[Updated: Saved from closure] The End of an Era: Announcing the Closure of AppleVis

Update 28 August: I am thrilled to share some great news about AppleVis' future - AppleVis will be joining the Be My Eyes family through an acquisition that ensures not only its continued existence but also opens up exciting new possibilities.

When I announced the impending closure of AppleVis in July, I was deeply moved by the outpouring of support from our community. Your responses underscored the vital role AppleVis plays in the lives of so many blind and low-vision individuals. I am thrilled to inform you that this acquisition means AppleVis will continue to serve our community, stronger than ever before.

In our discussions with the team at Be My Eyes about saving AppleVis from closure, they have demonstrated a profound understanding of AppleVis' mission and the value it brings. I am confident that their clear commitment to our community aligns seamlessly with the principles that have guided AppleVis since its inception.

Key aspects of this acquisition that I believe will benefit our community include:

1. Editorial Independence: AppleVis will maintain its editorial autonomy, ensuring that content continues to reflect the authentic voices and needs of its community.
2. Stability: Be My Eyes is creating three new paid staff positions and retaining existing volunteer editorial team members, which will enhance the ability to serve the community and place AppleVis on firm foundations moving forward.
3. Experienced Oversight: Bryan Bashin, Vice Chairman of Be My Eyes and a respected figure in the blind community, will oversee AppleVis, bringing valuable insights and leadership.
4. Timely Re-opening: AppleVis will reopen shortly after the acquisition, ensuring uninterrupted access to its resources, including coverage of Apple's upcoming software releases.

I want to be transparent about the nature of this acquisition. This is not a financial transaction - no money has changed hands, and I have not personally profited from this arrangement. Instead, this is a mission-driven partnership where Be My Eyes is taking on the responsibility of maintaining and growing AppleVis for the benefit of our community. My decision to transfer stewardship of AppleVis to Be My Eyes was driven solely by the desire to ensure its continued existence and growth. In this arrangement, Be My Eyes will acquire the AppleVis website, brand, and a license to all content, allowing them to invest in its future while maintaining the volunteer spirit that has always been at the heart of our community. As planned, I will still be stepping down from my role on the editorial team.

For more information, read the announcements from Be My Eyes and the AppleVis editorial team.

I am excited about the potential for AppleVis to grow and evolve under Be My Eyes' stewardship. Their expertise and resources will allow AppleVis to develop and expand its platform in ways that would not have been possible under my leadership. While I am proud of what we have accomplished over the past 14 years, I am even more optimistic about what the future holds for AppleVis.

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Original post:

Dear AppleVis Community,

It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that after careful consideration I have made the difficult decision to step down from my responsibilities with AppleVis. As a direct result of my departure and following extensive deliberation, the editorial team has come to the painful conclusion that AppleVis will be closing. This decision was not made lightly, but it has become clear that continuing AppleVis without my involvement is not feasible.

Some of you may be aware of my recent health scare, and I would like to emphasise that the timing of this decision is entirely coincidental and unrelated. The discussions have been ongoing for a couple of months, and the final decision had already been reached. My health scare has only delayed this process.

Maintaining AppleVis has essentially been a full-time responsibility for me since I founded it in 2010 — a commitment I've undertaken entirely on a voluntary and unpaid basis. This level of dedication has demanded countless hours of work encompassing nearly every aspect of AppleVis' operations, often starting or ending well outside what many would consider a typical workday. While I've been largely happy to make this commitment, driven by our mission and the positive impact we've had on the community, it has come at significant personal cost. The level of this work has meant substantial sacrifices to my personal and family life, with many missed moments and opportunities. Moreover, the voluntary nature and level of this work has led to additional sacrifices in terms of potential career opportunities and income, a choice I made willingly for the benefit of our users. This dedication wouldn't have been possible without the unwavering support and understanding of my wife. Her patience, encouragement, and willingness to accommodate the demands of AppleVis on our personal life and circumstances have been instrumental in allowing me to devote so much time and energy to this project. I owe her a debt of gratitude that words can scarcely express.

As life evolves, so too must our priorities. I've now reached a stage in my own life where I need to reassess my commitments and focus more on personal matters. The demands and mentally exhausting nature of my responsibilities for AppleVis have made it increasingly challenging to maintain a healthy equilibrium between my personal life and volunteer commitments. Despite my passion for this project, I find myself no longer able to dedicate the necessary time and energy to maintain AppleVis at the level it deserves and our community expects. After much reflection, I have made the difficult decision to step down from my responsibilities with AppleVis. This choice, while not easy, is necessary for my personal well-being and to allow me to redirect my focus to other aspects of my life.

