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Maintaining a Web Site:
DIPP^tm Makes it Easy

Who Should Use DIPP^tm ?

The Boulder Community Network (BCN) provides free World Wide Web space to a variety of groups in Boulder County. In addition, BCN uses the Distributed Information Processing Protocol to assist organizations with creating and updating their own web information. DIPP^tm should be used by organizations who are creating web sites that will require frequent updates. The DIPP^tm process makes frequent information updates technically feasable and efficient. It provides maximum control with minimal technical knowledge.

Sending files to BCN using DIPP^tm involves the following steps:

1. Registering with the BCN Coordinator
2. Preparing Your Files to Send to BCN
3. FTP: Uploading Your Files to BCN
4. Instruct DIPP^tm to Install Your Pages
5. Your Response from DIPP^tm
6. Your Final Check

Registering with the BCN Coodinator.

You must provide the following information using the DIPP registration form:

• Organization "nickname" (6 characters or less) which will be the name of your "target directory" and house all organization files.
• Placement request -- or BCN Information Center with which your organization wants to be affiliated (ie. Arts Center -- under music).
• E-Mail address(es) authorized for sending organization files to BCN.
• Password(s) to be used when sending files from the above e-mail address(es).
• Optional e-mail address to be notified when files are received and posted on BCN.

Within a week you will receive: **

• A unique file name prefix to be used when naming all files to be sent to BCN using DIPP.
• The target directory into which all your files will be placed.
• A unique DIPP^tm tag to accompany all posting requests.

** Please note: DIPP is maintained by volunteers, so please be patient while you are waiting for a response.

The information below details how to use the file name prefix, target directory and DIPP^tm tag.

Preparing your Files to Send to BCN

When preparing your documents please note the following guidelines:

• All of your files must be named with your file name prefix and maintained in a single directory. For example, if your assigned prefix is "abc", your file names might be: abcagendas.htm and abcminutes.htm.
  
  
• The BCN server is case sensitive. Use either lower case or mixed case naming procedures. Upper case filenames are discouraged. Unless specifically arranged, your prefix is assumed to be lowercase.
  
  
• Your web site's top level page (Home Page) must be named "prefix"index.html or "prefix"index.htm -- for example: abcindex.html or abcindex.htm.
  
  
• Once installed on the BCN server, your home page will be accessible at the URL:
  
  
  • http://bcn.boulder.co.us/"path_to_center"/prefixindex.html
      OR:
  • http://bcn.boulder.co.us/"path_to_center"/index.html
      OR SIMPLY:
  • http://bcn.boulder.co.us/"path_to_center"/
  
  
  
• All files should be saved as "text" files and should end with the suffix ".htm" or ".html". (Unless they are image files -- in which case they may be .gif or .jpg).
  
  
• Concerning the HTML for your documents:
  • All your pages should contain a link back to your home page (prefixindex.html).
  • To avoid errors, use only relative URLS. (You may use absolute URLs if you know the full path name to your site.)
  • Your home page should have the appropriate BCN headers and footers.

FTP: Uploading Your Pages to BCN "Incoming" directory.

• Confirm that you have followed all protocols above concerning file preparation for FTP.
• FTP bcn.boulder.co.us and login as anonymous.
• Set your type to the appropriate value: "binary"
• change directory into "incoming"
  (For system security reasons, you will not be able to read this directory -- so keep track of files that you upload.)
• Note: FTP provides a function to map local filenames to different remote filenames though the nmap command (see man ftp).

Instruct DIPP^tm to Install Your Pages.

• Once all your files are uploaded, send email to: dipp@bcn.boulder.co.us
  (This message may be sent from any of the previously authorized e-mail addresses.)
• The subject line of this message should include:
  your DIPP^tm tag and password for the e-mail address from which you are posting (separate tag and password with space).
• The body of this message will be ignored by DIPP and may be left blank.

Your Response from DIPP

Shortly after you post your installation request, you should receive 2 responses.

• DIPP^tm will either confirm that that your installation request was accepted, or it will tell you that your request was rejected and why: unauthorized email address, invalid password or unknown DIPP_tm tag.
• Your second response from DIPP^tm will be a log of the installation steps DIPP^tm successfully executed. This will include a list of files that DIPP^tm has added to your target directory.

Your Final Check

• As soon as DIPP^tm has installed your files they will be available to the public. You should immediately fire up your WWW browser and review your site. If you find any errors, you will need to upload a corrected file and resubmit your installation request using DIPP^tm.

You may upload and install files as often as you feel necessary: the process is automated and uses relatively few resources. Let us know if the above conventions create problems, but also please do your best to work within them. If you encounter any problems with this upload procedure, please notify the DIPP^tm mail-list for BCN: dipp-bug AT bcn.boulder.co.us.