Standard: Email Address Links
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All standards and guidance
Content requirements
- When providing email addresses, link to the person's name, not the address.
- Show the email address as unlinked text in parentheses following the name.
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Style requirements
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Examples
Yes: Contact: John Smith (smith.john@epa.gov)
Yes: E-mail Jane Smith (smith.jane@epa.gov) for more information.
No: Jeffrey Levy ( levy.jeffrey@epa.gov ) can provide more information.
No: Contact Jeffrey Levy with questions.
No: Send e-mail to morin.jeff@epa.gov.
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Rationale
This format makes the link text more relevant and helps the reader see contact names more easily. Provide email addresses explicitly, however, for both people who print out resource lists and people who do not have their browsers set up to open their email programs automatically. In addition, providing the email address explicitly helps people who need to manually copy the address into an email message; some browsers are not set up to do so automatically.
Some concerns have been raised about the inclusion of contact information attracting spam. While this is a valid concern, it can be addressed through spam filters, and the benefits of providing contact information outweigh this unfortunate consequence.
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Related governance documents
EPA
Related Policies
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Related Standards
Related Guidance
Non-EPA
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Full Metadata about this standard
Name Email Address Links
Tracking number NT00000000
Type Standard
Required or Recommended Required
Effective date 09/28/2005
Date approved 09/28/2005
Category Links and Navigation
Web Council review by 09/05/2008 (or earlier if deemed necessary by the Web Council)
Governing Policy Web Governance and Management (PDF) (4 pp, 339K, About PDF)
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