📣 Rest is Rust. Motion is Lotion.

💪🏾My SPARTA Strength Class at the Malden Senior Center lives by this motto! Just look at these smiles. With ages from 65 to 97, we are a diverse community of all backgrounds and abilities. We don't just lift weights—we lift each other up.✨

#StrongerTogether #HealthEquity#SeniorFitness#Aging#Diversity #quote#Accessibility#Fitness#Inspiration#Community#America #northshorema #boston #fun #exercise #photography

Please, for the sake of folks using screen readers:

Add decent alt text to your images. You don’t need an elaborate description, but something as minimal as “dog” isn’t kind.

Don’t overdo the emojis. These have alt text associated with them, but it gets tiresome to hear (rather than see) a string of them. Some are worse than others; hearing “red heart” repeatedly isn’t as bad as hearing “smiling face with smiling eyes.” Emojis at the end of a post are the best, as they are easier to skip over.

Don’t use emoticons at all; a screen reader can’t make any sense of them.

Remember that ascii art is largely inaccesssible, too. Listen to how sign bunny and some others are heard: https://adrianroselli.com/2021/10/blaming-screen-readers-red-flag.html#Handle

Don’t use unicode mathematical symbols in your display name or posts to create bold, italic or script letters. Think of the poor person hearing something like this: “Mathematical symbol italicized s, Mathematical symbol italicized c”, etc. (Alternatively, the characters may not be read at all.)

#accessibility

Many thanks to everyone who replied to my post yesterday asking: Folks using screen readers: How annoying is it to come across posts with a lot of emojis?

I got so many helpful replies that I've summarized what I learned into the following post, which took every character my instance allows for posts!

Yesterday's post is here, if you want to reference and see the individual replies.
https://sfba.social/@jeridansky/114971894672483573

#accessibility

Please, for the sake of folks using screen readers:

Add decent alt text to your images. You don’t need an elaborate description, but something as minimal as “dog” isn’t kind.

Don’t overdo the emojis. These have alt text associated with them, but it gets tiresome to hear (rather than see) a string of them. Some are worse than others; hearing “red heart” repeatedly isn’t as bad as hearing “smiling face with smiling eyes.” Emojis at the end of a post are the best, as they are easier to skip over.

Don’t use emoticons at all; a screen reader can’t make any sense of them.

Remember that ascii art is largely inaccesssible, too. Listen to how sign bunny and some others are heard: https://adrianroselli.com/2021/10/blaming-screen-readers-red-flag.html#Handle

Don’t use unicode mathematical symbols in your display name or posts to create bold, italic or script letters. Think of the poor person hearing something like this: “Mathematical symbol italicized s, Mathematical symbol italicized c”, etc. (Alternatively, the characters may not be read at all.)

#accessibility

Many thanks to everyone who replied to my post yesterday asking: Folks using screen readers: How annoying is it to come across posts with a lot of emojis?

I got so many helpful replies that I've summarized what I learned into the following post, which took every character my instance allows for posts!

Yesterday's post is here, if you want to reference and see the individual replies.
https://sfba.social/@jeridansky/114971894672483573

#accessibility

Creative Equipment, Maximum Fun 😅

🎯Who says you need fancy equipment for a great workout? For my SPARTA Strength Class for Seniors (ages 65-97), I love getting creative with what's available.

➡️ This video shows how I repurpose everyday items to make movement accessible, challenging, and #fun. Watch the rockstars at the Milano Senior Center in Melrose take on a new #fitness challenge using just a beach ball and a hula hoop! ✨

#health #northshorema #community#Accessibility #aging #mentalhealth

Before I begin, I am totally blind and have never seen. I agree with most of this, but not all of it. I simply use things that work. I never buy things without real dials or buttons, including all of my appliances. I don't need an app to turn on my microwave or use my toaster. I don't shop on inaccessible sites. Most restaurants have websites with menus, many of which are fully accessible. If I don't simply ask someone who is with me what's available, I use my computer before we get there and decide what I want, or if I absolutely had to, I would pull out my keyboard and check it on my phone. I see no issue with 3.5mm jacks, since I use them every day in my own devices. I usually just buy things online, negating the need for cash entirely, though I do usually keep some in my wallet. I have no problem asking for help when needed. I fail to see what dignity has to do with it. It's not my fault that idiots make idiotic technology.

