This site may look bare-bones on the surface, but I put much thought into it. I hold myself to a long list of requirements. I make mistakes; if part of my site violates these standards, please contact me!
I hold seirdy.one to the highest accessibility standards possible. For more information about seirdy.one's accessibility-related work, read {{<mention-workitemtype="BlogPosting">}}{{<cited-workurl="https://seirdy.one/posts/2020/11/23/website-best-practices/"name="Best practices for inclusive textual websites"extraName="headline">}}{{</mention-work>}}.
The [Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (<abbr>WCAG</abbr>)](https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. I make seirdy.one **fully conformant with <abbr>WCAG</abbr> 2.2 level AA.**
: <abbr>SC</abbr> 2.4.9 conformance is a work in progress. Let me know if any link names need improvement! Link purpose _in context_ always makes sense.
I have only tested <abbr>WCAG</abbr> compliance in mainstream browser engines (Blink, Gecko, WebKit). For full details on how I meet every <abbr>WCAG</abbr> success criterion, read <cite>[Details on <abbr>WCAG</abbr> 2.2 conformance]({{<relref"/meta/wcag-conformance.md">}})</cite>.
- Rather than follow <abbr>SC</abbr> 2.5.5's advice to achieve a minimum tap target size of 44 by 44 pixels, I follow Google's more strict guidelines. These guidelines mandate target sizes of at least 48-by-48 pixels, with no overlap against any other targets in a 56-by-56 pixel range. I follow this guideline for any interactive element _except_ inline hyperlinks surrounded by non-interactive text.
- I ensure at least one such 56-by-56 px non-interactive region exists on the page, for users with hand tremors or anyone who wants to tap the screen without clicking something.
- Except for text borders, I only set custom colors in response to the `prefers-color-scheme: dark` media query. These custom colors have an Advanced Perceptual Contrast Algorithm (<abbr>APCA</abbr>) lightness contrast close to the ideal value of 90. I use autism- and overstimulation-friendly colors: the yellow links have low saturation to reduce harshness.
- I ensure narrow viewports don't cause two-dimensional scrolling. I test this at widths narrower than 200 CSS pixels; this is much stricter than the <abbr>WCAG</abbr> threshold values.
WAVE reports no errors. AXE sometimes fails to measure contrast, but otherwise reports no errors. IBM Equal Access reports no errors, and finds some items which need manual review.
I run axe-core, the IBM Equal Access Accessibility Checker, the Nu HTML Checker (local build, latest commit of the validator and its CSS-Validator submodule), and webhint on every page in my sitemap. After filtering out false-positives (and reporting them upstream), I receive no errors. I repeat this run with every change to my Hugo templates and stylesheets.
<deldatetime="2024-04-22">To work around [issue 1008 in IBM Equal Access Checker](https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/issues/1008), I remove all instances of `content-visibility` from my site's CSS before running `achecker` from the command line</del>. <insdatetime="2024-04-22">Update: the issue has been resolved</ins>
This website uses well structured, semantic, [polygot XHTML5](https://www.w3.org/TR/html-polyglot/) (including [WAI-ARIA](https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/aria/) and [DPUB-ARIA](https://www.w3.org/TR/dpub-aria-1.1/) extensions where appropriate), enhanced with CSS for styling.
This website conforms to Web standards. Each build runs `xmllint` to catch syntax errors. Every few commits, I run a local build of [the Nu HTML Checker](https://github.com/validator/validator) and [html proofer](https://github.com/gjtorikian/html-proofer) across all 200-something pages in my sitemap, and see no errors. I do [filter out false Nu positives](https://git.sr.ht/~seirdy/seirdy.one/tree/master/item/linter-configs/vnu_filter.jq), and I [report and fix false-positives](https://github.com/w3c/css-validator/issues?q=author%3ASeirdy) when possible. See [my docs for building and validating this site]({{<relref "/meta/build-this-site.md">}}) for more information.
This website does **not** rely on modern development practices such as CSS Grid, Flexbox, SVG 2, Web fonts, and JavaScript; this improves support in older browsers such as Internet Explorer 11. Users can access this site without extra plug-ins or polyfills. The site does use strictly-optional modern features (e.g. CSS containment) that don't create significant visual differences.
I also perform cross-browser testing for HTML [and XHTML versions](#markup) of my pages. I test with, but [do not necessarily endorse]({{<relref "/notes/pale-moon.md">}}), a large variety of browsers:
: My Tor hidden service also works well with the Tor Browser, except for [a page containing an `<audio>` element](http://wgq3bd2kqoybhstp77i3wrzbfnsyd27wt34psaja4grqiezqircorkyd.onion/posts/2022/07/01/experiment-copilot-legality/). The `<audio>` element appears non-interactive in the Tor Browser due to a bug involving NoScript and Firefox's handling of [the `sandbox` Content Security Policy <abbr>CSP</abbr> directive](https://www.w3.org/TR/CSP3/#directive-sandbox). To work around the issue, I include link to download the audio.
