Ground Rules for Working Groups Document Number: TEI EDW14 October 23, 1992 Version 2, October 23, 1992 1 BASIC PRINCIPLES This document describes both the basic principles for organization of TEI work groups (WGs) and the recommended procedures for work. This first section covers the basic principles; the second section discusses specific administrative questions and procedures, which may be subject to change. Purpose The main purpose of a TEI Working Group is to produce concrete propo- sals for extensions to and revisions of the current state of the Guide- lines, based on the specialist knowledge of its members. Creation and Funding of WGs WGs are set up by the steering committee. Proposals for the forma- tion of new WGs are considered by the steering committee, but may be submitted by anyone. On approval, a WG will be assigned to one or other of the existing TEI working committees. The steering committee will authorize full reimbursement of travel and accommodation (within normal TEI limits -- see below) for at least one and possibly more meetings of a WG, on whichever continent most of its members inhabit, subject to approval of the WG's work plan. The steering committee may name members to a WG. Any remaining full (funded) members are named by the head of a WG, but must be approved by the head of the appropriate TEI Working Committee. The head of a WG may co-opt additional unfunded members as required. When the steering committee sets up a WG, it will thus normally spec- ify the following: 1. Name of WG Head 2. Proposed Members 3. Specific objectives 4. Budget, either as number of meetings or as funding maximum 5. Proposed Timetable A Typical WG Life Cycle A WG will usually consist of 3 or 4 members, who will meet at least once and possibly twice. They will discuss their given problem area and formulate a draft report for discussion within the WG, usually electron- ically and always before the WG actually meets. At the meeting (or meetings), they will try to establish consensus on the contents of their report, and continue the re-drafting process. Their report should nor- mally be available within 4 months, after which the WG will be formally disbanded, although its members may still be called on to answer com- ments or evaluate proposals following on from such portions of their work as are incorporated into a subsequent version of the Guidelines. The WG proposals should represent, as far as possible, the overall needs and the broadest requirements of those working within the special- ization which they are addressing. The final report of a WG will normally consist of one or more of: * a definition of the salient characteristics of the text types (or interpretive information) considered by the report, possibly includ- ing a brief problem area statement. * definitions of new text elements, recommending tags and attributes for their encoding which are (as far as possible) consistent with current TEI practice. The WG need not define formal DTDs, though this is generally desirable. They should not depart from or contra- dict current TEI recommendations without giving good reason. * specific recommendations for change in the current Guidelines, with suitable discussion and rationale. * specific recommendations for setting up more tightly focused WGs to address specific problems and formulate tags and documentation. 2 ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES This section describes the rules and procedures for the work of TEI work groups. Basic principles are covered above; this section covers less profound matters essential to smooth functioning of the work groups and the initiative as a whole. These procedures are subject to change, and are intended to make life simpler for the initiative as a whole. If any procedure described here seems not to apply to a given work group, or to be needlessly cumbersome, it may be discussed with the editors and (if they agree) dispensed with. The procedures described here cover: * document handling: numbering, distribution, etc. * participation in work groups * scheduling and announcing meetings * financial matters Document Handling All TEI documents are archived centrally to ensure a record of the work of the project and to make it simpler to inform the public of our progress. To make central archiving and distribution easier, all TEI documents are assigned numbers and all documents are distributed accord- ing to the same simple principles. Required Documents All work groups are required to produce minutes of each meeting, and to forward these minutes to the editors within a week of the meeting's end, for further distribution. All work groups are also required to produce a final report, and most will also produce interim working drafts, related discussion papers etc. If these are numerous, working groups are strongly recommended to maintain a document register. Copies of all working group documents should be sent to the editors. Numbering The TEI document numbering scheme is described in document TEI A1; a TEI document number typically comprises a code specifying the committee or body responsible for producing the document, a code specifying what type of document it is, and a sequential number. No TEI document should be distributed without a number -- it makes it much more difficult to refer simply and unambiguously to the document. Each work group will be assigned a distinct prefix number for its docu- ments. Documents expected from the work group will be given numbers when the work group is formed; if other documents are produced, the work group head should number them when assigned or received and contact the editorial staff (specifically Wendy Plotkin at UIC, U49127@uicvm or @uicvm.cc.uic.edu, who maintains the document registry and sees to docu- ment distribution) to ensure that the numbers and documents are added to the central registry. Document Status All TEI documents must be made available to any participant in the project. This includes the editors, members of other committees and work groups, members of the steering committee and advisory board, and projects affiliated with the initiative. All documents should be labeled internally either as draft, not approved by work group: meaning the work group is not com- mitted to the contents, draft approved by work group as the basis for further work: meaning the work group expects to change some details but has approved the basic substance of the document, or approved by work group: meaning the work group has no further changes to make (for the moment).