👀 "This document describes how user agents should expose semantics of PDF content to accessibility APIs. This helps users with disabilities to obtain and interact with information using assistive technologies."
#PDF #a11y #WebStandards
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Items tagged with: a11y
Hey, #MechanicalKeyboard people! I just got myself a #Ducky One X wireless mechanical keyboard. As a #screenreader user who finds myself constantly running out of keyboard shortcuts, multi-level actuation sounded really exciting to me. Unfortunately, the browser-based programmer at duckyhub.io is entirely inaccessible. Apparently it uses a standard called #QMK or something? I don't build mechanical keyboards; I use them because I love the feedback, so I'm not deep enough into the hobby to know much about this. A browser-based programmer gave me hope that programming would be #accessible, but at least with the official website, that hope turned out to be false. So before I return this thing, do these standards mean there might be other software I can try to program the keyboard, to see if it's more accessible for me? #a11y#keyboard
Does anyone know if #LibreWolf or any other privacy focused #firefox forks keep #screenreader and other #accessibility features? Sadly, most of these projects seem to consider accessibility an unneeded feature that ads bloat and security issues and just strip it out completely, so I don't have high hopes. This just seems to be the latest one getting popular after the recent #firefox issues. #a11y
@accessibleandroid Hello! I found a solid ebook reader on F-Droid, LXReader. TTS reading is really customizable. Although the app have some unlabelled buttons, they just expand certain options in the UI that are readable.
f-droid.org/packages/io.gitlab…
#accessibility #a11y
f-droid.org/packages/io.gitlab…
#accessibility #a11y
Today's Web Design Update: groups.google.com/a/d.umn.edu/…
Subscribe info: d.umn.edu/itss/training/online…
Featuring @mgifford, @yatil, @aardrian, @LFLegal, @matuzo, @eric, @laura, @tempertemper, @a11yMel, @dequesystems, @pxlnv, @vitalyf, @smashingmag, @rachelandrew, @Kilian, @OddBird, @tabatkins, @mia
#Accessibility #A11y #WebDesign
Web Design References: Webdev Newsletter
Web Design References: News and info about web design and development. The site advocates accessibility, usability, web standards and many related topics.www.d.umn.edu
“Be Wary of Accessibility Guarantees from Anyone”
adrianroselli.com/2025/03/be-w…
Sort of an updated version of my 2016 post.
Be Wary of Accessibility Guarantees from Anyone
TL;DR: anyone promising you that a total solution to digital accessibility is coming, and they are the ones bringing it, may be lying. Background In 2016 I wrote Be Wary of Accessibility Guarantees from Vendors.Adrian Roselli
What's the state of #matrix, #xmpp and #IRC as far as #screenReader -accessible clients are concerned? Desktop (Windows, Mac) and mobile (iOS, Android).
Hoping for some input, please feel free to boost. As far as I know:
Matrix does not have a lightweight, fully accessible client for desktop, but one could be modified, such as #gomuks. On mobile, Element has scrolling issues, which is unacceptable for large rooms.
XMPP has accessible desktop clients (I used to run #Adium on the Mac), also #WeeChat. No idea about mobile.
IRC is perhaps the one which everything supports on desktop, from #MirandaIM through Weechat to the old Freedom Chat, which I could probably rewrite if I had to. Also not sure about mobile, but it would definitely need push notifications, because we can't expect people to stay constantly online on the go. #a11y #accessibility
To be clear, I don't just mean the output chooser dropdown. I literally mean every dropdown on that screen--input, output, configuration for choosing whether something is stereo/5.1/7.1. I'm glad there's an alternative for this specific case but a whole widget class not working feels like kind of a big deal. Also, the output chooser dropdown only lets you select outputs AFAIK. If I plug in a headset that isn't detected, I'll need to switch inputs too. And it was tricky configuring my media PC because I couldn't figure out how to indicate that the system I was connecting to was 5.1.
I plan to do a bit more formal digging next week to figure out whether it's just this specific screen or this widget class entirely, but I do want to fix these things. Is #a11y:gnome.org the best place to go with any questions improving the GNOME apps/widgets?
