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The fix is in
We've all experienced problems with websites before. Sometimes it's a minor irritation that can be worked around, but sometimes it's a major obstacle with no solution. Leonie Watson thinks that a new initiative from Citizens Online called Fix The Web could be the answer we're looking for
Fix The Web is based on a remarkably simple idea: get everybody helping to make the web a better place. Ask people with disabilities to report the problems they have with websites, recruit a large number of volunteers who’ll get in touch with website owners, then bring the two together.
So how do you report a problem?
If you discover a problem accessing a website, it’s not always easy to get in touch with the website owner. Assuming you can find the right contact information, you may not be comfortable describing the problem or using technical language. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has published some excellent advice about contacting organisations with inaccessible websites, but Fix The Web aims to make it even easier.
There are three ways you can start reporting problems right now. You can send an email to post@fixtheweb.net, including the address of the website and a description of the problem. You can send a tweet containing #fixtheweb #fail, along with the address of the website and a brief description of the problem. You can go to the Fix The Web website and complete a very simple form.
What happens once you’ve reported a problem is it will be picked up by a Fix The Web volunteer, who will get in touch with the website owner on your behalf. At the time of writing there are more than 50 volunteers registered with Fix The Web, and more are joining every day.
The volunteers will alert the website owner to a reported problem. At the same time they will point to a range of resources on web accessibility, including information about the legal requirements for web accessibility in the UK.
One concern that has been levelled at Fix The Web is that volunteers may not have the knowledge to correctly assess and report problems. But Gail Bradbrook, the person behind Fix The Web, is confident that the volunteers will be able to handle things well. With partners such as AbilityNet and the Nominet Trust, Fix The Web certainly has a strong supporting cast.
Can we really fix the web?
Aiming to fix 250,000 websites in the first two years is an ambitious goal. Yet Fix The Web will harness one of the fastest growing innovations on the web: crowd sourcing. That’s you and I reporting problems as fast as we can find them, and a whole lot of volunteers contacting website owners to let them know. After all, if we all work together maybe we can fix the web between us?