I was prompted to write this after reading this blog post by PunkWasp, as well as this one by KaleChips. To a certain degree, this will be reiterating a lot of what they said, so definitely go give those a read. I also want to preface this by saying that I believe the vast majority of people on the indie web whose sites are inaccessible aren’t doing so out of malice or with the intent to exclude people with disabilities. Many people just want to use their websites as an expressive outlet without caring what others think, and I completely respect that. Still, I think it's important for people to realize how vital it is for the indie web to be truly free, and that needs to include people with disabilities.

So, when I first joined the indie web community on Neocities, it was really exciting to see all these websites that people had clearly poured their heart and soul into making. I looked at every website on the browse page that seemed interesting and admired people's hard work, all the while making mental notes for how I wanted my own website to look someday. And then I came across something…unpleasant. I eagerly opened up someone's website (one with tons of views), completely unsuspectingly, only to be met with a barrage of flashing and quickly moving images that took up the entire screen. It was incredibly jarring and sudden, with absolutely no warning given. After a minute of trying to navigate the website, I decided to close it. I had the same issue pop up with some other sites as well.

Now, fortunately, I’m not someone with extreme photosensitivity. I don't experience seizures or migraines, although my eyes did kind of hurt and I had a bit of a headache after looking at some of those sites. Regardless, I couldn't help but be shocked at the complete lack of care taken, as well as the subsequent deletion of a comment I left on the site's profile politely suggesting they put up a warning at the start of their site for flashing images. I could see that the site was clearly someone's art project, but to not have a warning or even a friendly heads-up up front seemed incredibly irresponsible to me.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg. I started to notice a pattern among the websites around Neocities that I looked at. Flashing images everywhere, buttons that read "NEVER mobile friendly" or "just use a computer!", people writing in leetspeak or like Homestuck characters. If you took a look at someone's code, there was a pretty good chance there wouldn't be a semantic element in sight, and hardly any alt text. So yeah, it was pretty clear to me, even as a newbie, that Neocities and the indie web, by extension, had an accessibility problem.

Now, a lot of this can, of course, be explained by people not knowing much about accessibility, being self-taught, or learning from other indie web users. Others may feel that doing things the "wrong way" is their way of rebelling against the new and embracing the old. "Web revival," at its core, essentially meant bringing back the old web, right? Except... who gets to participate in the web revival and the indie web as a whole? Is it only for people who can look at flashing images without having a seizure? Is it only for people who don't have to use a screen reader? Is it only for people who don't need to use touch screen devices to navigate the internet? I know that's not what people are intentionally saying when they make their websites inaccessible, but it's the message they're sending nonetheless.

I think people have this idea that in order for a website to be accessible that it has to be uniform, that it has to look look modern and minimalist, that their site can't be unique or have a “retro” look, but that's not true at all. Very little about accessibility is actually about changing how your website looks, although if you're not willing to give up your brightly flashing backgrounds for the sake of your “aesthetic” even if it could literally mean putting someone in the hospital, I don't know what to say other than “What the fuck.” Sorry. But not really.

For my own part, I’m trying to put my money where my mouth is. I recently made my own site responsive and mobile friendly, and frankly? Despite how many people will go down kicking and screaming before they attempt to do the same, it wasn't all that hard. At the very least, it wasn't any harder than making my website in the first place, and it wasn't so hard that it wasn't worth the effort, which it is. It is worth making the effort. I can say my website is for me, a way to express myself visually, but the moment I put my website out into the world was the moment I had to take responsibility for the people who would be looking at my website.

For anyone reading this who doesn't know, I’m currently working on a project called the Accessible Net Directory. It's pretty much what it says on the tin, it's going to be a web directory for websites that are striving to make the indie web and the web revival more accessible. I want to provide information, I want to give resources, and most importantly I want to give people a chance to improve. My hope is to make it into an alternative directory to the one on Neocities, one that will hopefully give disabled people some more autonomy and not have to worry so much about finding websites that meet their needs.

I know it's an ambitious project…it would need a lot of people to want to join and start improving their website’s accessibility to work, so I guess I’m largely relying on human kindness and willingness to learn, as well as my own ability to teach people about accessibility. It’s a little daunting considering I’m so new to website making, and I’m on my own accessibility journey to boot. Plus it's my first time ever doing anything like this. If I even make a dent in the indie web's accessibility problem I’ll be grateful.

I don't really know how to end this. Be kind, be considerate of others, and if you need help on the road to making an accessible website you can reach out to me and/or keep an eye out for further updates on Accessible Net which should(?) be up soon. I’m currently compiling resources so it's coming together.