Having said all of that, on the whole, I do agree with this. Many sites are inaccessible, and in 2025, with WCAG (website accessibility guidelines) available to all, this shouldn't even be an issue. I can understand very small businesses not knowing much about these things, but some of these sites are owned by multi-billion dollar corporations (ahem, Facebook, Google for GMail and Youtube). They claim accessibility while destroying the versions of their sites that were actually accessible in the first place (Basic Mobile site, Basic HTML, and pre-2018 mobile site, respectively). The obsession with touchscreens and digital everything is also utterly ridiculous. Even cars aren't made normally anymore. I'm surprised people don't have computers to think for them! There do need to be more normal options available. Nowhere is this more obvious than with phones. Why can't we have a qwerty phone that runs the latest version of Android, works well, and receives updates in a decent amount of time? At the very least, why can't we have a phone that's a good size (around that of the iPhone SE 2016-20-22 or smaller), instead of being almost as large as a tablet! I have to carry that and my folding bluetooth keyboard around with me, and then, people wonder why I don't bring my phone everywhere and am not addicted to it? I already own one, but why can't there be more microwaves with dials sold alongside the annoying touchscreen ones? What about stoves which are completely flat and can literally kill or severely burn us? Since when did putting real burners on them become a problem? Why can't people actually say whether something such as a fan or heater uses a touchscreen or dials? Most of the time, they do, or it will say "digital controls" which is a dead giveaway, but that's not always the case. And why, in 2025, can't we have simple braille labels on products, or at least labels and bar codes that are easy to scan with ocr software?

I don't work, but I also understand things from that perspective. I've heard a horror story of a woman who had a great job and did it well. One morning, she went to work and the updated software wouldn't work with her screen reader, so she lost her job. I've seen many applications for jobs that require vision, even when you think they wouldn't, or jobs that, by all rights should be doable, until, again, the software causes trouble.

https://nimerblogs.blogspot.com/2025/08/congratulations-youve-unlocked-expert.html?m=1

#accessibility #blindness#ScreenReaders #technology

Before I begin, I am totally blind and have never seen. I agree with most of this, but not all of it. I simply use things that work. I never buy things without real dials or buttons, including all of my appliances. I don't need an app to turn on my microwave or use my toaster. I don't shop on inaccessible sites. Most restaurants have websites with menus, many of which are fully accessible. If I don't simply ask someone who is with me what's available, I use my computer before we get there and decide what I want, or if I absolutely had to, I would pull out my keyboard and check it on my phone. I see no issue with 3.5mm jacks, since I use them every day in my own devices. I usually just buy things online, negating the need for cash entirely, though I do usually keep some in my wallet. I have no problem asking for help when needed. I fail to see what dignity has to do with it. It's not my fault that idiots make idiotic technology.

Having said all of that, on the whole, I do agree with this. Many sites are inaccessible, and in 2025, with WCAG (website accessibility guidelines) available to all, this shouldn't even be an issue. I can understand very small businesses not knowing much about these things, but some of these sites are owned by multi-billion dollar corporations (ahem, Facebook, Google for GMail and Youtube). They claim accessibility while destroying the versions of their sites that were actually accessible in the first place (Basic Mobile site, Basic HTML, and pre-2018 mobile site, respectively). The obsession with touchscreens and digital everything is also utterly ridiculous. Even cars aren't made normally anymore. I'm surprised people don't have computers to think for them! There do need to be more normal options available. Nowhere is this more obvious than with phones. Why can't we have a qwerty phone that runs the latest version of Android, works well, and receives updates in a decent amount of time? At the very least, why can't we have a phone that's a good size (around that of the iPhone SE 2016-20-22 or smaller), instead of being almost as large as a tablet! I have to carry that and my folding bluetooth keyboard around with me, and then, people wonder why I don't bring my phone everywhere and am not addicted to it? I already own one, but why can't there be more microwaves with dials sold alongside the annoying touchscreen ones? What about stoves which are completely flat and can literally kill or severely burn us? Since when did putting real burners on them become a problem? Why can't people actually say whether something such as a fan or heater uses a touchscreen or dials? Most of the time, they do, or it will say "digital controls" which is a dead giveaway, but that's not always the case. And why, in 2025, can't we have simple braille labels on products, or at least labels and bar codes that are easy to scan with ocr software?