The reports on monitoring digital accessibility in the public sector of 18 European countries are now available on the website of the European Commission. These are the new reports for the period 2022-2024.
digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/…
A summary of Luxembourg's report is available here:
accessibilite.public.lu/en/new…
#a11y #WAD #webAccessibilityDirective
2024, the headwinds of accessibility
Websites that are increasingly accessible and, at the same time, apps that are moving away from the objective set out in the law: this great discrepancy, which has already been seen in the past, raises questionsDigital accessibility portal of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
I have a work trip next week, and my coworker sent me some simplified floor plans for the building we'll be meeting in. I printed them out with ink, then ran those through my embosser to place raised lines and shapes exactly where the ink was on the maps. I can now both feel my way around the tactile surface while using Be My AI or Meta Glasses to describe what I'm pointing at. This is pretty slick! Meta does take some extra coaxing to get useful description, though, so be warned. #A11y
If the extent of your WCAG testing is running axe / ARC / WAVE / EAAC and that’s it, not only are you only testing ~30% of WCAG, but my own 2023 testing shows those tools catch under 15% of issues:
adrianroselli.com/2023/01/comp…
Manual testing is still a thing.
Which you need to know how to do, especially if bumping into `<canvas>`.
Comparing Manual and Free Automated WCAG Reviews
Automated accessibility testing tools cannot test 100% of WCAG. This position is not controversial. Other than overlay vendors, no automated tool maker makes that claim.Adrian Roselli
Top Tech Tidbits for Thursday, February 27, 2025 - Volume 1004 ♿️
toptechtidbits.com/tidbits2025…
The Week's News in Access Technology
A Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd. Publication
#news #technology #accessibility #a11y #disability #blind #deaf #deafblind #toptechtidbits
Top Tech Tidbits. The world's #1 online resource for current news and trends in access technology.
Subscribers: 36,455 🔢️ subscribers were sent this issue via email.
Top Tech Tidbits for Thursday, February 27, 2025 - Volume 1004
The Top Tech Tidbits newsletter. The world's #1 online resource for current news and trends in access technology.Top Tech Tidbits - A Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd. Publication
Icon-Only-Buttons and Their Impact on Screen Readers htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/202… #webdev #aria #a11y
Misleading Icons: Icon-Only-Buttons and Their Impact on Screen Readers - HTMHell
A collection of bad practices in HTML, copied from real websites.Misleading Icons: Icon-Only-Buttons and Their Impact on Screen Readers - HTMHell
If you’re serious about digital accessibility, ditch the overlays and invest in real, sustainable solutions—like proper coding practices, WCAG compliance, and user testing with disabled individuals.
Read more about the UserWay lawsuit here: lflegal.com/2025/02/userway-ov…
#Accessibility #UserWay #Lawsuit #A11y #DigitalInclusion #WebAccessibility (3/3)
Another Web Access Overlay Company Sued by a Small Business
Another class action lawsuit has been filed by a small business that purchased an overlay monthly subscription, yet still got hit with a lawsuit claiming its website was not accessible.Law Office of Lainey Feingold
this video was going to be made public at some point ... but as this seems to have stalled (and there's really no financial incentive anymore that the conf can gain from keeping this 16 month old video under lock and key) ... here's the recording of my (then) updated talk "These (still) aren't the SCs you're looking for..." from 19 October 2023 / #a11yTO / Toronto youtube.com/watch?v=ADIgU53Y2R… #a11y #wcag #barrierefreiheit #accessibility
Patrick H. Lauke - These (still) aren't the SCs you're looking for / a11yTO 2023 / 19 October 2023
WCAG is supposed to give us a reasonably objective way of saying whether or not the sites we are building/auditing are "accessible" (to a particular baseline...YouTube
I dunno what it is, but something about Dreamy Train makes it the perfect #cozy#audiogame. I wish it had an #English dub or official English translation from #Japanese, though Google Translate works fine. Yes, it's simple (you can play the entire thing with three buttons), but...I dunno. Something about driving my train through a continent obviously based on Japan with a vaguely Cute Japanese woman giving me instructions in a language I don't speak is really Zen. Transport World Simulator and Tube Sim just stress me out. But Dreamy Train has just enough to keep my attention, without getting my adrenaline up, and enough content not to feel too repetitive or grindy. mm-galabo.com/dreamytrain/#a11y
