caption_guide.txt = Some thoughts on caption files for the gifmap images.

  The images making up this map show a wealth of physiographic details.
  I am soliciting information from net readers in the form of caption
  files, one file for each image that shows interesting topographic
  features.  Each caption file may be the work of one or more authors
  and may be added to over time.

  Below are some points to keep in mind.  I don't want to inhibit anyone's
  creativity so go ahead and use your own ideas even if they don't seem
  to fit the guidelines given here.

  * Download the latest caption file for the area of interest so you don't
    end up duplicating somebody else's effort.  You can just edit the
    downloaded copy of the caption file.  If no such caption file exists
    then make up your own.

  * Features described should be visible on the map.  This may not always
    be possible so don't feel too constrained by this guideline.  For
    example, the Trinity Site, the site of the first atomic bomb test near
    Soccoro New Mexico is not visible as a crater or anything like that,
    but its position in a relatively desolate area is still of interest.

  * Small features should be located using Latitude and Longitude.  The
    unlabeled tick marks on the map axes are spaced 10 arc minutes apart.

  * Large features may be located by their position in the image.  For
    example: The river valley that enters the image at the upper left
    corner is . . .

  * References to the colors of a feature should probably be avoided since
    future versions of the map will likely use different colors.

  * Areas of interest include geology, geography, history, resources,
    scenic areas, and so on.

  * Give lots of details.  Space is fairly cheap in the caption files.
    If they get too long they could always be compressed.

  * Use the standard terminolgy.  This applies mostly to geology, use
    geologic terms.  But for such terms that are not well known a brief
    definition would open up the caption to a wider audience with very
    little added effort.

  * Include references where appropriate.

  * Include your name, title, and address (email and regular) at the end of
    your contribution if you don't mind.  And a few brief biographical
    statements would be interesting.  Perhaps your signature file would
    be appropriate.  I want the caption authors to get full credit for their
    efforts.

  * Email the updated caption to me so I can place it in the ftp site.

  * Feel free to add to a caption file as often as you like.  It is not
    necessary to complete a caption file all at once, there are too
    many details in some of the images to expect that.  The caption
    files can be upgraded over time.

  * Multiple author captions should have the authors initials after each
    of their sections.  At the end of the file these initials should be
    defined.  Short comments by another author could be included at the
    desired point in the text in square bracketts with the authors initials.

  * Long captions files should have an overview section at the front which
    gives a brief description of the different regions visible in the image.
    Items to be discussed in more detail later should be followed by an
    asterisk in parentheses: (*).  For example:  The Potomac River (*) forms
    the boundary between Maryland and Virginia.  Then in a section below,
    under the heading Potomac River, would follow a more detail discussion
    of that river.  In some cases it may be useful to have a section on rivers,
    another on mountains, and so on.

  Ray Sterner                     sterner@tesla.jhuapl.edu 
  Johns Hopkins University        North latitude 39.16 degrees.
  Applied Physics Laboratory      West longitude 76.90 degrees.
  Laurel, MD 20723-6099