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Web Literacy Standard Announced By Mozilla

Posted by Unknown on from the required-reading dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Doug Belshaw and Carla Casilli, along with a community of stakeholders, have been working on a specification of skills needed for web literacy. Doug report that Brett Gaylor and Chris Lawrence announced version 1.0 of the spec. In a nutshell it's described as 'A map of the territory for the skills and competencies Mozilla and community think are important to get better at to more effectively read, write & participate on the Web.' Usages include writing curricula influenced by it, and issuing Open Badges that align with it (using the 'alignment' metadata field). Doug also calls for help with localization of the spec into other languages."

45 of 64 comments (clear)

  1. Huh? by mythosaz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I can't be the only one confused by this article summary. It's going to take an hour of reading Wikipedia to figure it out...

    1. Re:Huh? by girlintraining · · Score: 1

      I can't be the only one confused by this article summary. It's going to take an hour of reading Wikipedia to figure it out...

      It's the Al Gore pokemon, which hit the graveyard a number of years back, but apparently Mozilla just played the Monster Reborn! card. Remember how he said "We must also promote global access to the Internet. We need to bridge the digital divide not just within our country, but among countries. Only by giving people around the world access to this technology can they tap into the potential of the Information Age." Yup. That. It's baaaaaaack.

      Up next, throwing down a wall of magikarp while they desperately try to evade the massive amounts of snark that is about to descend upon them.

      --
      #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    2. Re:Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I felt the same way, went to the site and divined its purpose, however since Literacy is its purpose one would expect they might have attempted to utilize some.

    3. Re:Huh? by narcc · · Score: 1

      Wait, that was bad?

      Can they tap in to the potential of the information age some other way?

      --
      Required reading for internet skeptics
  2. Frist! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Is first posting a skill or a competency?

    1. Re:Frist! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If you actually get first post and write something funny then it's a skill. If you don't, then Mozilla award a "YOU FAIL IT!" badge.

  3. how about the important stuff, like... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    * Supporting open and non-DRMed standards, so the web doesn't turn into TV 2.0

    * Blocking advertisements, since they violate privacy and in some cases carry malware

    * Supporting non-locked-down systems, so that running tools like adblock remains up to the people, not to multinational corporations.

    * Blocking javascript by default, for the same reasons

    * The essential principles of public key crypto, and how to keep their communications secure.

    Surely we should be educating people about those things too?

    1. Re:how about the important stuff, like... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You want to educate people not to spend money? Your business plan is intriguing to me, and I wish to participate in your bankruptcy liquidation auction.

  4. Pointless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is utterly pointless crap. No one needs web literacy merit badges. My 70-year-old grandmother gets around just fine on the net without some crummy scout badge. Kids surf the net with ease before they learn not to drink bleach. No one needs net training; it's a false demand created by academics who don't understand that there are more pressing first-world problems to solve, like teaching people to distinguish between an oak and a holm oak.

    1. Re:Pointless by psithurism · · Score: 2

      I'm having trouble figuring out their interface and what all is available in their double tabbed page layout. My degree in CompSci doesn't seem to be helping, but that makes sense, because before I got lost, I think it said something about credentials and experience being irrelevant.

      I think what they are trying to do is design a standard for web competency and then let you "learn anywhere," e.i. let someone else figure out how to teach you these things and then you can come back and use their page creation apps appropriately.

    2. Re:Pointless by theshowmecanuck · · Score: 2

      Soon you won't be able to get a job unless you are Firefox Web Certified. HR managers are going to love this. It will make their job a lot easier.

      --
      -- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
  5. 4chan badge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Who wants to show off having earned their 4chan badge?

    1. Re:4chan badge by narcc · · Score: 4, Funny

      What do I do if I I see someone wearing a 4chan badge? Should I call the police?

      I feel like I should call the police.

