives.

n. Webmaster - the person who maintains the integrity of site structure, feeds the site with information, and ensures sound performance of various components in the site, including software and links between files. The webmaster keeps the file dynamic and interesting.

o. Postmaster - the person responsible for receiving mail at the office site (through the public queries mailbox) and for disseminating it to the appropriate officials. The extent of the postmaster’s position is larger when all mail at the office is directed to one mailbox, and smaller when the mail is referred to several officials.

a. Structure and components of the site;

b. Use of Hebrew on the site;

c. Queries from the public;

d. Copyright;

e. Dissemination of information and advertisements;

f. Services and applications on the site;

g. Backups;

h. Redundancy of information;

i. Contracting with outside parties;

j. Rules for the transition period;

k. Changes in these guidelines.

l. Appendix B - terms of use in Hebrew for Government information sites.

m. Appendix A - terms of use in English for government information sites.

a. Every document on the site shall include the time of its most recent update. This date may appear at any appropriate place in the document. The date is important because the State is responsible for the information on the site and its timeliness.

b. If the document displays items of information with different updates, the update of each item shall be noted separately.

c. If one document on the site contains another document that has its own date of creation (e.g., an international agreement), three dates shall be noted: the date of creation of the separate document, its most recent update, and the update of the main document on the government site.

d. In the case of records that appear in a database, the date of creation of each record and the date of its most recent update shall be cited separately. The updates and creation dates shall be displayed each time the record is retrieved from the database and displayed.

a. Every document on the site shall include a electronic address for queries. The address may appear at any appropriate place in the document. (Most such addresses are shown at the bottom of the document.)

b. Every office shall appoint a postmaster to receive mail from users of the site. His or her address shall be a general one with no specific name mentioned (for example: feedback, info). The postmaster shall forward incoming queries to the officials at the office who are designated to respond. The postmaster should inform the inquirer that the query has been received and forwarded to the competent official, mentioning the official’s name. In this case, the person to whom the message was forwarded shall be responsible for answering it.

c. The postmaster shall forward questions on technical matters to the webmaster.

d. A collection of replies to FAQS (frequently asked questions) from the public should be included in a prominent place on the site. These replies may be gathered from the e-mail in-box of the site or from answers to queries that arrive by ordinary mail to providers of public services at the office. The collection of replies shall be reviewed by the competent officials at the office.

e. The office may appoint additional people to handle and respond to queries from the public, under such guidelines as the office stipulates. It is recommended that the these officials’ electronic-mail addresses be named for their unit and not after their own names. For example, the publications department of the Central Bureau of Statistics would be called pub@cbs.gov.il

f. Whenever a query is answered, a copy of the reply should be saved. It is recommended to open a special mailbox at each office for posting of copies of such replies.

g. Every e-mail transmission disseminated on the office site shall be answered in a manner similar to a letter arriving by ordinary mail, as set forth in Section 61.3 of the Civil Service Code, in terms of the stipulated deadline for response (two weeks), determining the competent officials to respond to inquiries, and the phrasing of the reply.

h. Every letter sent by a civil servant using electronic mail shall include a "signature" including the names of the author, the department, and the office. A telephone number and address may be added.

a. Every document on the site should include a notice of copyright, in Hebrew and English, with the English phrasing as follows:
Copyright ã The State of Israel. All Rights Reserved

b. The expression "terms of use" and its Hebrew equivalent shall be written next to the copyright notice and shall include a reference to the document that explains the "terms of use" for the site.

c. The year of copyright should be updated each year.

d. It is responsibility of each Ministry’s legal advisor to prepare a notice of "terms of use" concerning the Ministry’s site. The "terms of use" shall refer explicitly to copyright, limitation of the State’s liability to the user, and the official status of the information on the site. The "terms of use" shall be tailored to the special nature of each office’s site. Attached herewith in Appendix A is a recommended notice of "terms of use" in Hebrew. Attached herewith in Appendix B is a recommended notice of "terms of use" in English. These "terms of use" apply to information provided at no charge. Insofar as information is provided at charge, the liability clause should be rephrased.

e. With respect to any information displayed on the site that is not owned by the office, the office shall make sure:

f. Information which the State holds no copyright in shall not be included on a Government site unless the State has obtained authorization as aforesaid (Paragraph e) to disseminate it on the Internet site of the relevant office.

a. Commercial advertisements (i.e., advertisements not belonging to the offices themselves) shall not be displayed on government sites. This provision will be revised after standard methods of handling commercial advertisements on government sites are stipulated.

b. It is permissible to mention in text only, in one place on the site, the name of the company that created the site and the names of other parties involved in having done so (graphic artists, software writers, site-maintenance providers). This information should appear in a document called "About the Site."

a. In principle, the applications ActiveX, Java, and JavaScript should not be used on Government sites because they are incompatible with some of the users’ browsers and operating systems. These applications often disabled computers or cause them to "crash."

b. If the office wishes to use an application of this type, it should place the application in a separate document. Users who select this document shall be advised of the presence of the application and the problems that its use may cause.

c. The "terms of use" on the site should include a general warning about problems that may be caused by the use of such applications, as well as a disclaimer of liability of the State for damage that may be caused pursuant to such use.

d. This provision will be modified after it becomes clear that the use of these applications cannot cause damage or that protection against such damage can be obtained in reasonable ways.

a. An office that contracts with an outside party to establish an Internet site shall, by means of its legal advisor, establish the relationship in a written contract that assures, inter alia, that the State of Israel will own all intellectual-property rights to the site, including the contents and files thereof, except for the provisions in subparagraph b below.

b. If the contractor, in designing the site, inserted existing works in which intellectual property rights belong to a third party or to the contractor himself (e.g., photographs, graphics, audio and/or video segments, or application software), the terms of use for these works shall be stipulated in the contract, pursuant to authorizations of use from the owners of the rights therein.

c. The terms of the contract shall assure the State’s right to make any use of the site, including transfer to a third party for update and maintenance, and including the use of the site and any or all or its components on the sites of other Government offices and their auxiliary units.

a. The contract shall set forth appropriate arrangements for modification of the site, including its files, and for mention of the contractor (including contractor’s employees and anyone operating on his/her behalf) on the site.

b. The contract shall stipulate explicitly that the arrangements in subparagraph a above shall supersede any "moral right" (under Paragraph 4a of the Copyright Ordinance) of the contractor, his/her employees, or anyone acting on his/her behalf, and that said arrangements express the waiver of said moral rights.

c. Because a proliferation of changes and updates, sometimes by different players, is part of the special nature of Internet sites, it is recommended not to mention by name every person who took part or is taking part in designing, building, updating, or maintaining the site. This precaution is meant to avoid disagreements among the various parties as to their share in the site at any given time.

d. If the names of the designers and/or builders of the site are nevertheless mentioned, the contract should stipulate the terms under which names shall be added or deleted in case of changes in the structure or design of the site, and should stipulate that this will be done only on the "About the Site" document.

a. The contract shall contain a provision for indemnification/compensation in case of claim by a third party for infringement of intellectual property rights with respect to a site provided by the contractor. This indemnification/compensation provision shall also apply to claims on the part of employees of the contractor who dealt in designing and building the site, and any other party who operated on the contractor’s behalf.

b. The contract shall also contain terms under which the contractor shall delete from the site any work that creates an infringement and replace it with a legal work as the office demands.