: Pale Moon and recent versions of K-Meleon use Goanna, a single-process fork of Firefox's Gecko engine. Ultralight is a proprietary, source-available fork of WebKit focused on lightweight embedded webviews. My site works in these engines without any noticeable issues.
: I test compatibility with current alternative engines: Ladybird (the SerenityOS browser), Servo, NetSurf, Kristall, and litehtml. I have excellent compatibility with litehtml, Ladybird, and Servo. The site is usable in NetSurf. litehtml and NetSurf do not support `<details>`, but remain usable. ~~[The SerenityOS browser lacks ECDSA certificate support](https://github.com/SerenityOS/serenity/issues/14160), but the Tildeverse mirror works fine.~~<insitemprop="correction"itemscope=""itemtype="https://schema.org/CorrectionComment"cite="https://github.com/SerenityOS/serenity/commit/f9386737a631b5f3b7eb1920bd4440a2784359e9">Update <timeitemprop="datePublished">2024-01-30</time>: <spanitemprop="text">[SerenityOS LibTLS merged support for these ciphers in October 2023](https://github.com/SerenityOS/serenity/commit/f9386737a631b5f3b7eb1920bd4440a2784359e9), resolving this incompatibility</span></ins>.
: The site works well with textual browsers. All features except `<details>` work in Lynx and Links2. I include [felinks (an ELinks fork)](https://github.com/rkd77/elinks), edbrowse, and w3m in my tests. [w3m doesn't support soft hyphens](https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=830173), but the site is still otherwise usable in it. I support these engines by making CSS a strictly-optional progressive enhancement and by using semantic markup. I test with Edbrowse less often. No textual browser supports `<details>`.
: I occasionally test abandoned engines, sometimes with a TLS-terminating proxy if necessary. These engines include Tkhtml, KHTML, Dillo,[^1] Internet Explorer[^2] (with and without compatibility mode), Netscape Navigator, old Presto-based Opera versions,[^3] and outdated versions of current browsers. No abandoned engine supports `<details>`. I use Linux, but testing in Internet Explorer depends on my access to a Windows machine. Besides the `<details>` issues, the site works well in Internet Explorer 11 and Opera Presto. The site has layout issues but remains usable in Tkhtml, KHTML, and Netscape.
: WeasyPrint uses a custom browser engine optimized for print. I test a small selection of representative pages with it. Should I ever stumble across a VR headset, I'll be sure to test Wolvic too.
- Works without major issues in mainstream engines, the Tor browser's "Safest" mode (assuming use of the Onion service which does not use SVGs), Goanna, Ultralight, and WeasyPrint.[^4]
- Fully operable in Ladybird, textual browsers, litehtml, and NetSurf. Some issues (e.g. missing `<details>`) might make the experience unpleasant, but all major functions work. Ladybird only displays minor cosmetic issues in my stylesheet, none of which make any part of the site inoperable.[^5]
- Basic features in abandoned engines and Dillo. Some ancillary features may not work (e.g. forms for Webmentions and search), but users can browse and read.
I use machine-friendliness as an alternative perspective to traditional search-engine-optimization, the latter of which incentivizes low-quality content. It's a major part of what I've dubbed ["agent optimization"]({{<relref "notes/agent-optimization.md">}}).
This site is **parser-friendly.** It uses well-formed, semantic, polygot (X)HTML5 markup validated by [the Nu HTML checker and `xmllint`](#compatibility-statement).
All HTML pages have an XHTML5 counterpart; the `content-type` HTTP header is their sole difference. All pages parse correctly with all the XHTML parsers I tried. To see this counterpart, do one of the following:
- Add `index.xhtml` to the end of a URL
- Request a page with an `Accept` header containing `application/xhtml+xml`, but not `text/html`.
My markup includes structured data in four syntaxes, for four different vocabularies:
1. HTML classes convey **Microformats vocabulary** to provide IndieWeb compatibility. This improves Webmentions and enables VCard-generation.
2. Microdata syntax conveys **Schema.org vocabulary.** This enables many forms of content-extraction, performed by "reading mode" implementations and search engines.
I make Atom feeds available for articles and notes, and have a combined Atom feed for both. These feeds are enhanced with OStatus and Activity Streams XML namespaces.
The only article distillation algorithm I actively support is Readability; it powers Firefox and Vivaldi's reading-modes. Although Brave's reading-mode has multiple article-distillers, it's the sole distiller Brave uses on seirdy.one.