      --
      Required reading for internet skeptics
  6. Overlooked the actual need for literacy... by qubezz · · Score: 1

    >> Community Participation Getting involved in web communities and understanding their practices

    • Encouraging participation in web communities
    • Using constructive criticism in a group or community setting
    • Configuring settings within tools used by online communities
    • Participating in both synchronous and asynchronous discussions
    • Expressing opinions appropriately in web discussions
    • and Defining different terminology used within online communities

    WTF? TL;DR.

    1. Re:Overlooked the actual need for literacy... by fatphil · · Score: 1

      Plenty of whatthefuckery within. From their wiki page:
      """
      Who is using Open Badges?
              * User stories -- Hypothetical examples of how badges can help solve problems in everyday scenarios.
      """

      So, if top of the list of people using it are "hypothetical examples", can we assume that the real "Who is using Open Badges?" FAQ answer should be "Basically nobody - only me and my imaginary friends."?

      --
      Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
  7. That would lead to more paywalls by tepples · · Score: 1

    Blocking advertisements

    "You are using an ad blocker. You have three ad-free views left this month. Please subscribe for unlimited ad-free views."

    Blocking javascript by default, for the same reasons

    All third-party apps in Firefox OS are written in JavaScript. Good luck writing web applications without it, especially web applications intended to run with zero bars.

    The essential principles of public key crypto

    Would this include how to travel long distances to a key signing party in the same city as someone with whom you wish to communicate?

    1. Re:That would lead to more paywalls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      "You are using an ad blocker. You have three ad-free views left this month. Please subscribe for unlimited ad-free views."

      Tough luck. The internet was doing just fine before paywalls. It will be better once they die. I've honestly don't know a single person that even considers them. People just surf away to somewhere else when they encounter one.

      Would this include how to travel long distances to a key signing party in the same city as someone with whom you wish to communicate?

      No, because that is not even vaguely necessary.

  8. read, write & participate by Gothmolly · · Score: 1

    Why do you need to do all three? Many people use the Web as a data feed, and don't do any of this "Web 2.0" stuff - not I, since clearly I'm participating here. Why assume everyone is a 15yo girl on Facebook? Why even have a spec?

    --
    I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
    1. Re:read, write & participate by fatphil · · Score: 1

      Who knows, who cares.

      All I know is that when these catch on, twisted fuckers like me will make up a whole bunch of fake ones in order to dilute them to a level where they can be safely ignored.

      I think I'll offer read, write, and participate badges for "goatse".
      Probably offer an "NSA" badge too. If you think you've had your mail read by the NSA, then you can have one of those.

      --
      Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
  9. Simple Web Literacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Knowing not to visit sites with "goatse" in the url is literacy enough.

    1. Re:Simple Web Literacy by techno-vampire · · Score: 4, Informative

      Oh, I don't know. The first time you click on a goatse link can be an eye opening experience. Or, of course, if your tastes don't run that way, an eye closing experience. In either case, it will probably be an experience you'll never forget, even if you want to.

      --
      Good, inexpensive web hosting
  10. RMS will fail to make the grade by fatphil · · Score: 2

    So would I, I'm sure. It'll be some modeish clap-trap that many greybeards will have rejected as not sufficiently better than what we were doing before 99% of the current internet population had even heard of the net.

    Know how to say HELO, or GOMFL!

    --
    Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
  11. Want people to know what they're doing online? by sootman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Step 1: ALWAYS SHOW THE FUCKING STATUS BAR! (Firefox, Safari.) And make it the whole width of the window. (Chrome) And it should do exactly ONE thing: show the exact, complete URL of a link you're hovering over.

    That is all.

    Actually, wait, it isn't. Step 2: ALWAYS SHOW THE ENTIRE URL IN THE URL BAR -- INCLUDING the protocol and all the other ugly bits. In one color text. Again, as much as the width of the window will allow you to see. MAYBE put the main domain in bold so it looks like www.bankofamerica.ihaxxoryou.com/give/me/your/money. But let me turn that off if I know what I'm doing.

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
    1. Re:Want people to know what they're doing online? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm reading Slashdot?! How did that happen I don't even.