(1) Each document should also be labeled either "TEI-internal distribution only" or "public distribution", depending on whether the author or work group feels it is ready for public distribution. In the normal course of events, all documents should eventually be cleared for public distri- bution. Publication of work papers in professional journals is encour- aged. Proposals by work groups should typically have no designated author; drafts and background papers may specify an author. Distribution All TEI documents should be distributed automatically to all commit- tee heads and the editors; other participants should receive copies of all documents of interest to them. To this end, participants in the project may request any TEI document in the register, and may specify to the editors that they wish to be on the distribution list for any set of work groups. Documents should be distributed electronically by their authors with- in the work groups; the editorial staff will see to the further distri- bution within the project. Participation in Work Groups The size of each work group is specified by the steering committee when the group is formed; unless the steering committee specifies mem- bers, the membership of the work group is determined by the work group head, with the approval of the head of the parent committee. Full mem- bers of the work group have their travel paid when they attend work group meetings, according to the normal rules for TEI travel costs (see below). Others may participate in electronic discussion at the discre- tion of the work group head; the recommended practice is to allow anyone to participate who wishes. If a full member of the work group is unable to attend a meeting, the work group head may (with the agreement of the committee head) invite another participant in the group's discussions to attend. With the permission of the work group head, anyone may attend a work group meeting at their own expense; representatives of the affili- ated projects, members of the steering committee, and editors may also attend work group meetings as observers. Scheduling and Announcing Meetings Schedule meetings at the convenience of the participants. If some members of the group will be attending a professional meeting, the work group may meet there; otherwise it is recommended that one member act as host of the meeting. To minimize travel costs, meetings which allow a stay over a Saturday night are particularly useful. Recommended length of a meeting is two days; minimum length is one full day. There is no maximum, but meetings longer than three days are probably too long. The initial charge to the work group will state how many meetings of the group are authorized; if more are required, write to the steering committee or editors to say how many, when, and why. As soon as a meeting date has been established, contact Wendy Plotkin at U49127@UICVM or U49127@UICVM.UIC.EDU with the dates, place, time, and agenda, if available. She will send an announcement to the steering committee, all work committee and work group heads, and TEI affiliated projects, asking them to contact the WG head should they wish to attend. At the same time, WG heads should inform Wendy of the funded members and/or substitutes who are planning to attend, so that she can pass this on to David Stanfield, who will begin procedures for drawing down funds to allow for rapid reimbursement following the meeting. Reimbursements, Other Financial Matters Ceiling Amounts for Travel Costs Travel costs for attendance at meetings will be reimbursed in full, where possible. The following ceilings will be applied where necessary: * $120 or 100 ECU per meeting day per person * $600 transportation costs within the U.S. * 500 ECU transportation costs within Europe * $1200 or 1000 ECU transportation costs for transatlantic travel * one extra day allowance for transatlantic travelers No more than $24 (20 ECU) a day can be reimbursed for meals, unless receipts are presented for the full amount claimed. The ceilings specified above are used to calculate a ceiling cost for each individual attending the meeting (thus $840 for an American attend- ing a two-day meeting in the U.S., or 700 ECU for a European attending a two-day meeting in Europe; $1560 or 1300 ECU for a two-day transatlantic meeting); each attendee will be reimbursed for all documented expenses at least up to the individual ceiling. If some members' documented expenses are less than the ceiling, the resulting surplus will be used to pay expenses for those who go over the ceiling. The group as a whole, however, will be held to the sum of the individual ceiling amounts.(2) Reimbursement Procedures Original receipts should be sent, with a cover letter summarizing the amount requested for reimbursement, to David Stanfield Computer Center (M/C 135) University of Illinois at Chicago 1940 W. Taylor St. Chicago IL 60680 U.S.A. North Americans will typically be reimbursed through UIC; Europeans through the Association for Computers and the Humanities. Please let us know if no check has arrived within a month of your request. ------------------------- (1) These correspond to document types W, D, and P as described in the document numbering scheme, but in practice the distinction is not always reflected in the document number, so an internal label in prose is useful. (2) The TEI's experience so far is that the average cost of travel is slightly under the ceiling amounts, so that in most cases we have been able to reimburse all documented expenses, not just up to the ceiling amount. Version 2, October 23, 1992