This site happens to distill well under Safari's Reader Mode and Microsoft's Azure Immersive Reader (<abbr>AIR</abbr>); the latter powers Microsoft Edge's reading-mode. <abbr>AIR's</abbr> stylesheet makes code figures difficult to read: it centers text in figures, included pre-formatted blocks. I filed an issue on the <abbr>AIR</abbr> feedback forum, but Microsoft later deleted that forum.
This site has poor compatibility with the Chromium DOM Distiller's flawed techniques. Regions with high link-densities, such as citations, get filtered out. DOM Distiller also removes footnotes, and sometimes [DPUB-ARIA](https://w3c.github.io/dpub-aria/) sections near the end of an article (acknowledgements, conclusions).
- Sending and receiving Webmentions. I receive Webmentions with [webmentiond](https://github.com/zerok/webmentiond), and send them from my own computer using [Pushl](https://github.com/PlaidWeb/Pushl/).
- Displaying Webmentions: I render backlinks, IndieWeb "likes" (not silo likes), and comments below posts. I model their appearance after Tumblr's display of interactions.
- Backfeeding content from silos: I'm only interested in backfilled content containing discussion, not "reactions" or "likes". Powered by [Bridgy](https://brid.gy/).
IndieWeb sites need not implement _every_ IndieWeb standard. Progressive enhancement and graceful degradation let me implement interesting features, and skip less interesting ones. Skipped features include:
- Authoring tools, in the form of protocols (MicroPub) or dynamic pages. I prefer writing posts in my `$EDITOR` and deploying with `git push`, letting a <abbr>CI</abbr> job build and deploy the site. I can participate in the IndieWeb and write code with the same tools; [I juggle enough already]({{<relref "/about/uses.md">}}).
- Full silo independence. My site provides a public, searchable, and _filtered_ view of myself. On other silos I might shitpost or post short-lived, disposable content. These public, but I want them to remain less prominent. I [<abbr>POSSE</abbr>](https://indieweb.org/POSSE) content to other places, but I don't exclusively use <abbrtitle="Publish on Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere">POSSE</abbr>.
- Sharing my "likes", "favorites", and "re-posts". I find these a bit too shallow for seirdy.one. I prefer "bookmarks" where I give editorialized descriptions of shared content. I'll confine likes and reposts to silos.
- Rich reply-contexts. I use quoted text to respond to specific snippets, and prefer that users follow links to see full reply contexts. Most of my replies respond to Fediverse posts; many people on the Fediverse feel aversion to content-scraping and archiving. For that reason: I limit reply-contexts to tiny excerpts, and ask for permission to <abbr>POSSE</abbr> replies to unlisted posts by `#nobot` accounts.
- Some sort of daemon to replace the Bridgy service. I don't plan to run my own Bridgy instance: Bridgy requires Python, but I prefer installing statically-linked native executables.
This site is **privacy-respecting.** Its <abbrtitle="Content Security Policy">CSP</abbr> blocks all scripts, third-parties, and other problematic features. For details on this site's privacy, [read the privacy policy](../privacy/).
[^1]: Although no official announcement of Dillo's demise exists, the browser's development halted years ago. The Dillo website's domain name expired, so [I mirrored the Dillo repository]({{<relref "/notes/dillo-repository-mirror.md">}}). The project has since been picked up by a different team that does not use the original Dillo domain, and [Dillo work continues on GitHub](https://dillo-browser.github.io/).
[^2]: [Internet Explorer's engine isn't abandoned]({{<relref "internet-explorer-is-almost-gone.md">}}). Microsoft discontinued the consumer version, but supports the browser for enterprise users. I used to have access to the latter; I now test with "Internet Explorer Mode" in Edge when I can access a Windows machine.
[^3]: Strictly speaking, Opera still supports Presto to a limited degree. Opera Mini's "Extreme" mode still uses a server-side Presto rendering engine; see {{<mention-workitemprop="citation"role="doc-credit"itemtype="Article">}}{{<cited-workname="Opera Browsers, Modes & Engines"url="https://dev.opera.com/articles/browsers-modes-engines/"extraName="headline">}}{{</mention-work>}}. That said, I do test with the outdated desktop Presto engine in a sandboxed environment.
[^4]: WeasyPrint doesn't support `details`, but I don't fully count this against my site's support for its engine because WeasyPrint targets non-interactive print media. Instead, I just ensure that the site makes sense in WeasyPrint without special `details` styling. Since my stylesheets define a border around `summary` and `details` elements, and since I they always start with the word "toggle", they mostly make sense even when not rendered with special builtin styles.
[^5]: Ladybird clips the superscripts I use for footnotes, rendering their text invisible but still clickable. They look like blank underlines with no text, but are still clickable and navigate to the appropriate footnote with a backlink. Borders around `<details>` are buggy. Everything otherwise works.