    2. Re:Want people to know what they're doing online? by fatphil · · Score: 1

      I just went to their standards webpage, and right at the top was greeted by this:
      """
      Your browser may lack functionality needed by Webmaker to function properly. Please upgrade your browser for an improved experience.
      """

      Skroo yoo! I like w3m, I can run it in a screen that I can pick up from an SSH session. (Likewise lynx and links, I'm not saying anything against those.) Whatever kid was behind this "standard" can get of my bloody lawn!

      --
      Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
    3. Re:Want people to know what they're doing online? by dtremenak · · Score: 1

      I think the browser you're looking for is Seamonkey. The status bar is always visible. The status bar shows exact link URLs. The URL bar shows the entire, exact URL, with the main domain in black and the rest in dark grey (same visual effect as bolding, but without changing character width, so it's easier to read).

    4. Re:Want people to know what they're doing online? by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 1

      Step 3: Show a throbber when a page is loading. IE doesn't give any indication that it is doing something.

    5. Re:Want people to know what they're doing online? by sootman · · Score: 1

      That's because they're using javascript to show you the URL you'll wind up at, but they bounce you through their own click-logger first. Like I said, "it should do exactly ONE thing: show the exact, complete URL of a link you're hovering over" -- which is to say, do NOT be altered by javascript or anything else.

      --
      Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
    6. Re:Want people to know what they're doing online? by Dagger2 · · Score: 1

      They don't: dom.disable_window_status_change is true by default in Firefox. Google changes the actual destination of the link when you click on it. You can see it in action if you click and hold the mouse button (and if you drag the mouse off of the link before letting go of the mouse button, you'll note that the link destination stays set to Google's redirector.)

      Personally, I disable Javascript on google.com with YesScript (which causes them to serve the plain HTML version of the search results, which has the outbound tracking addresses in each link from the start) then use this userscript to rewrite the links:

      for (let link of document.querySelectorAll("a"))
          if (link.href.match(/\/url\?q=([^&]+)/))
              link.href = decodeURIComponent(RegExp.$1);

    7. Re:Want people to know what they're doing online? by Dagger2 · · Score: 1

      That's not the problem the GP is talking about. The problem is the default configuration of the browsers most people are using.

      People who know what they're doing can change the configuration or seek out alternatives. However, in order to become a "person that knows what they're doing", you need to start somewhere. How are people ever going to learn about URLs if you munge the address bar?

    8. Re:Want people to know what they're doing online? by nmr_andrew · · Score: 1

      I was going to mod up, but:

      1. You're already at +5

      2. I just looked up and here is the content of my URL bar: http://news.slashdot.org/story/13/10/28/2241252/web-literacy-standard-announced-by-mozilla

      So, it at least looks like FF 24 can do what you want - even the main domain is in bold (ok, actually it's normal, the rest is slightly greyed out). The URL bar is only about half the width of the browser window, however. I unfortunately do not remember what "new" setting I had to unchange to restore this behavior.

  12. oops, free badge : ) by tibman · · Score: 1

    Anyone else notice that leaving noscript on shows you all the answers and just gives you the badge?

    --
    http://soylentnews.org/~tibman
    1. Re:oops, free badge : ) by SeaFox · · Score: 1

      Anyone else notice that leaving noscript on shows you all the answers and just gives you the badge?

      If you're versed enough in Internet browsers to use NoScript and not have it ruin your normal web experience, you should be able to pass the test with flying colors anyway.

  13. Re:Badges? by gmhowell · · Score: 1

    We don't need no steenkin' badges.

    --
    Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
  14. Journals, be they academic or Wall Street by tepples · · Score: 1

    The internet was doing just fine before paywalls.

    The Wall Street Journal has been paywalled since 1997. This is more than two-thirds of the time that the World Wide Web has existed.

    I've honestly don't know a single person that even considers them. People just surf away to somewhere else when they encounter one.

    Not everyone has that luxury, especially when the only lawful source of a given work is paywalled, or all publishers of a given class of works collude to set up a paywall. See the recent Slashdot story Why Johnny Can't Speak.

    Would this include how to travel long distances to a key signing party in the same city as someone with whom you wish to communicate?

