harm reduction & the web
DESCRIPTION
My first exploration of bringing together the ideas of harm reduction and web development. This is still a work in progressTRANSCRIPT
A Values Based Approach to Making The Web
HARM REDUCTION & THE WEB
Serious & SensitiveNothing Ironic or Sarcastic
Genuine, Authentic
FIRST THINGS FIRST
WHAT IS HARM REDUCTION?
Principles and Values
Harm reduction is a pragmatic and humanistic approach to diminishing the
individual and social harms associated with drug use.
The defining features are the focus on the
prevention of harm, rather than on the prevention of drug use itself, and the focus
on people who continue to use drugs.
Compassionate pragmatism instead of moralistic idealism
UNDERSTANDING HARM REDUCTION
Targets Risks & Harms
Evidence Based & Cost Effective
Incremental
Dignity & Compassion
Universality & Interdependence of Rights
Challenges policies and practices that maximize harm
Harm reduction is about people
Harm reduction is user centric
WHAT IS HARM REDUCTION?
Obviously Bad Web Design isn’t Drug
Addiction
What can we learn from Harm Reduction?Can we achieve better outcomes by using
the principles of Harm Reduction?
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE WEB?
THE PROBLEMWhat Am I Trying To Solve?
What am I trying to solve?We’ve all had client
frustrations…We need to avoid us & them
interactionsIt is our professional
responsibility to achieve the best possible outcome
THE PROBLEM
Sometimes clients make bad decisions
THE REAL PROBLEM
theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell
Bit.ly/webhell
WHY ARE CLIENTS LIKE THAT?
Often, clients don’t understand the Web.
This means clients sometimes make bizzare requests…
WHEN CLIENTS ATTACK…
Client think we can do magic.
That’s Awesome.
USING OUR POWERS FOR AWESOME
CLARKE’S 3RD LAW
Any sufficiently
advanced
technology is
indistinguishable
from magic.
HARM REDUCTION FOR THE WEB
Inclusive DesignAX: Accessibility Experience
Progressive Enhancement vs. Graceful Degradation
Compassionate Pragmatism vs. Moralistic Idealism
HARM REDUCTION FOR THE WEB
Harm Reduction is about making a better choice
It isn’t about making the best choice“Best Practices” can be a contentious
term“Preferred Practices” aligns with the
idea of the better choice
PREFERRED VS. BEST
Misuse of headersMake everything an image
Belief that a web site can be finished
Assumption that disabled people don’t use the web
ACCESSIBILITY HARM
The Auto Redirect Page
Principle: Don’t take control of the User’s Experience
Preferred Practice: Don’t use an auto redirect
Client Decision: Use an auto redirect
A VERY SMALL EXAMPLE
Webpage takes an action that is not user-initiated
Short time to notice the changeLow Vision/Cognitive ChallengeScreen reader users may not get
focus in time
WHAT’S THE HARM?
Provide a clear advisory message of the autoredirect
Use the max acceptible time to redirect: 10 Seconds
Include a link so the user can go to the redirect page
Use a large font size and high contrast to increase readability to mitigate the short
time of the advisory messagePrefix the page title with “You are being
redirected to our new address –”
HOW CAN WE REDUCE THE HARM?
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
• Is this a terrible idea?• Do you like this idea?• Does this help Make a Better Web?• Is this a good fit for Accessibility? • How does this not work?
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
seanyo.ca
@seanyo
Accesconf.caa11ycamp.org
A11ycamp GuelphGuelph Web Makers Meetup
Hack GuelphK-W Web Design Meetup
Ignite Waterloo
HARM REDUCTION & THE WEB