A. Department of the Navy Web Policy is very specific about linking to sites outside of the command web site.

There are two general rules to consider:

1. Avoid the appearance of official endorsement.
2. Does the link support the mission of the Naval Academy generally and support your specific area of web publication?

Here is a list of specifics:

Web sites will not link to non-government, commercial-entity sites except as follows:
• You may link to the web site of a local, state, or Federal government entity.

• As part of the command's family support function, Web sites of bases, air stations, or equivalent commands may link to local Chambers of Commerce (or overseas equivalents) and local government agencies. Tenant commands will link to the base Web site to provide access to these external links.

• Links to weather services may only be made to the appropriate Navy Meteorology and Oceanography Center or to the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This means no links to commercial weather services.

• Links will not be made to the home pages of Web sites of private sector news media, magazines, publishers, or radio or television stations.

• Web sites using frames should not link to any external content within the window of a frame nor shall any Web site prohibit -- through the use of coding -- the visitor to return to a previously visited Web site (i.e., curtailing the use of the .back. button on the browser).

• Web sites shall not provide commercial software or links to commercial software except in those cases where the software is unique and required for viewing documents provided within the Web site.s purpose. An example is Adobe Acrobat required to read Portable Document Files (.PDF) used for viewing documents that must be presented in an unalterable form. In these cases, only a text link directly to the vendors download web page is permitted. There will be no use of corporate logos.