How it works, slightly technical
In its earliest days, W3C recognized a need to be able to describe content according to a defined vocabulary.
This could be done for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, Web accessibility. The result was the PICS system which, despite early promise, has achieved limited support.
In essence what’s required is a way of making any number of assertions about a resource or group of resources. In order to be seen as more trustworthy, the label containing those assertions should be testable in some way by an independent trusted third party – such as Segala for Web accessibility compliance.
Internet Explorer’s method for filtering is outdated!
These issues have been addressed in a variety of ways, notably in the W3C’s Semantic Web Activity. The development of RDF picked up where PICS left off (indeed, PICS-NG was an early moniker for RDF) and the potential for Content Labels, especially where the assertions they carry can be cross-checked by database look-up and other validation processes, now exceeds the early concept embodied by PICS.
The need for a system to make assertions about a group of resources however means that RDF is not an “out of the box” solution. Content Labels is now moving onto a W3C full recommendation track to iron out any issues that exist in the current version of the label.
Search Thresher dynamically reads Content Labels to annotate and filter search results.
The extension automatically alters search engine results within the browser software based on personal user preferences, empowering users to see filtered results from any search engine (we’re starting with Google) based on Web sites that carry Trustmarks such as Segala’s for accessibility compliance, as adopted by organisations such as O2 and E-Consultancy.
- User searches a keyword using Google
- Before Google returns the results page, Search Thresher checks to see if any of the Web sites contain a Content Label link tag (see below) in addition to the title and description tags.
< link rel="meta" xhref="http://www.segala.com/labels/tcuk_label_001.rdf" mce_href="http://www.segala.com/labels/tcuk_label_001.rdf" type="application/rdf+xml" title="Segala label" /
- Pages that contain a link tag with Segala’s name space are highlighted with a green tick, all other link tags are highlighted with an amber tick. Web sites that are not certified by Segala are assumed to be self-labelled.
- Sites that don’t contain a link tag are highlighted with a red box containing an X.
- Content Labelling providers that independently verify a specific standard, best practice or code of conduct may wish to apply for a green tick to represent their conformance claims.
- Each search annotation (icon beside each search result) is hyperlinked to a page, providing more information about the conformance claims, the asserter, dates etc.
Is it possible to make a fraudulent claim?
It is possible to try and trick users into thinking a site has been independently verified. All that’s needed is a reference to the Segala name space in the link tag. However (and this is where the Trust comes in to play), if the Web site is making a fraudulent claim, Search Thresher prompts the user before the site is opened.
Search Thresher checks against Segala’s data source to verify each Content Label to ensure they are legitimate labels before users enter a site. If a Web site doesn’t map to a valid Content Label a fraudulent warning page is displayed before you even enter the site.
Do you want to see how it works?
- Firstly, you’ll need to download and install Search Thresher, done? excellent!
- Next, Open www.google.com
- Search for mobilefriendly.org
- You should see the same results as the screenshot below
Notice the mobilefriendly.org Web site in the screen shot above is displaying a green tick which indicates it has been independently verified, so you would be inclined to trust this site. Fact is, this Web site is making a fraudulent claim.
This a live Web site and owned by Segala. However, we have purposely not created a Content Label for it to help demonstrate this functionality. The site CAN be trusted!
As you can see from the screen shot above, the user is warned about the site making false claims. The user can bypass this warning and visit the site if they wish.
How to get mass adoption
Search Thresher is a non-commercial extension which is used to demonstrate to mainstream browser vendors and search engines that enabling trust is something they should be doing now, using Content Labels.
To encourage mass adoption, Segala has launched a Segala-Certified™ Partner Programme which enables agencies and freelance developers to certify clients Web sites for accessibility compliance and soon, W3C Mobile Web Best Practices. This will help with the process of labelling as many sites as possible in a short time frame.
Segala has also created Contentlabel.org to encourage industry to create, debate and formalise new codes of conduct to enable better trust on the Web.
Contact us if you would like to contribute to the creation of a new code of conduct.
