Purpose

The Commission on Ocean Policy Web site is the official internet site of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. The site is the primary vehicle for informing the public of the Commission's business and activities.

Specifically, this Web site provides: (1) information on the Oceans Act of 2000 and related documents; (2) information on the Commission membership and a list of staff; (3) information on the Commission’s Science Advisory Panel; (4) notice of the Commission’s meetings; (5) minutes, site visit summaries and other documents generated by the Commission; (6) news related to activities of the Commission; (7) a calendar; and (8) Information on the Commission’s public comment policy and guidelines for making public comments at the regional meetings.

Editorial Policy

This site is jointly managed by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the Department of Commerce. As a federal government site, all federal editorial policies apply, such as those on privacy, copyright, commercial promotion, etc.

Materials posted on this site are reviewed by the executive director for the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy.

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Technical Information

Browsers. This site is designed to be completely compatible with Netscape Navigator (v4.0 and above, recommended) or Microsoft Internet Explorer (v4.0 and above, recommended); however, other browsers can also be used.

Organization of Pages and Exhibits. Pages are organized in a simple linear manner for easy reading and printing. Supplemental material or exhibits (Tables, Figures, and Supplementary Text) are numbered throughout the page.

Links. Some links are provided to other Web sites as reference or supplemental material. External sites accessed by such links will appear in a separate window.

Fonts and Type Sizes. Verdana is the default font for this site; 12 point is the default size. All browsers allow users to select specific fonts and type sizes for display. Some users select large type sizes for ease of reading, or specific fonts for personal tastes. The text and layout should not be adversely affected by a user's selection of alternative fonts and type sizes.

Printing Pages. This site has been designed to ensure simple printing. We recommend printing in portrait format at a scale of 85 to 100%.

Downloadable Documents. A number of documents are available on this site as downloadable files in Portable Document Format (pdf). These files can be viewed on microcomputers equipped with recent versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded for free from the site.

Navigation. Navigation through the site is straightforward. There are three levels of hierarchy, most of which are always visible to the user. The first level is on the right column and on the top in second and third level pages. The second level is on the right of the page. The third level is within the page for either exhibits (see above), page markers, or branching pages.

Table of Contents and Search This Site. These two pages appear on every page and provide additional access assistance. The Table of Contents is a complete listing of every page on the site. Search This Site is a standard word/phrase search through all text and documents (pdf) on the site's pages.

For Further Technical Information. For questions or comments about the technical aspects of this site, e-mail: ocwebmaster@noaa.gov.

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