long post on accessibility advice from a blind screen reader user
OK #Mastodon. I've seen several toots on #accessibility for #screenreader users, however, I've not seen one from a screenreader user (as far as I know). I've used ZoomText, Outspoken, JAWS (AKA JFW), Supernova, NVDA (Windows), and VoiceOver (both on Macs and iPhone). I don't have experience with Windows Narrator or TalkBack. I would like to rectify and clarify a few small things.
First off, any awareness of accessibility issues, and endeavours to make things more accessible is great. Keep going!
But…
Blind/low-vision people have been using the internet as long as everyone else. We had to become used to the way people share things, and find workarounds or tell developers what we needed; this latter one has been the main drive to get us here and now. Over the past decade, screen readers have improved dramatically, including more tools, languages, and customisability. However, the basics were already firmly in place around 2000. Sadly, screen readers cost a lot of money at that time. Now, many are free; truly the biggest triumph for accessibility IMHO.
So, what you can do to help screen readers help their users is three simple things.
1. Write well: use punctuation, and avoid things like random capitalisation or * halfway through words.
2. Image description: screen readers with image recognition built-in will only provide a very short description, like: a plant, a painting, a person wearing a hat, etc. It can also deal with text included in the image, as long as the text isn't too creatively presented. So, by all means, go absolutely nuts with detail.
3. Hashtags: this is the most commonly boosted topic I've seen here, so #ThisIsWhatAnAccessibleHashtagLooksLike. The capitalisation ensures it's read correctly, and for some long hashtags without caps, I've known screen readers to give up and just start spelling the whole damn thing out, which is slow and painful.
That's really all. Thanks for reading! 😘
@Jamie Look! Real CS degrees!
@JohnBarentine My kind of family dinner!
Everybody ready to pick up the continuation of the OCDSB school board meeting that is considering a mask requirement for schools? I’m loading the stream and might post here. #OCDSB #OttPoli #BringBackMasks #WeNotMe
#Introduction
We're a group of Physics teachers and those with an interest in physics teaching who see the value in discussions with other educators.
We don't always get the time to talk about #pedagogy , #demos , #hinterland in school time. Chat Physics gives us the chance to share great ideas.
How easy is it to see Jupiter tonight?
*Very* easy!
Taken from Ottawa, around 5 pm on November 24.
I’m halfway through the most recent podcast of The Ezra Klein show, about how the *way* we read, and even learn to read, affects our retention, comprehension, etc.
I’m making it sound very obvious, but there are some interesting revelations in the interview. Very relevant to me as I have difficulty reading printed pages due to my eyesight. The iPad has been a great help there. I’m thinking I should invest in some good reading glasses…
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/22/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-maryanne-wolf.html
50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR TWITTER
You just pin your last tweet, Pete,
Request your archive, Clive,
You don’t need a blue tick, Vic,
Just get yourself free.
Hop on the tusk, Gus,
You don’t need to delete much,
Except your DMs, Jen,
And get yourself free.
Use Debirdify, Di,
Provide some alt tags, Mags,
Add a content warning, Tim,
To post sensitively.
Remember to boost, Ruth
You don't need to deny truth,
Just drop off the perch, Dirk,
And get yourself free.
#VerseThurday #TwitterMigration #FediTips
So, don't tell anybody, but we're going to announce Palm Pilot emulation in the browser at Internet Archive in the next week or so. I've still got to get descriptions in for the hundreds of apps that are uploaded, and add a few more classics. But if you want to help with that, or just let me know how it's going, ping me here.
But don't tell anybody! It's a secret!
I spent 20 years editing TV shows at all the networks (PBS, CBS, ABC, NBC, Discovery, Nat Geo, etc.) except Fox.
Shot docs about archaeology in Mexico. Then, with my wife Lyn, built a community center in the Lower East Side of NYC, with a planetarium, recording studio, maker shop.
Played Carl Sagan to neighborhood kids. Learned how to turn rectangular stories into hemispherical immersive stories.
Now I have a second chance to build a new planetarium in New York.
I have a new hobby. I'm revisiting old articles and replacing Twitter with Fediverse links and examples. It's cleansing and therapeutic.
https://coywolf.pro/webmaster/how-to-use-iconography-to-inform-readers-about-external-links/
Extremely grateful today for the end of the birdsite’s monopoly on rumor, quips, news, and the cultural memes that—more than we know—exert a vicegrip on our imaginations & moods. What a dangerous setup that was, & I can only fully see it now, with hindsight. Twitter can now fall apart or do porn/sports betting/4chan stuff. But it’ll never have a monopoly again.
Retired Chem/Physics/Earth Sciences teacher. I'm interested in everything.
I like a good debate that introduces me to other perspectives. I don't waste much time with people who devolve to name-calling or insults, aside to call them out on it.
I think society performs at its best when we take care of others, especially the weakest among us. That means a strong social safety net, with "free" healthcare, education, and public transit. It's a dream, I know.
30+ years of explaining stuff to teenagers has left me with some habits... I'm not a mansplainer, but I *do* like to find ways to 'splain stuff to receptive ears 😊
I like dogs, cats, and astronomy pictures with a bias towards the shorter wavelengths (kinda leaves out all those lovely Hα pics 😄).
The first thing I look at when shopping for cars is headroom/legroom. Saves a lot of time.