#Blind people who use #Matrix, particularly on #Windows, is #Element the most #accessible client? I've been getting into it because a lot of communities for #SelfHosted services use it, but I don't find Element the easiest to navigate, so I'm wondering if there are other options.
#SelfHosting #OpenSource #Accessibility #ScreenReader #ScreenReaders
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Thinking about the wasteful nature of #LLMs got me thinking about waste in my own development. While it can be convenient to use the large, enterprise-grade frameworks to deliver a minimalist website in 2025 - it's absurd.
Do I really need #laravel with #react, #jquery, #tailwind, #webFonts, #postgres to host some simple #markdown?
Do I need to re-render a bunch of static content at every hit? Does every simple article require 64 connections to the server to display?
I think not.
I want my material to be available to anyone who wants it - regardless of the device they are using or the robustness of their connection.
I want to respect users who disable #javascript for their personal protection.
I want to respect #ScreenReaders and users of assistive technology, without unnecessary complexity.
Everything we need is built into the HTML and CSS specs.
I was introduced to #OpenDrive a few days ago and so far I'm loving it. The Windows and iOS apps are very #accessible for the #blind who use #ScreenReaders. I'm on the kinda shitty free plan right now; I can't wait till next month so I can go premium.
Attention, blind Akkoma users! I will be writing to the developer with my concerns about a few problems with accessibility on this platform. Most should be easy to resolve. Please let me know if you find any more, and also state what browser and screen reader you are using. Note: This is in reference to the site itself, not to your client of choice. I will post about that separately. For the record, I use NVDA with Firefox.
1. Many buttons are unlabelled and simply say "button". This is true on the main page as well as when viewing posts and tabs in profiles. Most work once pressed. They just need to be labelled.
2. Searching for people, tags, groups, and posts is inaccessible. I can enter the edit field and write my text, but then, there are two unlabelled buttons next to that. The first simply takes me back to the edit field. The second does nothing. I am assuming this is a submit button that doesn't work via the keyboard.
3. It is impossible to view followers, as well as those whom I follow. I can see the numbers of each but not the people and groups themselves.
4. I cannot read my own profile without editing it. There appears to be no link where I can simply view it, either as myself or anonymously. If I go to my page and am not logged in, however, I can view it. I can also easily edit it when logged in.
5. The page renders very differently in Chrome than in Firefox. In Chrome, I can't see anything but my notifications, so I can't get to my page or the other timelines.
#accessibility #Akkoma #blind #Blob.cat #Chrome #Fediverse #fediverse #Firefox #JAWS #NVDA #html #ScreenReaders #SemanticHtml #Supermium #Windows
1. Many buttons are unlabelled and simply say "button". This is true on the main page as well as when viewing posts and tabs in profiles. Most work once pressed. They just need to be labelled.
2. Searching for people, tags, groups, and posts is inaccessible. I can enter the edit field and write my text, but then, there are two unlabelled buttons next to that. The first simply takes me back to the edit field. The second does nothing. I am assuming this is a submit button that doesn't work via the keyboard.
3. It is impossible to view followers, as well as those whom I follow. I can see the numbers of each but not the people and groups themselves.
4. I cannot read my own profile without editing it. There appears to be no link where I can simply view it, either as myself or anonymously. If I go to my page and am not logged in, however, I can view it. I can also easily edit it when logged in.
5. The page renders very differently in Chrome than in Firefox. In Chrome, I can't see anything but my notifications, so I can't get to my page or the other timelines.
#accessibility #Akkoma #blind #Blob.cat #Chrome #Fediverse #fediverse #Firefox #JAWS #NVDA #html #ScreenReaders #SemanticHtml #Supermium #Windows
blob.catAkkoma
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When you use mathematical bold caps in your posts, you make it inaccessible to #ScreenReaders.
Question for people who use #screenReaders: how annoying is it for you when people spell words out for dramatic emphasis by either dashes or spaces? For example:
d-a-s-h-e-s
s p a c e s
Is it a pain all the time, or is there a limit to how long the word(s) are when it becomes intolerable and a serious inconvenience for you to have to read?
For that matter, how bad is alternating case? LiKe ThIs?
I tried to post this to the Friendica support forum, but it kept timing out when I entered my information. I am now attempting to subscribe to their e-mail list. However, I thought I would write this here so that those who know coding, etc. might be able to offer a solution, or at least, to pass this on to the developers.
