Maine State Government
Dept. of Administrative & Financial Services
Office of Information Technology
Standard for the Use of External Domain
Names
I. Statement
State agencies will understand how to apply for approved web
domain names.
II. Purpose and Principles
A. The purpose of
this standard is to govern the acquisition and use of State agency web domain
names.
B. The State of Maine establishes these principles in order to promote effective services associated with
the State of Maine Domain Name Policy.
1. Sovereignty – The State of Maine will establish its identity as the sovereign State of Maine by complying with the
national domain name program.
2. Integrity and Authenticity – The
State of Maine will establish the sole, official, internationally-recognized
domain name of the State of Maine, and thereby authenticate to its citizens and
customers that they are conducting business with the legitimate State site.
a. Name formulation standards in all
namespaces will be rigorously adhered to.
b. Names assigned to one entity may not
be requested by or granted to another.
3. Protection – The State of Maine will protect its dotgov domain name and subordinate domain names by complying with
the national domain name program, ensuring that Maine.gov domain names cannot
be misappropriated by others.
4. One Government – To the maximum
extent possible, the State of Maine will provide access to State services and
information through a single domain name, making it easy for citizens and
customers to find and use the official site to reach all services. Services
thus coordinated through a predictable method are of higher value to citizens. Service
provisioning through multiple government domain names, based on agency or
program or other organizational silos, are confusing to citizens, and therefore,
is discouraged.
a. Branding – In support of the One
Government principle, the State of Maine will establish Maine.gov as the single
domain name through which its services and information are presented.
Establishing Maine.gov as a readily identifiable brand with a common look and
feel helps ensure name recognition, simplifies marketing, and provides easy
access to and consistent navigation of services. Supporting Maine.gov as the
prime brand of Maine State Government avoids confusion among our citizens by
focusing on a single point of predictable, reliable access. Secondary brands
are strongly discouraged. New names must be approved and in-hand well in
advance of public marketing efforts.
5. Privacy and Security – The State
recognizes and values the privacy and security of its citizens’ information. By
providing services through the official domain that uses common policies and
standards, the State will assure citizens that their personal information is
handled according to law. The State will also assure that monetary transactions
conducted between the State and its customers are securely handled.
6. Cost Effectiveness – The State of Maine will reduce costs and increase effectiveness by providing standardized services and
approaches wherever possible.
III. Applicability
A. This standard is
intended to manage the acquisition and use of all domain names by
1. Executive Branch and semi-autonomous
State agencies irrespective of where their sites are hosted; and
2. Agencies from other Maine State
government branches that are hosted on computer devices operated by the Office
of Information Technology or that traverse the State’s wide area network; and
3. Counties and Municipalities of the
State of Maine seeking domain names in the Maine.gov namespace.
This standard permits and encourages cooperation with the
other branches of Maine government in the coordination of domain name services.
This cooperation includes municipalities and counties who elect to participate.
IV. Responsibilities
A. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) and his designee, the Associate
CIO, Policy, Planning, & Oversight, are responsible for approving domain
names, ruling on waiver requests to authorize the use of alternative domain
names, and overseeing the Enterprise Domain Name Registry.
1. Enterprise Domain Name Registry: The registry will be executed jointly by InforME and, on
behalf of the CIO, the OIT Office of Networking Services with the former acting
as the primary technical agent for commercially acquired domain names (also
referred to as alternative domain names) and the latter as the primary technical
agent for those in the dotgov name spaces.
B. All State agencies will apply for a Maine.gov domain name via the
Enterprise Domain Name Registry portal (see Procedure
for Agencies requesting Domain Names).
If an agency desires an alternative domain name to Maine.gov (and Me.gov), they
must make the request as directed in that procedure.
D. The Maine Legislative and Judicial Branches: Because
the federal dotgov guidelines indicate state courts and legislatures follow their
state’s internet policy and the dotgov Domain Registration Federal Policy,
these branches shall apply for Maine.gov domain names via the Enterprise Domain
Name Registry.
E. Costs: All external costs, such as registration and renewal fees for GSA,
will be borne by the subscribing party. The fees for commercially acquired
domain names will be borne by OIT. There is no initial or recurring internal
cost associated with the registration and maintenance of domain names in the Maine.gov
namespace. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) reserves the right to impose
applicable processing and or maintenance fees to recover the costs associated
with the management of all domain name assets.
V. Naming Standards and Conventions
A. Executive
Branch Agencies: The State of Maine subscribes to second level domain names (Maine.gov
and Me.gov) for the general internet addressing services for State agencies. To
maximize addressability, a corresponding domain name should be defined in the
Me.gov namespace whenever a Maine.gov domain name is approved and defined and
vice versa. Agencies should use Agencyname.Maine.Gov. For example, if
dot.maine.gov is defined then corresponding dot.me.gov should also be defined.
