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Government Web Standards Wiki
One of our members has pointed out that there is a Government Web Standards Wiki up and running. From the about page we have "The intent of this wiki is to provide a collaborative website where anyone who is interested in the New Zealand Government Web Standards and Recommendations and Web Standards compliance can share knowledge and make suggestions on the future development of the Standards."
We know that a lot of work has already been done in this area by NZOSS members in Wellington especially so here is a chance to contribute on line as well if you wish.
You'll need to email the SSC to request an account and details of that process are available here.
Active X as a requirement to use a government website
My interest was raised when I came across a request from one of the government ministries that service providers install ActiveX so they could access a Ministry web page ...
My response was as follows:
The site looks OK but I am very surprised to see the Ministry making
ActiveX a requirement for using the website:
You will need to have ActiveX loaded on your PC to see some of the
images. See your IT support desk for assistance. If you do have
problems, please download the ActiveX (it’s free software) from the
following site:
http://office-viewer-activex-control.en.softonic.com/download
I believe ActiveX is required by the site for more than simply
viewing images but I am unable to confirm this directly. Anyway,
ActiveX excludes providers using web browsers such as Firefox,
Safari, and Opera as it is a proprietary Microsoft-only technology.
Providers using Apples will also presumably be excluded.
ActiveX components are only compatible with a Microsoft web browser
and a Microsoft
operating system . ActiveX
controls are also granted a much higher level of control over
Windows than Java applets, making them both more powerful and
dangerous. Malware , such as
computer viruses and
spyware , is often distributed
as ActiveX applets in webpages. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activex)
This is not best practice and I draw your attention to point 18.1 of
the NZ Government Web Standards and Recommendations v1.0
(http://www.e.govt.nz/standards/web-guidelines/web-standards-v1.0/
18.1 Minimum web browsers and their respective versions for sites
to work in
Any web site that is under ownership of the agency that is
1. A new web site, or
2. An existing web site, where the overall “look and feel” or
functionality has been modified
must work satisfactorily in a minimum list of web browser types and
respective versions prior to being released as a production web site.
Requiring ActiveX (or else providing a degraded experience) does not
meet this requirement.
It also exposes providers, and their computers, to major security
vulnerabilities. This is highly problematic given that the same
computers will typically contain highly sensitive and confidential
clinical information. From a security point of view it is not
appropriate for a government department to require providers to
install or rely on ActiveX, or to use Microsoft operating systems.