I joined Friendica in October of 2024, when Facebook decided to shut down their Basic Mobile site (not app). I am totally blind, and their main page is a nightmare to use with a screen readre (NVDA in my case). I chose Friendica because of the huge character limit, the ability to edit and delete posts, local posting, extensive profiles with keywords, and the ability to connect with all sorts of accounts in the Fediverse. For the most part, I am enjoying my time here. However, I am noticing a lot of inaccessibility on the Friendica page. I am not a programmer, but I'm guessing this is at the core of the software and is not due to the instance I'm using (friendica.world). I am also guessing that the page is not written in HTML5 and does not follow WCAG guidelines, though I may be wrong about that. If not, I strongly urge the developers to review them and implement them if possible. If so, perhaps, some changes can still be made that would make this a more screen reader-friendly site. Note that I tried this with Firefox and Supermium (a direct fork of Chrome).
Mostly, I use TweeseCake to access the site, but there are some things I can't do with that client. All of the following refer to the site itself.
- There is a list of links at the top of the page that acts like a menu. This causes many problems while trying to perform basic tasks, particularly editing posts and handling notifications. I can't always activate said links/menu either.
1A. I can't stress how frustrating editing posts is. It sometimes takes over ten minutes. The "edit" option is a link/menu, and it can only be found via another menu. Once I finally find and activate it, I hear the sound indicating that I have entered focus Mode. Usually, this means that I am in an edit box and can type. However, in this case, I am taken back to the main page, as if I never entered the option to edit my post. Using e to try to find an edit box doesn't help, as it just sends me to the replies to different comments. So I am forced to find the post, and start all over again. The only way I can do this successfully is to try to tab through the links/menu at the top of the page (when it works), then through other posts, until, finally, I am placed in an edit box where I can type.
1B. When I go to the Notifications" link, I have to tab to "Mark all System Notifications as Seen". This isn't even a regular link, as I can't copy and paste the text from it. Once I tab to and out of that, I can then read my notifications. But here is what I have to do if I want to see follow requests.
1. Try to get the notifications link to work, then click on it.
2. Tab to marking notifications.
3. Perform a search for the word follow.
4. Click on the link of the notification that someone wants to follow me. I open this in a new window, to try to keep the original one available.
5. Make my choice as to whether to approve that notification, then close that window.
6. Return to the main window. Only now, I am not where I left off. Instead, I am placed back at the beginning of the page and the Notifications menu is not open.
7. Repeat steps 1 through 3.
Ideally, I should be able to go to a normal notifications link, perform steps 3 through 5, then return back to the link, and perform steps 3 through 5 again, as many times as necessary, without having to repeat 1 through 3.
- I can't just go to the site and enter an edit box to post. I must go through a menu to find the link to do so. Yet there is an edit box for searching for content, tags, etc.
- Some pinned posts don't always read properly. I can see my name, when I posted, that it's pinned, a public message, tags (if applicable), buttons for resharing, etc., and the number of comments. But I cannot simply read the post itself. ""Comments" is also a button, not a link. Even when I expand them, I still can't see my post, and finding the button again to close them takes a lot of time, as posts also have their own buttons. Note that unpinned posts are read properly.
- While the process of editing my profile is completely accessible, finding the edit option might be slightly confusing for new users, as it requires entering yet another link/menu, this time with the user name as the title..
- If I go to a profile of someone not on Friendica (usually Mastodon) and wish to reply to a post, after I enter my credentials, it takes me back to my profile, not to the relevant post. It only worked once.
- The Friendica app for Windows is basically the site itself. I don't understand this at all.
If you want to see a truly accessible site, try this link. I don't work for them, though I do have an account there.
Please, if any changes can be made, I urge you to do so. The site is otherwise a pleasure to use, but my frustration at not being able to easily perform such basic tasks is increasing.
www.dreamwidth.orgCaptcha Check
I have talked about accessibility a lot here. But now, it's my turn to ask some questions! I fully admit to being guilty of not capitalising the first letter of each word when writing tags, unless said words are usually capitalised. As a screen reader user, I do realise this can lead to confusion. But are searches on Friendica and elsewhere in the Fediverse case sensitive? If I write goodwriting will it show up in the same listings as GoodWriting? If not, which should I follow, and what about single words, such as writing, which screen readers say correctly? Should I capitalise those (or not) for consistancy?
