Accessibility

Internet Accessibility
If we're really interested in building community, then it is important to cater for neighbours who don't have computers or the internet and/or are not computer literate. You can do this in two ways:

Firstly, find somewhere local where people can go to use the internet for free like a library or a community centre/neighbourhood house and mention it in your letter or in person. These spaces often offer computer literacy classes as well. Or you can always sit down with neighbours yourself and go through the basics. Many people are reasonably computer literate but would still appreciate being shown through the site before they'll venture into it on their own.

Secondly, don't rely solely on the website. Put up a public noticeboard somewhere central in your area that people can add to themselves, and where you can also post printouts from the website. Or print out a directory of neighbours' profiles from the site and deliver it to people who don't use the internet. Organise a phone tree for events, send text messages, and so on.

People used to organise communities without the internet; the Sharehood website is just there to help facilitate that community. In a way, the less reliant you are on the website, the better. The advantage of the Sharehood's web infrastructure is just increased communication.

Language Barriers
The Sharehood website is currently only available in English and probably will only be in English for the foreseeable future. A complete multilingual site is beyond our means at the moment (help us translate). Yet not everyone in English speaking countries speaks English and we want everyone to be part of our community who wants to be.

If you call your local community centre or council, they will be able to tell you the languages most widely spoken in your area. They often have translators who could help you translate your initial letter too. If you deliver your letters with a few copies in different languages to each household, you are more likely to encourage non-English speakers along to your events or the website. People often have a friend or someone from their family who can help them with English, either to help with the website or to come along to social events with them. So even if the site is not multilingual and we don't all speak the same language, it's worth trying as hard as possible to be inclusive of all cultures and languages.