1. Agencies shall align their domain
names in support of the primary domain designation, according to the following
formats:
a. Path Level – would typically be one
of two forms: www.maine.gov/dept/sitename,
targeted at the department’s business partners but not citizenry at-large, or www.maine.gov/appname, targeted at
citizenry at-large. Both of these forms support the Maine.gov brand and enjoy
the protection and advantages of the official, trusted State of Maine government web presence.
b. Third Level or Higher – Occasionally,
for technical reasons, a server must be assigned a unique host name. In these
cases, the naming convention shall be myserver.agencyname.maine.gov.
c. Networking Infrastructure – The
naming convention for networking infrastructure shall be device.net.maine.gov.
This naming convention is reserved exclusively for networking infrastructure,
and is never appropriate for any service targeted at either business partners
or citizenry at-large.
d. Applications hosted by OIT – The
naming convention for applications hosted by OIT should follow either of the
following two naming conventions: gateway.maine.gov/application
or portal.maine.gov/application.
e. Any domain name that is not aligned
with the above naming conventions will require special approval of the
Associate CIO, Policy, Planning, & Oversight.
2. Alternative Domain Names: Alternatives
to the primary domain designation may be permitted where there exist compelling
business or public policy reasons to do so. Alternative domain names whose
end-of-life has been determined should plan for that event.
Users of alternative domain names
need to be mindful that Maine.gov is the primary brand for electronic
interaction with the State of Maine and it is primarily through this brand that
constituents can be assured that the information and services that they obtain
are from approved Maine State Government sources.
(i) It has been a practice for some
State agencies to acquire alternative domain names outside of the Maine.gov
name space. The two major purposes for these have been:
·
The perception that non-State branding or ‘handles’ will improve
user acceptance of State services
·
A more convenient branding to promote agency programs and
services.
Experience has shown that citizen
use of alternative domain names has proven contrary to expectations, namely
that citizens more routinely use Maine.gov to find information and services,
even to find alternative domain names. Consequently, experience typically shows
that using the Maine.gov brand will achieve better results.
There also exist significant
risks in the use of alternative domain names, including domain hijacking, like
domains that may link to inappropriate content, etc. Because they are leased rather
than purchased, they are ill-suited for long-term marketing use. Therefore, the
following best-practices are required:
·
Registrations and renewals of all non-dotgov domain names will be
performed by the Enterprise Domain Name Registry to leverage expertise in that
realm.
·
Leases should be acquired for a minimum of three years.
·
Once acquired, domain name leases should be ‘locked’.
(ii) Agencies are responsible for the costs
associated with acquiring and administering alternative domain names.
(iii) If an alternative domain name is
approved, agencies are encouraged to redirect or have an alias to a
Maine.gov-derived namespace.
(iv) The remaining term for
subscriptions to an alternative domain name should at no time fall to less than
1 year unless the planned end-of-life falls within that year.
(v) Existing applications named in the www.state.me.us
namespace and domain names derived from the state.me.us names space will be retired
in an orderly fashion and moved to conforming namespaces.
(vi) Non-conforming domain names, not
included in (v) above, will be transferred to a single registrar account
administered by InforME (InforME – Electronic Access to Public Information Act.
Title 1, Maine Revised Statutes, chapter 713, section 1). InforME will pass
domain name registration fees back to the State through OIT.
B. Non - Maine.gov or Me.gov Second-level Dotgov Domain Names: While the
federal dotgov guidelines permit the state CIO to register second-level dotgov
domains, the State will discourage second-level dotgov domain names.
1. Those
requesting second-level dotgov domain names shall need to provide a compelling
justification in order to satisfy an extraordinary, non-conforming need. In
cases where a second-level dotgov domain is approved, the web site associated
with the domain remains subject to the standards and policies of Maine State
Government. Approval will be only for a fixed period of time, at the end of
which the domain name will be expired, barring a successful request for continuation.
2. Those with
existing second-level dotgov domain names are not grandfathered indefinitely. Since
such second-level names are essentially non-conforming, they may create
confusion or wasted browsing for citizens seeking information or services. Those
with such second-level dotgov domain names will be encouraged – and in some
cases required – to develop and implement a migration to a predictable,
conforming Maine.gov name.
C. Instrumentalities of the State: States are authorized to develop
policy on how non-state governments shall be registered under the state domain
name.
1. The (third
level) naming convention to be used by participating municipalities shall be municipalname.maine.gov.
‘Municipalname’ may include the word “city” or “town” at the discretion of the
local government.
2. The naming
convention for participating counties shall be countyname.Maine.gov
where “countyname” must include the word ‘county’ to distinguish its form of
government (e.g., Aroostookcounty.Maine.gov or CountyofAroostook.Maine.gov).
VI. Guidelines
A. All entities using a dotgov domain must comply with the federal
guidelines (the full federal policy can be accessed at http://www.dotgov.gov.), including:
1. Advertisements: A Maine.gov domain may
not be used to advertise for private individuals, firms, or corporations, or
imply in any manner that the government endorses or favors any specific
commercial product, commodity, or service.
