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grandad

Member
I'm probably opening a can of worms here [I hope so].

Does anyone have a clue as to the criteria by which Golden Spider Awards are given out?

I have been having a quick look at some of the shortlisted sites and frankly I'm baffled.

Is it Design? Functionality? Originality? Compliance [ha ha]? What?
 

ph3n0m

New Member
However my personal favourite is this:


8. Best Web Design Agency Website
www.arekibo.com - failed validation
www.clearscape.ie - failed validation
www.continuum.ie - failed validation
www.lightbox.ie - passed validation
www.magico.ie - failed validation
www.strata3.com - failed validation
www.tower.ie - passed validation
www.webfactory.ie - failed validation


Wow only two of the nominees has a valid page!!! I didnt bother testing the CSS - I mean if they cant get the html right, what hope would any CSS have?
If this is the view of the country’s standard, then I would bury my head in the sand
 

grandad

Member
:D

Saw your blog [great blog BTW!]

Incidentally, edit your post to remove "Automatically retrieve titles from external links". We need to name and shame.

I'm well aware that the coding standard in the majority of web designers websites is less than non existant.

So obviously they aren't judged on technical compitance.

What are they judged on?

There is nothing special about them. There is nothing that makes me stand back and ghasp "WOW!". They are bog ordinary sites.

How did they get there?
 

grandad

Member
Maybe it's time that we in the industry organised our own awards?

My blood is boiling. I have just been reading Richard's blog. Something has to be done.

One wee suggestion: How about we set up a site that tells it as it is? With our combined expertise, particularly in SEO, we should be able to get it up there with the other site. Let the public, and particularly Irish industry know what lies behind the farce that calls itself the "Oscars of the Internet Industry", and how they have been conned by an elitist clique [who frankly wouldn't know a good website if it jumped up and bit them].

And I am all behind a new standard of award. I know I won't win any, but its time something serious was done.
 

jmcc

Active Member
Well the Zeddies were set up in response to the bogus WebIreland awards [1], the equally useless Golden Spiders and the originally useless Netvisionary awards. That said, when the new management took over at IIA, the Netvisionary awards changed to being more trustworthy and representative. (Though the litany of press release recyclers that won the technology journo Netvisionary award still makes me laugh. ) Though the Golden Spiders awards have been utterly useless since they started. All they really are is an excuse to extract money from companies who think that they are in the web business.

It might be worth mentioning this on the Open list as I think some of the Zeddie people are still on it.

Regards...jmcc
[1] True winner of the Web Ireland Technology Journalist Of the Year Award 2000. :)
 

mneylon

Administrator
Staff member
Since this awards bashing thing seems to happen every year BUT nobody ever actually does anything about it I've setup a wiki on a new domain :)

If anyone would like to contribute then please feel free:

Main Page - IrishWebAwards
 

mneylon

Administrator
Staff member
I've started putting up basic content with barebones details on the current awards.

Feel free to contribute

HOWEVER

Please do not make any abusive comments or make any comments that could be perceived as slander / libel.

The only way that we, as a community, can be taken seriously by the media is if we rise above that sort of thing
 

Busarus

New Member
Seeing as soon or later RedCardinal is going to run a coach and four through archiseeks standards compliance.... i want to say in advance that I am currently rebuilding the entire site into css instead of the weird hybrid html css it currently is.... and that the area that is closest to being compliant but isnt yet is canada.archiseek.com

as archiseek is not based on any cms system - this is a slow process
 

RedCardinal

New Member
Seeing as soon or later RedCardinal is going to run a coach and four through archiseeks standards compliance.... i want to say in advance that I am currently rebuilding the entire site into css instead of the weird hybrid html css it currently is.... and that the area that is closest to being compliant but isnt yet is canada.archiseek.com

as archiseek is not based on any cms system - this is a slow process

Hi Paul

It had dawned on me that your site was there. My intention with all this is to draw attention to the GS as opposed to hurting any individual site.

In case you haven't noticed, my test is simply upon the landing page listed on the GS short-list. Although I do have a validation spider that can dig deeper, it is time-expensive I don't have the time to spare :)

Rgds

Richard
 

grandad

Member
I think it needs to be stressed that the purpose of this campaign is to question the whole concept and validity of the Golden Spider Awards. They are the target of the campaign, not the individual sites.

If a site is criticised, it is not intended as a critique of that site. It is questioning the standards by which that site was included for the awards.

The exeption to this of course is the category for "Best Web Design Agency Website" for these are the companies who should, by nature have the highest possible standards.

What we are questioning is the criteria by which sites are shortlisted for awards. We are claiming that the selection process is arbitrary at the very least. We are questioning the fact that judges are also entrants.

In short, we are questioning the entire concept of the Golden Spiders and why they are being taken as a benchmark.
 

RedCardinal

New Member
I thionk it needs to be stressed that the purpose of this campaign is to question the whole concept and validity of the Golden Spider Awards. They are the target of the campaign, not the individual sites.

If a site is criticised, it is not intended as a critique of that site. It is questioning the standards by which that site was included for the awards.

The exeption to this of course is the category for "Best Web Design Agency Website" for these are the companies who should, by nature have the highest possible standards.

What we are questioning is the criteria by which sites are shortlisted for awards. We are claiming that the selection process is arbitrary at the very least. We are questioning the fact that judges are also entrants.

In short, we are questioning the entire concept of the Golden Spiders and why they are being taken as a benchmark.

I would go one step further and say that there is absolutely no compulsion on any website owner to create valid or accessible code. None whatsoever.

There should be, however, some compulsion on any award ceremony showcasing the Internet industry's top achievers to ensure that those websites represent industry best-practice in standards and accessibility.

I apologise to any site owner who feels victimised by what I have presented - it is not my intention to create a witch-hunt.

Part 3 is now available for your pleasure. It's not getting any better, and the e-business and online retailers are perhaps the worst offending sites coding-wise thus far.

Golden Spiders Take #3 | Search Engine Optimisation Ireland .:. Red Cardinal

Rgds

Richard
 

ph3n0m

New Member
on a side note:

Golden Spiders

Criteria
Judges will be looking for the quality of service delivered to clients in the areas of innovation, meeting requirements, delivery, ROI as well as client and end-user satisfaction

Really? So do they go out and meet each company's client base? Plus talk to everyone who uses these websites? I mean c'mon, that is a very, very vague criteria - nothing specific and nothing that would cause any company to sweat.
 

RedCardinal

New Member
Final Results of the tests:

Total Sample: 128 sites;
Valid CSS: 33 (26%);
Valid HTML: 12 (9%);
Valid Section 508: 28 (22%);
Valid WCAG 1.0 Priority 1: 26 (20%);
Valid WCAG 1.0 Priority 2: 4 (3%);
Valid WCAG 1.0 Priority 3: 3 (2%);
Valid TV Core: 37 (29%);
Valid TV HTML: 15 (12%);
Valid TV WCAG 1.0 Priority 1: 43 (34%);
Valid WAVE Overlay: 27 (21%);
Sites with consistent mark-up: 76 (59%);

CSS, HTML, Section 508 & WCAG 1.0 Priority 1 Compliant: 6 (5%)

Everything is laid bare on my blog.
 

grandad

Member
Richard,

Has anyone congratulated you on an amazing piece of work?

Your results should really be combined onto one web page, as with all blogs, the current pages will shortly be relegated to the archives. And that would be a shame.

P.S. I see that HeadRambles prat has a link to your site in a sort of "Idiot's guide to the Golden Spiders" piece.
 
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