vague idea for an accessibility focused webring-type-thing?

[pinkvampyr]

So in the middle of the night when I was trying to sleep (adjusting my sleep meds haha) I came up with this idea but I'm not sure what to do with it.

See, something that's always kind of bothered me ever since I joined the indie web/web revival/whatever you want to call it. Lots of websites want to achieve that old web feel (which is perfectly okay!) but as a result leave accessibility by the wayside. Flashing images and text that are potentially migraine or seizure inducing, leetspeak that is impossible to parse for screenreaders, image heavy sites without any alt text, etc. I think I saw someone here say that they know someone who couldn't really participate in the web revival because of it.

So I got to thinking, what I made a webring (or maybe something like a webring?) of people who try to keep their sites accessible. The members list could even have tags for what accessibility practices people are using on their sites, a tag for people who use no flashing images, a tag for people who use flashing images but have a warning beforehand, tags for people who's sites are screen reader friendly etc. That way people with different needs will be able to find websites that suit those needs.

I don't know if it should be a webring though because I want people to be able to check out the sites before they randomly pick one, maybe there would just be a button people agree to put on their site that links back to the page? I don't know but if anyone has any ideas I'd appreciate it!

[starbreaker]

I don't know if it should be a webring though because I want people to be able to check out the sites before they randomly pick one, maybe there would just be a button people agree to put on their site that links back to the page? I don't know but if anyone has any ideas I'd appreciate it!

It sounds to me like a human-curated web directory might be better suited to what you have in mind. Not that webrings can't be curated, too, but if you want people to be able to check them out instead of being sent to random sites, a directory is probably a better choice.

I know of a bunch for minimalist design and lightweight sites like these:

- 1mb.club
- 512kb.club
- 250kb.club
- no-js.club
- no-css.club
- xhtml.club

a directory for sites aiming for better accessibility would fit right on and I'd be happy to be part of it.

[pinkvampyr]

It sounds to me like a human-curated web directory might be better suited to what you have in mind. Not that webrings can't be curated, too, but if you want people to be able to check them out instead of being sent to random sites, a directory is probably a better choice.

I know of a bunch for minimalist design and lightweight sites like these:

- 1mb.club
- 512kb.club
- 250kb.club
- no-js.club
- no-css.club
- xhtml.club

a directory for sites aiming for better accessibility would fit right on and I'd be happy to be part of it.

Okay yes i was wondering if directory was a better word for it. I definitely want to do more that just provide a list of websites though, maybe it's a bit ambitious for a baby coder like me to do all alone but I want to make something useful.

[starbreaker]

Okay yes i was wondering if directory was a better word for it. I definitely want to do more that just provide a list of websites though, maybe it's a bit ambitious for a baby coder like me to do all alone but I want to make something useful.

It might not be that ambitious if you break down the structure. Something like this might work, at least to start.

• index
• foo.org (screenreader-friendly, no flashing)
• bar.org (screenreader-friendly, provides flashing content warning
• baz.org (screenreader-friendly)
• about
• contact

So you'd have three main pages: index, about, and contact. Index would provide a brief introduction and a list of sites. Each site would have its own page describing the site and how its operator works to improve their site's accessibility.

Hope this helps.

[pinkvampyr]

It might not be that ambitious if you break down the structure. Something like this might work, at least to start.

• index
• foo.org (screenreader-friendly, no flashing)
• bar.org (screenreader-friendly, provides flashing content warning
• baz.org (screenreader-friendly)
• about
• contact

So you'd have three main pages: index, about, and contact. Index would provide a brief introduction and a list of sites. Each site would have its own page describing the site and how its operator works to improve their site's accessibility.

Hope this helps.

yeah this is a good place to start! i was thinking of incorporating a filter/tags element but i guess right now I can start with this!

[starbreaker]

yeah this is a good place to start! i was thinking of incorporating a filter/tags element but i guess right now I can start with this!

If it gets big enough you can always add in filters and tags later, especially if the project takes off and you end up with volunteers willing to help you maintain the site.

Since you called yourself a "baby coder" I'm not going to go into detail about how I build my site, but every page is built from a text file. I build my index from these text files as well, extracting data to create a tab-separated file and then running that file through other tools to build various indexes. I also build RSS feeds from my source text files, too.

[pinkvampyr]

If it gets big enough you can always add in filters and tags later, especially if the project takes off and you end up with volunteers willing to help you maintain the site.

you're right, thank you for the advice!

[starbreaker]

you're right, thank you for the advice!

You're welcome, and good luck.

[AutisticAsFxxk]

I love this idea!

I agree with what you said about many old web inspired websites leaving accessibility by the wayside. That always bothered me too.

Would love to be part of your webring/directory if you decide to make it!

[pinkvampyr]

I love this idea!

I agree with what you said about many old web inspired websites leaving accessibility by the wayside. That always bothered me too.

Would love to be part of your webring/directory if you decide to make it!

working on it as we speak 👍