2. Campaign Information: No campaigning
can be done with dotgov domains. The Maine.gov Web sites may not be directly
linked to or refer to Web sites created or operated by a campaign or any
campaign entity or committee. Separate Web sites and e-mail on other top-level
domains, such as .org, will have to be used to disseminate campaign
information.
3. Link Change Notification: When a
link on a Maine.gov domain makes the user leave a Maine.gov web site, a
notification or screen (i.e., a splash message) should alert users that they
are leaving the official dotgov page.
4. Domain Termination: An organization
that operates Maine.gov web sites that are not in compliance with the Maine.gov
conditions of use may have its domain name terminated.
B. Domain Name Suitability Guidelines: Names requested in the dotgov
namespace must adhere to and will be tested
against the following criteria:
1.
Need: Does the requested domain name provide utility and/or
branding to the target initiative or organization?
2.
Time: Domain names in the Maine.gov namespace are intended
to serve long-term roles. They are generally not appropriate vehicles for
temporary or short term projects or events. In very rare cases, to serve a
significant need, they may be assigned to serve short-term interests.
3.
Applicability: Domain names that pose a strong potential for
conflict with other state, municipal, county or other interests should be
avoided.
4.
Impact: Maine.gov is intended as a positive locale for
people to avail themselves of the governmental information and services in the
State of Maine. Names that detract from the brand’s appeal are strongly
discouraged.
C. Domain Name Formulation Guidelines: Naming
standards avoid confusion on the part of the public and will improve ease of
use and recognition of government brands. Under the direction of the CIO, the Enterprise
Domain Name Registry will review and grant domain name requests according to
the following conventions:
1. No blank spaces
may used in the domain name.
2. A domain name
can only have letters and dashes (-).
3. A domain name
cannot start or end with a dash.
4. Numbers are
strongly discouraged in a domain name.
5. Dotgov domain
name requests will always end with Maine.gov at the second and first levels.
6. A domain name
will be as short as reasonably possible.
7. A domain name
will be easily understood by the citizens and visitors of Maine.
8. A domain name
will avoid the use of acronyms as much as possible.
9. A domain name
will be based on the most generally accepted meaning of the specific words that
make up the requested name. For example, a request for “roads.maine.gov” by the
Rural Outdoor Assistive Dog Service would be refused, because the name “roads”
is generally perceived to be related to vehicular transportation.
D. Municipalities and counties may register only one domain name. To
register any third-level domain within maine.gov, the following guidelines
apply:
1. Programs and
initiatives such as the fire department, the police department, the library,
etc. should be represented by extending the URL to the right. For example:
city (town or county) name.maine.gov/firedepartment.
2. Do not use
spaces and underscores within a domain name. Dashes are fine, but may not be
used at the beginning or end of a domain name.
3. Additionally
for municipalities: The domain name must include the city (town) name. Do not
abbreviate the city name.
4. Additionally
for counties: The domain must be registered with the county's name and with the
word "county" (because many counties have the same name as cities
within the same state). Please do not abbreviate the county name; the word
"county" must be spelled out in full.
E. Towns may also acquire names directly from the GSA at www.dotgov.gov in the form townmaine.gov, for
example www.augustamaine.gov.
Waivers and Appeals: See the relevant section of the Procedure
for Agencies requesting Domain Names.
VII. Definitions
1.
See the State
of Maine Domain Name Management Policy.
VIII. References
A. The General Services Administration’s Final Rule (41 CFR Part 1020173)
was issued in March 2003, establishing a basis to permit dotgov domain services
for state and local governments (https://www.dotgov.gov/final_rule_102.aspx). This rule also established conforming name
protocols for URLs in the Gov domain. Within this rule states are encouraged
to make second-level domains available for third-level registration by local
governments.
IX. Document Information
1. Document Reference Number: 15
2. Category: Internet
3. Adoption Date: October 24, 2007
4. Effective Date: October 24, 2007
5. Revision Date: 05/12/09
6. Review Date: May 1, 2012
7. Point of Contact: Paul Sandlin, Office of
Information Technology, State House Station #138, Augusta, ME 04333, Telephone: (207) 624-9427.
8. Approved By: Kathy Record, Associate CIO,
Policy, Planning, & Oversight, Office of Information Technology, State
House Station #138, Augusta, ME 04333, Telephone: (207) 624-7573.
9. Position Title(s) or Agency Responsible for
Enforcement: Paul Sandlin, Office of Information Technology, State House
Station #138, Augusta, ME 04333, Telephone: (207) 624-9427.
10. Legal Citation: None
11. Waiver Process: A request for waiver should be
submitted to the Associate CIO, Policy, Planning, & Oversight in writing,
explaining the reasons thereof.
