I knew I was entering an arena that some English department faculty members find "unnecessary" and "useless" as a composition tool. However, with a little persuasion, the majority of faculty members agreed upon creating an OWL, probably not really knowing the details. So, with this major step in the bureaucratic process completed, I felt as if the hardest part had been accomplished and the easy part was to come. However, I was wrong as I was ignorant of the control issues, suspiciously disguised as "security reasons," that govern public computing services, such as university computing. Because our university does not permit individual departments to own servers, all university links to the Internet must be serviced through Academic Computing. I realize that not all departments have this formality; however, in support of those who do, this e-text should serve as a how-to guide for creating an OWL.