Although each collaboration site manages its own Web pages, with Fermilab's major role as a software provider (both data acquisition and infrastructure), Fermilab maintains a central WWW server providing access to much of the SDSS' online documentation. The WWW server is also used to bind project documentation from all sites.
As part of the SDSS infrastructure documentation, we maintain an introductory section that is directed at people new to the project, providing such information as the goals/overview of the project, and tutorial sections to help one become familiar with the SDSS software.
Information about what's new in the Survey is posted here. The survey is currently gathering test data and commissioning its instruments. Scientists at the observatories post news on the Web, where it is available to the collaboration.
We also use the Web to provide services to our observers. We have the Guide Star Catalog (GSC) available on the Web. It may be queried using an HTML form to produce finding charts.
Through our central server we also maintain several lists. Names, mail addresses and phone numbers of all the collaborators and their associated institutions are accessible through the server. Additionally, SDSS network cluster information and mail alias lists are available.
Although the SDSS Web pages are hierarchically oriented, some users prefer a flat listing of available topics for quicker maneuvering through the Web. For this reason, an index of top-level documentation is automatically generated from selected HTML documents.
Of course, certain documentation is sensitive in nature and is made unavailable to the Internet public via standard WWW server access protection mechanisms. Although we utilize these protections, we maintain the attitude that diligent hackers may still be able to penetrate, and as such, any extremely sensitive material should not be placed on the Web.