視覚障害者向けトレインシミュレータ『Dreamy Train〜ドリーミートレイン〜』 公式サイト
視覚障害者向けトレインシミュレータ『Dreamy Train〜ドリーミートレイン〜』(ドリトレ) 公式サイトmm-galabo.com
I #voted at the advanced poles in #Ottawa in the #Ontario#election. As a #blind voter everything was smooth, even though I didn't get my voter card in the mail, and the Elections Ontario app requires a driver's license to look up your voter registration. It was busy; already a lineup at 10 AM. Hopefully that means high voter turnout, and hopefully people aren't buying Doug Ford's lies masquerading as patriotism. #a11y#accessibility#Canada
I know some out there aren't fans of AI, but I have a bit of an counterarguement for you. When you're blind like me, having AI tools that allow you to do certain tasks independently is a game changer. Getting image descriptions, being able to check if what you're wearing looks good on you and identifying everything from doors to furniture + everyday objects is useful. Doubly so when like me, you live alone and don't exactly have someone around to ask for help from. Using AI for tasks like this is reasonable in my opinion, but some other things surrounding AI do have me concerned. All I ask of anti-AI protesters is think about what context AI is being used in before completely condemming it. #A11Y #Accessibility #Blind #StopAI #AIProtests
When evaluating a digital accessibility product or consultancy, each time I see “a11y” in the copy of its marketing site I move it a little closer to the do-not-hire column.
New iOS #SwiftUI Videos #a11y technique and documentation waiting for review in the App Store.
Docs: github.com/cvs-health/ios-swif…
ios-swiftui-accessibility-techniques/iOSswiftUIa11yTechniques/Documentation/Videos.md at main · cvs-health/ios-swiftui-accessibility-techniques
Demonstrates iOS SwiftUI Accessibility programming techniques using live good and bad examples that can be tested with VoiceOver and other AT. Includes documentation for developers explaining how t...GitHub
So, a quick question for others in the blind community: Do you use ReddIt at all? I'm wondering if it's worth my time to create an account over there or not. Feel free to vote on this quick & dirty poll if you wish, and add any additional thoughts if desired. #A11Y #Accessibility #Blind #Poll #ReddIt
- Yes (100%, 7 votes)
- No (0%, 0 votes)
So, VoiceOver or macOS decided to have the mouse cursor follow the VoiceOver cursor which triggers hover states that should totally not be triggered. It’s super annoying. Anyone have an idea on how to disable it? I have reset VoiceOver settings already.
😭
So now that bit.ly is showing ads, if you need a URL shortener, #lynx is decent and #accessible and easy to host. And before you tell me that we don't need URL shorteners anymore and how they're a security risk, I need them for:
1. Business cards, slides, signs, and other physical objects that need a URL. While most phones can scan QR Codes, you can't read them out loud for #blind folks. If you're doing a presentation, "scan the QR code on screen" isn't good enough. You need to have a URL that you can speak and another human can remember. Yes, NFC is a thing, but it doesn't solve that problem.
2. Places that still don't allow URLs (LinkedIn) or where long URLs are awkward to work with (text-only emails, the terminal, etc.)
3. Times (like a phone call) where I need to tell someone a URL using the noises that come from my face-parts
Find it here: getlynx.dev/#a11y#bitly
Doing a test post from Tuba. Turns out if I want GTK4 apps like this to behave themselves, I need to have the computer hooked up to a monitor of some type. In this case, it's the TV in the living room, since it's the only decent display in the house. Just a bit annoyed that the old blind nerd trick of going without a monitor because Orca gives me speech won't cut it for GTK4 apps. #A11Y #Accessibility #Blind #Linux #Orca #tuba
Spent a couple hours playing the visual novel Pizza Game. If you're the kind of person who finds bad My Immortal style #fanfic funny, this will work for you. It's fully #screenreader#accessible in the standard #renpy way, but also has descriptions of the visual jokes; the developer spent time thinking about #A11y, and it didn't just happen thanks to the engine. store.steampowered.com/app/710710/Pizza_Game/#visualnovel
One significant way Mastodon and the Fediverse have transformed digital culture is through the use of alt text. When I look back at my older images online and in my blogs, I rarely included alt text - even though I actively work on accessibility. For some reason, I simply overlooked it.
