Well, it’s been a whole year since my last post on this site and the one previous to that was in the middle of 2009, in which I was pondering what to do with this site. Not exactly been prolific, have I? That’s gotta tell me something …
Now that it’s a new year and everyone is in the habit of making resolutions, I’ve made one regarding this site - it’s time to wave it goodbye.
When I started Accessify, I did it because there was, at the time, very little in the way of easy-to-understand information about web accessibility online. Sure, there was the official W3C stuff, but I could count on one hand the number of sites that really spoke to me as a developer who wanted to do things right but didn’t want to wade through reams of academic papers. I used this site primarily as a way of hosting the range of accessibility tools that I had created.
Things have moved on a lot since then. There are now numerous resources out there for accessibility, and pretty much all of them are being updated more frequently than I do this site. The reasons for this? There are two, really:
- I don’t find the time to do it justice. I’m working on the web during the day, but at the end of the day I don’t have a burning desire to spend my free time working on this site. If I were freelance/running my own business, I might feel it more important to keep this ticking over as a self-promotional thing. But really, it’s just not high on my list of priorities.
- I don’t really feel as passionate about the topic as I used to. That doesn’t mean it’s not an important topic, but I just can’t keep on top of the developments in the area to be able to contribute as I did back in the early days.
So, I’ve decided to sell up.
At the end of the day it’s just a domain. But it’s a domain with a great name for anyone working in this area of the web. And it’s also a domain with a few years behind it and a decent amount of incoming links (at one point, a few years back, it managed a Google Page Rank of 9!).
It’s just accessify.com for sale, NOT accessifyforum.com, which is owned and run separately from this domain. I also registered the Twitter name accessify (which has barely been used, especially in recent times), so I’d hand over ownership/passwords to that too.
Ideally, I’d like to sell it to someone who can breath life back in to the site and, as much as possible, keep the content intact. The blog posts and articles are dusty as heck, though, so even if it’s just the tools that remain, that would be good. But if there’s a buyer out there who wants to completely change it and just wants the domain, I might decide to re-home the tools at a different domain and ditch the rest. It really depends on what interest I get in this.
I’m not in a hurry to sell it - I’d rather wait until a good offer comes my way. We’ve all got bills to pay, after all; I’m no different.
So, if you’re interested in this or know someone else who might be, please drop me a line using the contact form
So says Jon Gibbins
Nooooo! Save Accessify!
It’s sad to read this, since Accessify has been such an important part of bringing me into the fold of accessibility over the last seven or eight years.
To echo and expand on my tweets, it is so difficult to make time to maintain a resource like this. I was chuffed to bits, among others, to be offered the opportunity to help you out with it, Ian, and try to keep the site going. But for the same two reasons you give above, my involvement has waned over the last couple of years. I think much of the conversation has moved to Twitter, which I do manage to keep an eye on and take part in.
Honestly, I wish I felt I could take Accessify on and keep it alive, but I feel it’s something that only somebody with a decent chunk of time to dedicate or a community of dedicated people could realistically take on.
To put some ideas out there to you Ian and the accessibility community:
Ian, would you be interested in letting Accessify.com run as a larger community project?
Would some of the Accessify Forum folks be interested in helping moderate and maintain Accessify.com?
Could the running/purchase of Accessify.com be funded from donations?
Added January 4, 2011 at 2:07 pm
So says Léonie Watson
Agreed, it would be a shame to see Accessify disappear. Perhaps if enough of us were able to contribute we could breath some life into things again? If just 12 people were able to step up and write one post each year, it could make a difference.
If that’s not to be, then it’s worth stopping to say thank you. I learnt a great deal from Accessify in the early days, and I believe that many people still do. There’s still a need for clear and friendly information, and although there are other resources out there, Accessify will be missed methinks.
Added January 4, 2011 at 5:54 pm
So says Joe Clark
Accessify will not “disappear.â€Â It’s just being sold. And you can’t expect the founders of a site to make a lifelong commitment to it.
Added January 4, 2011 at 9:11 pm
So says Partyservice
I just say: WOW - a fantastic web site - hope you get good offers for such a good job - all the best for the future
by the way it would be interesting how many hours did you work for accessify.com…
Added January 4, 2011 at 10:12 pm
So says Ian
Just to put people’s minds at rest, I’m not just gonna sell it to highest bidder. I want the site to continue, ideally, and prosper under proper stewardship rather than fester under mine (of late, at least). I actually find it a bit of an embarrassment, my site that has ad nothing much to speak of for a long time. Look at the article dates, look at the blog posts. So dusty it’s enough to bring on an asthma attack.
I’m testing the water. If I can sell the domain on to an interested party, then great. But I’d rather give it away to the right person than sell it to someone who’s going to ditch the lot.
Added January 4, 2011 at 10:21 pm
So says Karl
Ian,
Totally understand where you’re coming from - I think our days are pretty similar if we were to catch up in a pub sometime and compare notes. It is a struggle to do more in the evenings, that’s for sure. But no, the real reason for stopping by is to say a huge THANK YOU for this resource. Accessify, Accessifyforum and Joe’s writings on the subject back in the day are the foundations I stand on today as a coder.
All the best, Karl
Added January 4, 2011 at 11:11 pm
So says Marco
Hey Ian.
I’ll definitely back up what Karl’s saying. I know how you’re feeling! If there were only a pub we could all hang out in one day…
A huge thank you for starting me off on the path to righteousness! Accessify was a big part of what I am today. For that, I’m truly grateful.
Cheers! Marco (a.k.a. crazybat)
Added January 4, 2011 at 11:27 pm
So says Jon Gibbins
Rereading my comment here yesterday, I hope it wasn’t read in a different light than intended. I completely understand Ian’s decision to consider selling the site, and happy in the knowledge that he is trying to find it a happy home. Accessify has been a great resource to many, so a huge thanks to you Ian for running it.
Added January 5, 2011 at 10:25 am
So says James
In my opinion Accessify is a much better name than “Fix the web” so I’d say give it to that project. Unfortunately they’ve now launched at FIW but it would be worth discussing it with Gail.
Added January 5, 2011 at 6:44 pm
So says michael
Ian, I understand your decision. But I would really like to see the existing content kept alive as is. I refer back to it frequently. Thank you for all the time and energy you have put into making Accessify available to the community.
Added January 6, 2011 at 11:15 pm
So says Christian Perera
You have been an inspiration to so many, I know I will be checking in regularly to see what’s new, I hope you find the right buyer to continue your legacy…
All the best,
Crispy
Added January 7, 2011 at 12:07 am
So says Berenice
dear Ian, thank you for all the knowledge and shared code, my website and even my job have both benefit from your code and wonderful examples… I really appreciate all your work and the willingness to share your examples. I really hope somebody else, like you, has the time to keep on with the effort… if it comes to having to pay a fee to view your wonderful examples, I am willing to pay!
thanks again for all your hard work, for the learning tools, and hope this site lives longer!
Berenice
Added January 14, 2011 at 1:50 am
So says Gary Miller
Hi Ian,
Sad news indeed.
I do, however, understand your reasons for your decision.
Hope you find someone fitting to take over the site.
Cheers!
Added January 14, 2011 at 1:11 pm