Balisage 2010
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
Balisage Tag Set Documentation
- Online Browsable Balisage Tag Set Documentation
- Downloadable Balisage Tag Set Documentation (a zipped folder containing HTML pages - start with index.html)
XSLT stylesheets for formatting and displaying Balisage papers, including CSS and XSLT for authoring, as well as a Proceedings preview stylesheet.

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 email 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 Bal2010XXXXMMDD.xml where

Bal2010	Indicates that the submission is for Balisage 2010.
XXXX	Is the first four letters of your surname. If your surname is less than 4 letters, just use the complete surname.
MM	Is the two-digit number of the month of your birth (or of another significant date you will remember - we aren't trying to steal your identity; we are trying to create IDs).
DD	Is the two-digit day of your birth (or of another significant date you will remember - we aren't trying to steal your identity; we are trying to create IDs).

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 Bal2010wash0704.xml.

Any graphics should be named Bal2010XXXXMMDDNN.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 Bal2010XXXXMMDD.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 Bal2010XXXXMMDD.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 email, 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 email or call Debbie Lapeyre (+1 301/315-9633) or Tommie Usdin (+1 301/315-9634).

Publication Agreement and Copyright Release

Each author of each Balisage paper must sign the non-exclusive Balisage Publication Agreement (BalisagePublicationAgreement.pdf). Please print the form, fill in the blanks, sign it, and fax it to Mulberry at +1 301 315 8285. If it is not convenient for all authors to sign the same copy it is acceptable for there to be multiple forms for papers with multiple authors, as long as each author signs one copy of the release.

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Balisage 2010 Instructions for Authors