Here we go again, with the same old questions that were never answered or resolved.
I have an old post of mine that I want to edit on Friendica. I can go to the site and see it. I can even click on "edit". Then, no matter what I do, I am unable to change anything. I am put in a text edit box, and when I leave it, I am sent back to the page, as if I never hit "edit" at all. In the past, I have, with extreme patience and a lot of wasted time, been able to edit posts from the main site, but this time, it's not working. I'm not sure if it's simply a lack of screen reader accessibility or if there is a time limit to edit posts. This one that I specifically put on my profile for people to read. If posts expire or if I can't properly edit them, I will need to delete this repost it, then readd it to my profile. Even Tweesecake can't help, since the post is beyond its time range! Can anyone please help me? I don't know why certain things on Friendica are so difficult to do with screen readers.
I'm not at all sad that Tiktok is dying and yes, its out of spite that I say this because they didn't even bother making it #Accessible with #Screenreaders so they can jump off a cliff.
⛧ RandomMusickMayhem ⛧There is a reason, why i am always using Uppercase hashtags. For people who need to use #ScreenReaders "NowPlaying" is much better to recognize than "nowplaying". Each word should have its own Uppercase.
#Inclusion #ScreenReader #Blindness
I wish there was a comprehensive multi-hour documentary on the history of screenreaders and voice synthesis. This is something I would binge non-stop, because I've been using this software for so many years and it would be great to know the entire history of these sorts of things. #Blind, #ScreenReaders, #SpeechSynthesis
I’m diving into Reddit for the first time and decided to start with the Dystopia app, which is designed to be more accessible for blind users. I’ve found the r/Blind subreddit, and it seems like a great place to connect with others, but I’m still figuring out how to post on there. If anyone has tips or guidance on how to navigate the process, I’d really appreciate the help!
I’m excited to explore Reddit and see what the community has to offer. Any advice for a first-time user would be awesome!
Okay something weird is going on with my #website. I was going to try to look at the console to see if any plugins might be causing errors, but both #ScreenReaders I use lock up when I go to https://laniecarmelo.tech, and #NVDA, the one I'm using now, says "console cleared" over and over. What in the world?!?!?!
Can someone who can see and doesn't have to worry about their #ScreenReader locking up go to the website and take a look at the console for me?
#blind #tech #accessibility #technology
Calling all #blind #Windows users with #SteelSeries headsets! How do you check your headset's battery level? SteelSeries Engine isn't #accessible with #screenreaders, and the on-headset indicator isn't usable for us. Any workarounds or alternative methods? #a11y #gaming #AssistiveTech #BlindGamers
@mastoblind @main
Hey folks! I'm getting back into Thunderbird as my main email app on Windows and I'm on the hunt for some great add-ons.
I'm especially interested in **accessibility-focused add-ons** that play nice with NVDA and JAWS screen readers. But I'm also curious about any **cool add-ons** that make Thunderbird even better, even if they're not specifically for accessibility.
Got any recommendations? Share them here!
Tagging @mastoblind and @main to spread the word. This is for my fellow blind users, but anyone with a favorite Thunderbird add-on, please chime in!
Having a weird issue with the #JAWS #ScreenReader and wondering if anyone else has seen this. Every so often, usually when I'm typing, JAWS will say, "d" like I've typed that letter even though I didn't. It doesn't type the letter though. This is with JAWS 2025. Has anyone else seen anything like this? Thinking of doing a factory reset and seeing if the issue still occurs.
#Accessibility #ScreenReaders #Blind #Tech #Technology #A11y #AssistiveTechnology
#blind #programmers and those learning to #program like me: Do you think it would be useful to have a group here on #Mastodon for blind #devs? I've been getting questions from other blind people about the tools I use and #coding with a #screenReader, so I was thinking it might be neat to have a place where we can all talk and exchange tips.
#programming #blindProgrammer #screenReaders #accessibility #learningToCode #learningToProgram
@mastoblind @main
Edit: group exists now: @blindprogrammers
Question for #KoFi users who use #ScreenReaders. My Ko-Fi account is connected to a fried PayPal account, and I want to disconnect it and connect it to my working PayPal account, but I don't see any option to do that. I want to switch from Stripe to PayPal because PayPal has no holding.