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Managing Outdated Pages
This guidance reflects Access to Current and Outdated Information on EPA's Web site (PDF) (12 pages, 71 K, About PDF), issued December 6, 2004. Read the entire policy before applying the instructions below.
Note: The official version is on EPA's intranet; this copy is provided to help contractors who can't access our intranet.
- What types of information do I need to think about?
- How do I label outdated pages?
- How do I label links to outdated pages?
- Who can I contact with questions?
What types of information do I need to think about?
The policy defines and explains how to manage four types of information. The following table summarizes the policy and lists the relevant section.
| If the information is ... | and it ... | then it is ... | and you should ... |
|---|---|---|---|
| still relevant to the public | reflects current EPA decisions and/or activities | old | leave it alone |
| still relevant to the public | can be updated | outdated | update and re-post it on the public access Web site |
| still relevant to the public | cannot be updated | outdated | leave it on the public access Web site but label it with the standard notice and icon |
| no longer relevant to the public | cannot be updated | obsolete | remove it from the public access Web site (if it is still useful for internal purposes, consider moving it to EPA's intranet) |
This page describes how to properly label the third category: information that is still relevant to the public but cannot be updated, referred to below as "outdated."
Depending on the posting date, labeled pages may be exempt from the look and feel:
- Pages that existed before June 2002: exempt from the standard look and feel.
- Pages created after June 2002: keep the look and feel that is current when you apply the label. Do not change the page when the look and feel changes.
How do I label outdated pages?
Display the standard notice and cobweb icon at the very top of the page:
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
The cobweb icon is pulled from the style sheet; you don't have to do anything more.
Example page (http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/samples/outdated.html)
Notice Source Code Downloads
The Outdated page disclaimer source code is available in the Code Library.
Notice Source Code
NOTE: To help OEI track outdated pages, you must include the <epaold> and </epaold> tags.
<!-- <epaold> --> <!-- EPA Archive Policy Disclaimer v2.0 04/29/05 --> <p id="archive">Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.</p> <!-- </epaold> --> <hr />
How do I label links to outdated pages?
When you link to outdated EPA information, display the small cobweb icon to the right of the link: 
Use the absolute URL (http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/epafiles_misc_outdatediconmini.gif); don't download a local copy. Alt text is "EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource."
For example (not a live link): 1999 Annual Report
Link Icon Source Code Downloads
The Outdated link icon source code is available in the Code Library.
Link Icon Source Code
NOTE: To help OEI track outdated links, you must include the <epaoutdatedfilelink> and </epaoutdatedfilelink> tags when placing the outdated information notice code on your page.
<!-- <epaoutdatedfilelink> --> <img src="http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/epafiles_misc_outdatediconmini.gif" width="20" height="16" alt="EPA no longer updates the information at this link, but it may be useful as a reference or resource." /> <!-- </epaoutdatedfilelink> -->
Who can I contact with questions?
Contact Tom Maloney (maloney.tom@epa.gov), Office of Environmental Information: 202-566-0671.