Now, every time I post something online, I take a moment to write alt text. Mastodon has changed my mindset, and I believe its impact extends far beyond this. The Fediverse encourages a level of consideration for others that no other social networking platform has before.
#A11y #Accessibility #AltText #Mastodon #Fediverse #SocialWeb #SocialNetwork #SocialMedia
“Evaluating overlay-adjacent accessibility products”
ericwbailey.website/published/…
The very fact that a digital accessibility accommodation is a product is a sign that you might not be the customer and, even if you are, only for as long as there’s money to be made.
Evaluating overlay-adjacent accessibility products
The rubric I use to evaluate these products remains very similar to how I scrutinize overlays.ericwbailey.website
🤔HTML semantics: <abbr> theory versus abbreviation reality
"The HTML <abbr> element is deceptively familiar and attractive, its been around forever (1999) and thus people assume that it does what it does and does it well. Nothing much changed over the iterations of the abbr element definition over the years."
tpgi.com/short-note-the-abbrev…
Short note: The abbreviation appreciation society - TPGi
The HTML element is an incredibly common, but do you know how you can make it accessible? Find out how in this article.Steve Faulkner (TPGi)
Developers, if you're designing a book app, turning the page for VoiceOver users isn't exactly intuitive. When I am reading a book on the Libby app, for example, an eBook, I have to turn a page every time VoiceOver makes it to the end of the page when I am having it read all. I'd love it if the app would just automatically go to the next page but this is super hard in app development for some reason. Even the Bookshare app is like this. Why? Even when I am reading via Braille display I don't wanna stop to turn a page. It's a digital file. It isn't a print book. Let me scroll like it's 1999 and an HTML document or a giant text file or Word document or *anything else* than what this fresh hell is. #Apple #Libby #WebDev #Accessibility #A11y
I disagree with use cases that rely on CSS, generally at risk from network interruptions and caching, to trigger programmatic state changes in the HTML that references it (see pic). Cart / horse and all.
Instead, use CSS to ensure your programmatic state is correct. Eg: adrianroselli.com/2021/06/usin…
#a11y #accessiblity #css #html
Using CSS to Enforce Accessibility
The CSS3 logo as a head atop a torso with its arms folded across its chest. I am a big proponent of the First Rule of ARIA (don’t use ARIA). But ARIA brings a lot to the table that HTML does not, such as complex widgets and state information that…Adrian Roselli
🆕 article from @TetraLogical
Meet Josh: a sportsman who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy
"The missing piece is usability testing with disabled users. Even with good intentions, accessibility efforts can fall short without real user involvement."
tetralogical.com/blog/2025/02/…
Meet Josh: a sportsman who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy - TetraLogical
Meet Josh, a sportsman who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Between training for the Olympics and his busy day job, Josh talks to us about how navigating the web is constantly evolving, how he adapts to various assistive technologies, and his hopes and c…TetraLogical
The Braille Institute created a font designed to make reading easier for people with low vision called Atkinson Hyperlegible in 2019.
It just released an update (Atkinson Hyperlegible Next) and monospace version with enhanced characters, 7 weights, and variable weight.
They’re free for personal and commercial use.
brailleinstitute.org/freefont/…
#a11y
Atkinson Hyperlegible Font - Braille Institute
Read easier with Atkinson Hyperlegible Font, crafted for low-vision readers. Download for free and enjoy clear letters and numbers on your computer!Braille Institute
How to Use the WAVE Extension and Start Manual Accessibility Testing
blog.pope.tech/2022/12/02/wave…
#a11y #accessibility
blog.pope.tech/2022/12/02/wave…
#a11y #accessibility
How to use the WAVE extension and start manual accessibility testing - Pope Tech Blog
Learn how to use each tab in the WAVE extension.Whitney Lewis (Pope Tech Blog)