What's involved?

Creating and maintaining an XML.org Focus Area is a straighforward process. The basic steps involved include: 

1. Get buy-in. OASIS Communications staff and interested members work with the appropriate OASIS TC(s) to build support for the site.

 

2. Create a mailing list for editors. All OASIS members are invited to participate in the site's Editorial Board. If the Editorial Board is functioning as a work project of a single TC, subcommittee, joint committee, or Member Section, work can be conducted using that group's existing mailing list. If several TCs are working on a single site, a separate mailing list may be created for the Editorial Board.

 

3. Organize an Editorial Board. Editorial Board members use the email list and conference calls to elect a chair or co-chairs from their group, outline content, and assign responsibility for specific pages. Chairs are responsible for convening Editorial Board calls and posting meeting minutes. Conference calls are scheduled by the Editorial Board (typically weekly until launch, then monthly or quarterly) to meet the projected launch date. The Editorial Board operates informally, with decisions made by group consensus. (Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised may be used should a formal process be needed.)

 

4. Register. OASIS IT staff creates a skeleton site, http://<name>.xml.org, with empty content categories for the site. Editorial board members register online, then notify OASIS Communications. Staff sets special 'editor' access privileges for all Board members.

 

5. Populate the Wiki Knowledgebase. Editorial Board members draft, collaborate on, and review an outline of Wiki pages and content. Most TCs already have appropriate content existing in the form of white papers, FAQ, charter documents, slide presentations, etc. Organizing it into Wiki pages is usually easily accomplished. The Board may also determines a poll question and one or more topics for Forums.

 

6. Receive staff support. OASIS staff creates “About this site” content and assists the Editorial Board as needed.

 

7. Preview site with other TC members. Members of the affiliated TC(s) are invited to review and comment on the Focus Area content before the site is publicly launched. Their suggestions are reviewed and addressed by the Editorial Board.

 

8. Add company info. The Editorial Board and TC members are invited to seed pages with their own organization's product listings, testimonials, news, case studies, etc.

 

9. Promote.OASIS issues a press release announcing the new Focus Area and covers it in Consortium newsletters and web sites. OASIS staff provide a link to the new site from the XML.org homepage and from the affiliated OASIS TC's homepage. OASIS staff, Editorial Board members, and TC members work to promote use of the site.

 

10. Maintain content. Editorial Board members continue to visit the site on a regular basis, reviewing posted comments, adding information, etc. The Board may choose to hold monthly or quarterly conference calls to discuss maintenance and ideas for enhancing the site.

How do editorial boards function?

Creation and oversight of content for each XML.org Focus Area is provided by an Editorial Board made up of OASIS members. The Editorial Board may be organized as a function of:

• one OASIS Technical Committee or Adoption Committee
• several related Committees
• an Adoption Subcommittee
• a Joint Committee
• a Member Section

Participation in an Editorial Board is open to any OASIS member interested in actively advancing the use of OASIS Standards.

XML.org sites are designed to be self-sustaining, with new content added by the community and old content automatically archived. The primary role of the Editorial Board is to:

• develop and maintain the Wiki Knowledgebase of background information on the standard;
• help ensure that contributions to the site adhere to the XML.org Editorial Guidelines and;
• promote the use of the site within the international community.

Editorial Board members may also volunteer to translate portions of the Focus Area into other languages.

Editorial Board members agree to actively participate in the creation and oversight of the site. International representation is encouraged; those who are unable to attend Board conference calls because of time zone or language barriers may still serve on Editorial Boards and actively participate in the review and maintenance of content.

Each XML.org site features a page listing the current Editorial Board members and their bios.

What are the first steps an Editorial Board should take?

Once the framework for your XML.org Focus Area has been created by OASIS staff, and Editorial Board members have registered, you can begin to add content. The site will be live during this construction phase, but links to it will not be posted until its official public launch.

• Create an outline for the Wiki Knowledgebase. Much of this content may already be posted on the OASIS TC public pages and in other TC materials. You may want to assign specific pages to each member of the Editorial Board. You may also want to take existing white papers or tutorials and republish the content as discreet Wiki topic pages.

• Review the other sections of the site, News, Events, Products, Services, Forums, and Blogs. Consider assigning a host to monitor each of these areas and keep them up-to-date.

How are News, Events, Products, and Services pages created?

Postings in the News, Events, Products, and Services sections of the Focus Area are individual pages on the site; linked headlines for these pages also appear on the Focus Area's homepage and the section's index page.

To post information to the News, Events, Products, or Services:

1. Make sure you're logged in.
2. Select the link in the horizontal nav bar that's appropriate for your content (News, Events, Products, or Services).
3. Choose the "submit" link in the upper right corner of the index page.
4. Add a title for your new page using sentence case capitalization.
5. Enter your content into the "Body" field. Use the link icon to embed hyperlinks.
6. Complete other fields as specified in the form. Preview, then submit.

How are Wiki pages created?

Wiki Knowledgebase pages enable users to dynamically collaborate on documents and add new pages to the site using wiki functionality. 

All registered users may contribute by editing existing wiki pages or creating new ones. To ensure easy navigation, new pages should be linked from existing pages or from the main Wiki index page (linked from the upper right corner of the header on each site).

Remember, If you create a wiki page, all registered users will be able to edit it and add links of their own from your content. If you would like to post information that cannot be directly edited by other users, you may create a News, Events, Products, or Services page instead.

To create a new wiki page:

1. Be sure you're logged in to the site.
2. Select "edit" from the top of the Wiki main page (linked from the horizontal nav bar) or from an existing related wiki page.
3. In the "Body" text field, determine where your link should appear. Enter the name of your new page surrounded by double brackets.
4. Select the "Submit" button. Your new link will now appear on the category page.
5. Click on your new link. You will be directed to the "Submit collaborative story" form.
6. Add content to the form, preview, and submit.

To edit an existing wiki page:

1. Be sure you're logged in to the site.
2. Select "edit" from the top of the page you wish to modify.
3. Enter your edits in the "Body" text field.
4. Preview, then select the "Submit" button. Your edits will now appear.

Tags

Tags permit readers to find pages that address a particular subject. Each Focus Area features a Categories page that enables readers to navigate to pages on subjects of interest and lets authors review tags others are using. Tags can contain multiple words and should begin with a capital letter. 

What is Drupal?

The XML.org infrastructure is based on the open source Drupal content management platform.

 

Drupal functionality is continually expanding. Editorial Board members are encouraged to investigate the list of Drupal modules and make recommendations on those that might enhance the XML.org user experience.

As Drupal supports a variety of language character sets, XML.org sites may be created in any language supported. Specific pages may be translated into multiple languages, and machine-translations for the site may be available.