Identify needed updates to references linked to from the 18F Method cards

[MelissaBraxton]

background
Many of the Method cards references haven't been updated for several years.cThere may be better, more current references we can point folks to. This issue covers ensuring that each method links to references that are not outdated.

The scope of this issue is identifying which links are outdated or broken, finding alternative up to date references, removing the old links and adding the new links, and identifying which links point to an external source (and thus need to be identified as external links per GSA IT guidance). The work of applying the external link styling is covered in #297.

acceptance criteria

• No cards have broken references
• No cards have references older than 2016
• References/links are compliant with GSA IT requirements re: endorsement

tasks

• Review Method cards and identify links to dated references.
• Review GSA IT site requirements and get clear on criteria for references linked to from the 18F methods (i.e., requirement to not endorse
• Find alternative up-to-date refs to replace old ones
• Implement new refs

[MelissaBraxton]

Let's prioritize #306 as the first part of this.

[bpdesigns]

relates to #578

[MelissaBraxton]

I created an inventory of links here.

[MelissaBraxton]

On reviewing policy here, it looks like we can continue to link to non gov sites, but we will need to make sure we are identifying them as external links and that we can also point to where we "clearly state that the content of external links to non-federal agency websites is not endorsed by the federal government and is not subject to federal information quality, privacy, security, and related guidelines."

With this in mind, we still want to identify old/outdated references and provide up-to-date alternatives, and we also want to ID which links will need the external link format.

[MelissaBraxton]

Revised the acceptance criteria, removing adding up to date references. We'll create a separate issue for that.

[claireb-gsa]

I've done a pass through all the cards and links, and the results of the audit are here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WNDdKOug82l76he-4F2iqNebBhBU-zsVuS4h61Wq_FY/edit?usp=sharing

To address the needs of this ticket, it identifies

• links that should be kept, updated, and deleted
• suggestions of potential sites to add
• updates to the text of links to create a consistent approach and style

I think talking through these changes as a group would be helpful to ensure quality of the result.

Related issue

• The standard footer includes a link to "Privacy policy", which goes to GSA's website policies page. This page includes the Disclaimer of endorsement, which seems helpful for contextualizing what we're saying about our external links - but I don't think couching it under "Privacy" makes it clear what's there.
  • since Privacy is required link, can we add one for more general policies?
  • change the privacy link to https://www.gsa.gov/website-information/website-policies#privacy?

[MelissaBraxton]

Awesome! Thanks, @claireb-gsa. I added this to our co-working agenda for tomorrow.

[MelissaBraxton]

I revised the title of this issue to reflect that it's about recommending the updates, but not implementing them. Implementation will be covered in a follow on issue, if not #579.

[claireb-gsa]

Based on our conversation Jan10/23, we will be more conservative with links to outside references - eliminating all links that could constitute endorsement, so content provided by companies with something to sell.

Between this and eliminating references that are out of date, some cards will no longer have external references - these will be prioritized for 18F content.

Audit spreadsheet

This ticket is ready to move to implementation.

[bpdesigns]

nvm