THE CRITERIA

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INTRODUCTION

Thank you for your interest in the MOON AWARD Program.

Every award program sets forth criteria by which they judge or evaluate websites. If they did not do so, the award would just be given to any site that applies; a give-away award without much meaning. The MOON AWARD Program has such criteria.

Each webmaster is quite rightly proud of his or her web site. I know the hard work and devotion needed to create a web site and I am pleased by your efforts. I am also honored and proud to review your site. Do not look upon the criteria as a rigid set of regulations. They are meant as a guide or common ground for both the applicant and the evaluator.

Read the criteria and take the self-test. If you then determine that your website meets the requirements, you should go to the application form.

Not qualifying does not mean that your site is not a good one. It could be a very beautiful and informative site, but it just does not meet our criteria. You are free to change something on your site and then apply. But you are not required to do so. Never change your site because of the criteria of any award program simply to qualify for that award. The site is your own creation, your own style. I respect that.

If you need help or support for your web site, please do not hesitate to let me know. You can send an e-mail to me or use the form on the page of the MOON AWARD News I will be glad to help if I can.

Should your site be disqualified you may re-apply after making changes to the site and waiting three months. Similarly, should you win one of the lower level awards, Cum Laude, Bronze or Silver, you may reapply after updating the site and waiting three months.

Now let's turn to the criteria.

FUNDAMENTAL

We enjoy to get applications for websites in

  German,

  English or

   French language.

We respect COPPA to protect children's privacy and safety online. Therefore a webmaster must have reached the age of 16 to apply for the MOON AWARD.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COPPA - the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

computer kid COPPA - the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, effective April 21, 2000, applies to the online collection of personal information from children under 13. The new rules spell out what a Web site operator must include in a privacy policy, when and how to seek verifiable consent from a parent and what responsibilities an operator has to protect children's privacy and safety online.

The Federal Trade Commission staff prepared this guide to help you comply with the new requirements for protecting children's privacy online and understand the FTC's enforcement authority.
COPPA applies to a variety of Web sites and services with content that may appeal to children. "In determining whether a Web site is directed toward children, the FTC will consider, among other things, the site's content, language, advertising and intended audience, as well as the use of child-oriented graphics or features," Anthony Marks and Keith Klein noted in the Los Angeles Business Journal.

But the law also affects general interest sites that collect information from children, whether the site's operators intend to do so or not. "The arm of COPPA is very long because it also applies to general audience Web sites that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information from children," Robert Carson Godbey wrote in Hawaii Business.

"You can easily, and inadvertently, fall into this category. If you invite browsers of your Web site to submit individually identifiable information — which can include name, address, e-mail address, hobbies, interests, information collected through cookies, basically anything that can be individually identified to the person responding, for a variety of reasons, and that information includes age — then you may have 'actual knowledge' that you have collected personal information from children if anyone under 13 responds to your invitation."

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