Accessibility Improvements In DW

[jeshyr]

I'd like to put together a list of all the stuff in Dreamwidth that's aimed at making us more accessible - so everything from "We have a diversity statement" to "Alt text for user icons" to "comment threads easier to navigate because of semantic HTML" to (eventually) "guides available to teach users to use browser accessibility functions themselves".

I don't think there's a list in one place of all the improvements that have been made which relate in some way to accessibility for any group.

Ones I can think of:

- Alt text for user icons
- Diversity Statement (which goes with "our volunteers care about accessibility")
- "Other" option in gender field
- Layout of HTML in comment threads is semantic now, which makes them easier to navigate with a screen reader and some other accessibility software..
- We've made the format=light and style=mine options more widely known and easier to use by putting them on the navbar.
- Readers have more control over their viewing experience - eg if they don't want the navbar then they can turn it off globally.

What other improvements have people noticed in accessibility while reading and using Dreamwidth?

Ricky

Comments

[jadelennox]

lightgetsin mentioned, in that comment you linked to a couple of days ago, not only that the layout of HTML in comments thread is semantic now, but the ordering of userpic/subject line on the page is more logical.

Also, core2 for styles -- whatever is going to be named in the end it -- has more functionality built directly into the underlying core style so that by default, it will be much easier for style writers to use the underlying styles which have accessibility functionality built right in, and the only styles which will be accepted as contributions are going to have those accessibility features.

[highlander_ii]

We haven't done it yet, but we're aiming for the WAI-ARIA coding... which, yes, I'm still up for helping with if someone can explain how to get the code info for the pages. *g*

I know there's probably more, but I can't think of any others right off the top of my head...

"Other" option in gender field

[jason]

Is there no way to go farther than this? I remember 20 years ago moos had 7 genders. Could it not be a text field with a long list, like moods? I just realized that this might look funny to people, but what's the rationale for limiting to the official ones. Or what's the value of putting it in at all, vs all the other self descriptors.

[we_are_spc]

Maybe this is the wrong place for this, but the fact that the tag edit/removal page is completely accessible makes us all kinds of squeeingly dancingly happies. :d

-Us

[gaspodia]

I haven't had a chance to flick through many user pages, but there does seem to be a welcome lack of flashing icons. Is this just users being thoughtful or a setting in DW?