I don't work, but I also understand things from that perspective. I've heard a horror story of a woman who had a great job and did it well. One morning, she went to work and the updated software wouldn't work with her screen reader, so she lost her job. I've seen many applications for jobs that require vision, even when you think they wouldn't, or jobs that, by all rights should be doable, until, again, the software causes trouble.

https://nimerblogs.blogspot.com/2025/08/congratulations-youve-unlocked-expert.html?m=1

#accessibility #blindness#ScreenReaders #technology

Folks using screen readers: How annoying is it to come across posts with a lot of emojis? I know those that use the clapping hands every other word are ones to avoid boosting, but what about someone who just adds five or so emojis in a row? Or scatters them throughout the post? How many is too many?

I often see posts I'd like to boost, but the many emojis makes me hesitate.

#accessibility #a11y#AskFedi

Folks using screen readers: How annoying is it to come across posts with a lot of emojis? I know those that use the clapping hands every other word are ones to avoid boosting, but what about someone who just adds five or so emojis in a row? Or scatters them throughout the post? How many is too many?

I often see posts I'd like to boost, but the many emojis makes me hesitate.

#accessibility #a11y#AskFedi

☀️Beach:Ability 2025 | Constitution #Beach, East #Boston

Back at one of my favorite summer events—adaptive beach chairs, kayaking, music, games, and good food with even better company.

Hosted by Triangle, Inc. with support from Save the Harbor and DCR’s Universal Access Program, Beach:Ability builds #community through movement, laughter, and shared space.

Learn more➡️: https://triangle-inc.org/

#disability #savetheharbor #accessibility #fun #kayak #inclusion #family#healthequity

I am a web developer in Germany looking for #accessibility training for front- and backend processes. Could you recommend some courses or books? I already use ARIA-Tags up and down in all my work projects, but I want to bake accessibility into the structure of my work,.

Something to always be aware of: Many wheelchair users can stand and move around for brief periods of time. Not all wheelchair users are paralysed. Reasons for wheelchair use are numerous and varied.

Some wheelchair users choose not to stand in public because chances are they will be chastised and harassed if they do. With more awareness and understanding this risk can hopefully diminish over time.

For example, if a wheelchair user is able to retrieve their own wheelchair from the boot/trunk of their car, this does not mean they are ”faking”, and accusing them of this is ableist in itself.

”Ambulatory wheelchair user” is something you can search for to learn more, as many are sharing their experiences online, like Lauren:

https://www.rareyouthrevolution.com/post/ten-things-i-wish-you-knew-from-an-ambulatory-wheelchair-user

#accessibility#wheelchair#ambulatory

Top stuff. Would read again.

“On inclusive personas and inclusive user research”
https://ericwbailey.website/published/on-inclusive-personas-and-inclusive-user-research/

Gonna stuff this into my next ‘Selfish Accessibility’ talk where I grumble about personas.

#UX #accessibility

Top stuff. Would read again.

“On inclusive personas and inclusive user research”
https://ericwbailey.website/published/on-inclusive-personas-and-inclusive-user-research/

Gonna stuff this into my next ‘Selfish Accessibility’ talk where I grumble about personas.

#UX #accessibility

Not sure if this is a stretch, but has anyone managed to get automated #captions (or CART) and shareable live #transcriptions working with the public #Jitsi Meet instance, even via a third-party app?

https://meet.jit.si

I'm not interested in self-hosting, and I'm open to paid solutions. I know that there are some services that offer a bot that you can invite into your meeting to transcribe, but the ones I've tried don't work with Jitsi (Iist in 🧵)

#accessibility #a11y #videoconferencing

I've already written to these folks, but other #Linux people should know this. Having a separate, accessible, link to a tool that will help you choose a distro isn't accessible. The tool should be fully accessible by default. Can other accessibility folks point this out to them too? Oh and also, the link isn't visible to screen magnifier users, I am told, so the direct link to the accessible mode is https://distrochooser.de/?vim=true#Accessibility#A11y