    No, because that is not even vaguely necessary.

    How else do you verify that the person you're communicating with is the person you think you're communicating with, not a man in the middle? Just because you have verified a stranger's identity doesn't mean you trust that someone to verify other strangers' identities.

  15. someone call an editor! stat! by coaxial · · Score: 1

    The Web Literacy Standard: a map of the territory for the skills and competencies Mozilla and community think are important to get better at to more effectively read, write & participate on the Web.

    Who ever wrote that run-on sentence needs to some old fashioned literacy,

    1. Re:someone call an editor! stat! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It reads like a mission statement. That's a genre in and of itself, and it has rules, one of which is that it should be incomprehensible to the average reader as a sign that it is in fact, in the final analysis, meaningless. Another rule is that the mission statement must be one "sentence" (for whatever value of "sentence" would horrify even Cicero's periodic prose style). Another, that every stakeholder should have a say in what goes into that "sentence," which for any number of stakeholders greater than one means that the sentence would, in fact, be a paragraph comprising several or many sentences, were the mission statement written in a different genre.

      "Map of the territory" sounds like educational/academic jargon (eduspeak, as they themselves call it) inspired by, eventually, literary figures like Borges, but also all sorts of humanities fields like religious studies; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map–territory_relation. That kind of jargon is always a good clue that the authors are too far up in the ivory tower to be rescued by an army of well-meaning princes with any sort of expediency. "Web Literacy," really, would have been a good clue of that too: as someone pointed out above, there's no real need for "web literacy" because the web has undergone generations of evolutionary change to ensure that the dumbest people on the planet can buy glittering trash through it. Anything requiring the remotest bit of "literacy" got naturally/market selected out of the system in the 90's, back when concepts like "web literacy" were still somewhat in vogue. Thanks to Herculean efforts at improving human interface and user-friendly designs, not to mention the bankruptcies of anyone who didn't pay attention to those changes, anyone of any age, from the cradle's tender innocence to the aged grandparent's wisdom, can watch live streaming porn and leave insightful political commentary underneath the footers of important news stories. No one needs to be trained to do so, nor are "badges" ever going to be anything more than a joke.

  16. re No. More. Money. by jelizondo · · Score: 1

    Dear Mozilla:

    I have been sending money your way because I thought it was used to develop Firefox and Thunderbird and other useful code; but for this shite, I rather keep my money.

    What's next? The Al Gore achievement award?

    Jeez!

    --
    Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. - Cardinal Wolsey
  17. Obligatory: We don't need no steenking badges by istartedi · · Score: 1

    I can't believe nobody has said "we don't need no steenking badges" yet, or pointed out that the exact lines of the quote are different

    --
    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
  18. Mozilla announced version 1.0 of the spec by globalist · · Score: 1

    I expect version 20.0 by December.

  19. Well ... by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

    ... if anything can tame lame social networking and blogs about cats, it would be throwing stifling academia and certifications at it.

    People would lose interest in the net in no time.

  20. unstable UIs by doom · · Score: 1

    web literacy: don't use software where the "designers" claim the right to broadcast UI changes to you at their whim.

  21. Blind Leading th Blind by 0xG · · Score: 1

    to get better at to more effectively read, write & participate on the Web

    Did someone say literacy?

    --
    A pox on web designers who feel that window.innerWidth == screen.availWidth
  22. not completely pointless by CaptainNerdCave · · Score: 1

    You've never worked a helpdesk, have you? There are few things more painful than spending 40 minutes on a call with someone who can't figure out how to copy and paste, or type their username and password into the provided and labeled fields.

    These are people working for some of the biggest engineering firms in the world. I only wish I were joking.

  23. Irrelevant to your friends' employment perhaps? by fantomas · · Score: 1

    Not knowing the difference between the web and the internet or understanding what IP addresses are does not reduce the employment chances of many people. It maybe more useful than knowing about oak trees (unless you're a carpenter, furniture maker or tree surgeon) but I don't think a lot of taxi drivers / accountants / airline pilots / office workers are too bothered.