34aec9e1cf9e55e0f674234e490eaa596472081a
lrnassar
  Thu Jul 30 18:06:05 2026 -0700
Adding unique track labels as a public hub requirement. refs #37922

Every track needs a shortLabel and longLabel that distinguish it from the other
tracks in the hub. This was already how we reviewed public hub submissions, but it
was not written down anywhere on the guidelines page, which previously only carried
the shortLabel length recommendation.

Notes that a metadata table on a composite configuration page does not satisfy this,
since those values are not displayed anywhere outside that page. Came up on the
Sci-ModoM submission, where 161 subtracks shared 8 shortLabels and 33 longLabels.

diff --git src/hg/htdocs/goldenPath/help/publicHubGuidelines.html src/hg/htdocs/goldenPath/help/publicHubGuidelines.html
index a7c9d02c6af..c1315a4cd41 100755
--- src/hg/htdocs/goldenPath/help/publicHubGuidelines.html
+++ src/hg/htdocs/goldenPath/help/publicHubGuidelines.html
@@ -42,30 +42,40 @@
 <p style="text-indent: 20px"><b>Required for both track and assembly hubs:</b></p>
 <ul>
  <li>You MUST have a description page for every configuration page (composite, superTrack or stand
      alone track). Note that multiple tracks and/or composites can use the same description page
      with the <a target="_blank" href="trackDb/trackDbHub.html#html">"html" setting</a>. You can
      find more information on creating track description pages in the
      <a href="#recommendedGuidelines">recommendations</a> section below.
  </li>
  <li>All of your description pages MUST have a contact email address prominently displayed.
  </li>
  <li>At least one track should have a <a target="_blank"
      href="trackDb/trackDbHub.html#visibility">visibility</a> set to display (in full, pack, 
      squish, or dense), and try to have no more than 10 tracks enabled by default upon first 
      connecting your hub.
  </li>
+ <li>Every track MUST have a <a target="_blank"
+     href="trackDb/trackDbHub.html#shortLabel">shortLabel</a> and
+     <a target="_blank" href="trackDb/trackDbHub.html#longLabel">longLabel</a> that tell it apart
+     from the other tracks in your hub. Labels are how a user identifies a track in the browser
+     image, in the track list, and in the Table Browser, so tracks that share a label cannot be
+     distinguished in any of those places. If your hub contains many similar tracks, include
+     whatever varies between them, such as the sample, tissue, condition or replicate, in the
+     label. Note that listing those values in a metadata table on a composite configuration page
+     does not satisfy this, because they are not shown anywhere outside that page.
+ </li>
  <li>Have a descriptionUrl html page specified in your hub.txt. This should be a URL to a description
      page for your entire hub, often public hubs will link to a full-text paper or to their
      laboratory webpage that describes the research presented in the hub. These links are presented
      on the Public Hubs page as a hyperlink on the longLabel presented in the hub.txt, while the
      shortLabel is a hyperlink to the hub.txt location.
  </li>
 </ul>
 
 <p style="text-indent: 20px"><b>Required for only assembly hubs:</b></p>
 <ul>
  <li>Add a gateway page for each assembly by having a htmlPath line for each genome not already
      hosted by UCSC in the <a target="_blank"
      href="assemblyHubHelp.html#genomesTxt">genomes.txt</a>.
  </li>
  <li>The following settings should properly be set in your genomes.txt (The last 3 settings will make