Balisage 2008
Instructions for Authors

The Tag Set schemas

The Balisage Tag Set is available in DTD, XSD, and RNG forms. All forms of the Tag Set constraints are equivalent. If you have questions about the tag set or how to tag Balisage papers please let us know. Suggestions for improvements are also welcome, of course!

• Balisage Tag Set
  • DTD
  • XSD (W3C XML Schema version)
  • RNG (RELAX NG version)
• Balisage Tag Set Documentation
  • On-line Browsable Balisage Tag Set Documentation
  • Downloadable Balisage Tag Set Documentation (a zipped folder containing HTML pages - start with index.html)
• DRAFT XSLT stylesheets for formatting and displaying Balisage papers.
  • the complete package of stylesheets, including the DocBook distribution and the Balisage add-in.
  • the Balisage add-in to the DocBook stylesheet distribution, for users who already have the full set of DocBook stylesheets.
  • Both of these stylesheet distributions include a "readme.txt" which users are encouraged to read before tangling with the stylesheets.

All papers must be prepared in XML using the Balisage Tag Set, which is a very small subset of DocBook V5, and submitted using the explicit file naming conventions listed below. Please cite your file name (which is also your tracking code) in all correspondence about the paper. (See file naming below.)

Please ensure your paper is valid according to one of these schemas before you send it to us. Submissions that are not valid XML:

• Reflect poorly on the author, suggesting lack of understanding or care;
• Irritate the conference committee; and
• May be returned to the author for cleanup.

If you have trouble downloading a schema, let us know and we’ll email it to you (let us know which one you want). If you are unable to create your paper in XML, please send e-mail and we will try to find someone to assist you.

Note: This Tag Set was developed from DocBook V5 because the conference committee believes that DocBook is as well known as any tag set in our user community, and it is as small a subset as we could make it, with the intention that it be as easy to use as possible. This tag set is not the same as those used for any other conference - please do not send your paper marked up with another tag set. (Those may be better in many ways, but we have the infrastructure to deal with papers using this tag set.)

File Naming

Please send the text of your paper in a file named Bal2008XXXXMMDD.xml where

For example, if your name is George Washington and you were born on July 4, and you send an XML Balisage paper, your filename is Bal2008wash0704.xml.

Any graphics should be named Bal2008XXXXMMDDNN.YYY where NN is a two-digit number, and YYY indicates the format of the graphic: .jpg for jpeg images, .png for PNG images. A zipped file containing all of your text and images should be named Bal2008XXXXMMDD.ZIP.

If you cannot accommodate these file naming conventions, please contact us and we’ll work something out.

Compression

We would prefer that all files of a submission were zipped (using a PKZIP-compatible compression utility) into one file. Name it Bal2008XXXXMMDD.ZIP. If you cannot do that, we'd like each file zipped. Please do not send unzipped submissions; there are many ways in which email applications can "enhance" unzipped XML files, and sorting out the mess is time consuming.

If it is impossible for you to send zipfiles for any reason, please contact us at info@balisage.net BEFORE the submission deadline.

Delivery And Receipts

Deliver your paper via email to info@balisage.net When we receive your paper we will acknowledge it through e-mail, within one business day. If you do not receive such acknowledgment please assume your paper has gone astray and re-send or call us.

Questions/Problems

If you have any questions on any of the above, or any problem creating your paper, please send e-mail or call Debbie Lapeyre (+1 301/315-9633) or Tommie Usdin (+1 301/315-9634).