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Link Policy

In addition to the requirements in the Department of Information Resources’ State Link and Privacy Policy, this section outlines the criteria and requirements that external websites must meet to have a link from the SORM website. This linking notice details how links are accepted and removed from the SORM website.

Criteria

The fundamental purpose of the SORM website is to inform citizens and users regarding government services and to perform government functions. The SORM website is not a forum for public communication and debate. The following criteria have been established to preserve the non-public forum nature of the SORM website accepts link requests made by federal, state, and local governments that provide information and services that benefit Texas citizens and businesses. At its discretion, SORM may link to non-governmental websites that contain information and/or services that further the purpose of SORM.

Every link request must undergo review to determine its relevance and appropriateness to the SORM mission of providing access to government services. Links are approved for the SORM website based on the following criteria:

  1. The external website corresponds with the SORM website design and mission of single point of access to government information and services that is private, secure, convenient, efficient, customer service oriented, and accessible.
  2. The site’s content is appropriate with respect to the SORM mission and is not a:
  • Commercial site that charges a fee for products or services online;
  • Site that exhibits hate, bias, discrimination, pornography, libelous, or otherwise defamatory content;
  • Site belonging to or supporting a political affiliation; or,
  • Site that furthers the agenda of a political organization or candidate running for office.

SORM reserves the right to deny or remove links if it determines that a website contains misleading or unsubstantiated claims, conflicts with the SORM mission, or does not meet one or more of the criteria set forth above or set out below in the Requirements, numbers 1-4.

Requirements

To give superior customer service to citizens and businesses accessing governmental information and services through the SORM website, we require that external websites requesting a link on the SORM website meet the following requirements:

  1. The linked site must provide the user with an e-mail address and/or a customer service telephone number on every page of the site, in order for users to contact the site if there are problems with format, accuracy, timeliness, or payment processing.
  2. When the user clicks on the external website link, he/she must have easy access back to the SORM website. One of two options can accomplish this: A link to the SORM website can be established on the external website’s main page; or the “Back” button returns the user to the SORM website.
  3. Linked sites must have a privacy and security policy accessible from their home page informing the user of what information is collected, how it is collected, how it is used, and how the user can review and correct the information.
  4. Linked sites must comply with accepted standards as provided by the Worldwide Web Consortium to ensure that persons with disabilities may access these sites. Texas state agencies must follow the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §206 State Web Sites.

Removal Process

Links from the SORM website will be reviewed regularly and may be removed for the following reasons:

  • The link no longer points to the original information or resource to which it was intended to point;
  • The information pointed to by the link is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise violates the criteria and requirements set forth above in the sections titled Criteria and Requirements;
  • Access to the information has become difficult due to non-standard formatting, lengthy download times, or intrusive advertising;
  • The link is permanently unreachable or remains unavailable for a lengthy period, especially if we are unable to contact the site manager about the site’s status;
  • The external website fails to comply with the linking agreement, if any; and/or,
  • Customers of the externally linked site excessively burden the SORM website customer support function.