Building the ICF Website or

“The Three Faces of Eve”

14th Technical Exchange Conference

Holly Crawford, Associate Dean

Rutgers School of Engineering

Joanne Woodward won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Eve, a young Georgia housewife suffering from multiple personalities. Eve's husband (David Wayne), confused by his wife's aberrant behavior when assuming her two "other selves," seeks out help from a psychiatrist (Lee J. Cobb). Carefully probing Eve's subconscious via hypnosis, the doctor finds out that, though each of Eve's personalities is aware of the other's existence, none are related. After months of therapy, Eve is purged of her negative selves and is totally cured.

The ICF essentially has three faces, one for regulators, one for the public and one for its members. On face value, the three faces may not appear to be related; however, elements of each provide the synergy that underscores ICF’s mission. The difficulty in designing an ICF website is to ensure that each face speaks to its intended audience without compromising the proprietary aspects of ICF members or without showcasing one specific crystal company. In short, we must focus on the positive, protect ICF integrity, maintain neutrality and provide diverse information to diverse stakeholders in a unified manner—an online gateway is the cure!

So, what does the movie reference mean?

Back Story: One Year AgoICF did not possess website; information exchanged formally at annual technical conference, informally at table top shows (New York, Frankfurt) or via e-mail, telephone, fax; information disseminated to regulators via hearings or via release of technical papers; no “real” public presenceMembers of ICF Executive Committee held many important documents Meeting minutes Technical proprietary/non-proprietary papers Correspondence with regulators and/or standards

organizations such as ISO

Back Story: One Year Ago

ICF needed to appear more proactive vis a vis information dissemination especially to regulatory bodies and to the public Lead reduction issues (e.g. California, EU, FDA) Educating the public on care and use of crystal products Educating the “middleman” (e.g. “care and use”, required

“warning labels”) Contact us (e.g. one controlled contact point such as ICF

board member or ICF legal representative)

Back Story: One Year Ago

Why delay an “online” presence? Security concerns:

What content should a website contain? Who controls that content? (e.g. proprietary Who has access to that content? Where should an ICF website reside?

How does the public figure into the calculus?: How can we educate the public without making them fearful of

crystal? Do we want the public to be linked to member websites? What contact information for the ICF should the public have?

Back Story: One Year Ago

Why delay an “online” presence? Economics

Should a specific crystal manufacturer host the website? How can the content, specifically images, remain neutral? Who will build the site and who will maintain it?

Clarification of ICF information dissemination goals Regulator access to ICF data—how much and in what form? Technical data versus art (e.g. history, tradition, organizational

memory) Education (e.g. public, middlemen, regulators) Will the online presence come in conflict with the ICF mission? Should their be an external mission statement?

Current StoryboardICF executive committee determined that a web gateway is needed to satisfy information needs of diverse stakeholders (Spring 2002)Gateway based at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Why? Ceramic Engineering Department 100 years old,

U.S. leader in glass research University is neutral territory—doesn’t favor one

crystal manufacturer over another Credibility with the public and regulators IT expertise; public service; cost-effective

Current StoryboardEssential web architecture completeICF-specific server configured ($20K Sun Microsystem—running UNIX/Solaris 2.8)Gateway currently running on Rutgers School of Engineering server—usability testing, ICF member review, protected from “world”). When completed and approved by ICF members, gateway will be moved to ICF-specific server that utilizes URL http://icf.rutgers.eduAll content provided by ICF to date is loaded into gateway

Security

Some ICF technical information is proprietary and potentially controversial

The only way to ensure computer security is to never “plug into” the web

But, there are measures that can be employed to make a website as secure as possible

Security

With regard to the ICF web gateway, we have employed the following measures: Encrypted passwords based on PGP protocols Logins/passwords assigned to “vetted” ICF

members Member database written in SQL (robust, stable,

most compatible/flexible with regard to security protocols

Firewalls 7/24 server monitoring/logging (“Tripwire”)

Should the Following Be Incorporated?

Should the ICF increase its public presence? Should there be links to ICF-member websites?History of lead crystal—generalized by manufacturing process or specific to the history of each ICF member company?ICF member newsletter—monthly, biannually (target audience? ICF members only, ICF members plus middlemen, and/or regulators?)

Documenting the History of Crystal Manufacturing: From Raw Materials to Finished Product

What Remains to Be Done?Digitize and classify all ICF technical

presentations (J. Kennedy to provide documents)Determine which Complete classification schemeGet names/contact information of ICF members who will have access to gatewayLoad names into SQL database/generate encrypted passwordsObtain and post more “neutral” imagesLink web bulletin boards to website