If you want to go to Los Alamos National Laboratory's web site, you soon might need to type "lanl.energy.gov" instead of the long-used "www.lanl.gov" domain. That is only one of a host of changes contemplated in a draft communications strategy now being circulated by the Department of Energy. (See here for the plan in all 24 pages of its regulatory glory.)

The goal, according to the proposed directive is to "establish and maintain consistency of communications products throughout the U.S. Department of Energy complex."

Here's my favorite bit:

Each entity must include the Department of Energy logo in the top section of website as part of the standard formatting of all pages, with the seal portion of the logo being no smaller than 40 pixels in diameter and at a level even with or above the logo of the laboratory. The DOE logo must be an active link to www.energy.gov.

Heaven forbid that the lab's logo might be higher than the DOE's. Wouldn't want that sort of branding!

Wait, no here's my favorite bit (so much to choose from!)

To ensure high visibility and uncluttered presentation, always maintain clear space around the DOE logo. To determine the clear space, measure the width of the "E" on all sides. The clear space will change depending on the size of the logo.

I swear I am not making this up.

There's a lot of discussion of "text-based co-brand form" for written communication and a scheme that looks to me like it will require a whole bunch of signs to be changed:

Signs at facility entrances, the primary administration building and major research or user facilities must include the DOE logo with no text-based co-brand below or next to the DOE logo. Signs may include text referencing the single prime operating contractor of the facility, in the form of the DOE affiliation text line.

Years ago, the Department of Energy hired a consultant to study personnel and management issues. Among many problems, the consultant concluded that DOE simply had too many people trying to manage the nuclear weapons complex. If a manager doesn't have something to do, the report concluded, they'll find something to do. In the process, they end up creating work for others within the weapons complex to do in order to respond to the new thing they just thought up.

'Nuff said. (hat tip the LANL blog)