My responsibilities for AppleVis have been so all-encompassing that not a single day has passed in the last fourteen years when I've been able to completely set aside these obligations. I must acknowledge that this situation is largely of my own making and choosing. By being the sole person responsible for the development and maintenance of the website itself, I've shouldered the entire technical workload alone. This situation also meant that I was often the only person on the team who could handle questions and issues from the community about the website and their use of it, creating a bottleneck and placing additional pressure on my time and energy. While this approach allowed for consistency and rapid decision-making, it has also created an untenable situation. Not only has it meant carrying a constant burden, but it has also placed both myself and the rest of the editorial team in a difficult position where there is no ‘exit ramp’ by which I can transition these responsibilities to others on the team.

While personal circumstances are the primary reason for this decision, I must also acknowledge other contributing factors. The increasingly negative environment fostered by a small but vocal minority within our community has taken its toll. Over time, the constant barrage of criticism, unfounded accusations, and toxic interactions has become a significant source of stress and exhaustion. This situation has been exacerbated by the growing necessity for intervention and moderation on the site. Contrary to what some might claim, I do not enjoy this aspect of operating AppleVis, nor do I possess the skillset necessary to do it well. The process of moderating discussions, along with the frequent pushback it generates, has become increasingly draining. Waking each day to face these challenges has gradually eroded my enthusiasm and energy for AppleVis. After much reflection, I've come to realise that life is too short to voluntarily continue to subject myself to such an environment. While I remain proud of our achievements and grateful for the positive aspects of our community, I believe it's time to prioritise my well-being.

Another significant factor in my decision is my lack of formal training or background in web development. Even referring to myself as a hobbyist in this field would be a stretch. Despite this, I have been extremely proud of the website that I created and maintained. I believe that it has offered a good set of features, performed well, and remained stable throughout the years. I've also strived to deliver a solid user experience for the majority in our community who use screen readers. However, it's become increasingly clear that for some in our community, this is not enough. The demands for more advanced features and technical improvements have grown, and I find myself lacking the skills and expertise to deliver what they require. This gap between expectations and my capabilities has made the situation increasingly untenable. While I've always been committed to making the AppleVis website the best that I can, the growing demands of user expectations have outpaced my ability to deliver.

I am acutely aware that this news will shock and disappoint our community. Please know that this decision was not made lightly or hastily, but rather as the result of careful consideration by our entire editorial team. Each member has invested significant time and effort into AppleVis over the years, making this decision all the more difficult. AppleVis has been a labor of love for all of us, and we're incredibly proud of what we've achieved together. The dedication and hard work of every team member have been instrumental in shaping AppleVis into the valuable resource it has become, and this collective effort makes the decision to close even more poignant.

While I wouldn't want to put words in their mouths, I know that my decision has triggered significant soul searching by each member of the editorial team. They have not only contemplated the future of AppleVis but also explored potential options to prevent its closure. Additionally, each team member has reflected deeply on their own circumstances, capabilities, and desire to remain involved with what they all consider to be an endeavour they are extremely proud to be part of.

All team members have their own commitments and demands on their time which limit their availability for AppleVis. In light of this, the members of the editorial team only deserve praise and appreciation for their willingness to devote some of their own precious free time for the benefit of AppleVis and our community. Their dedication, despite the challenges of balancing work, family, and other personal responsibilities, is truly commendable. This selfless contribution of time and expertise has been the backbone of AppleVis's success and longevity.

I anticipate that there will likely be some people reading this who will be critical of the team and the decision we've made. However, it's important to understand that this is an extremely easy position to take when one is not aware of all that goes into maintaining AppleVis on a daily basis, especially by volunteers who have only ever sought to contribute what they can for the benefit of the wider community. To those who may be quick to criticise without full understanding, I would respectfully suggest that you give your head a wobble. The dedication and effort put into AppleVis by our team of volunteers over the years have been extraordinary, and this decision was not made lightly or without careful consideration of all possible alternatives.

Reflecting on our journey, I am immensely proud of all we have accomplished over the past fourteen years. AppleVis has made a real and meaningful difference in the lives of many. To everyone who has contributed – whether by sharing information, submitting apps to our directories, recording podcasts, creating content, or offering help and advice to others – you should feel a profound sense of pride. Together, we have created a valuable resource and significantly improved the accessibility of Apple technologies and third-party applications, a testament to the power of our community.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to those I've worked most closely with over the past fourteen years: the current and former members of the AppleVis Editorial Team. It has been an absolute honour and privilege to work alongside you. If my appreciation for your contributions hasn't always been clear, I sincerely apologise.

To the current Editorial Team members – Thomas, Michael, Scott, Alex, Dave, and Tyler – I know that this closure affects you deeply. Your unwavering support, understanding, and years of selfless dedication to making AppleVis an invaluable resource are truly appreciated. I hope everyone reading this will join me in thanking you and wishing you the very best for the future. I am honoured to call you friends.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who has made financial contributions to AppleVis over the years. Your support has been instrumental in our success, and you should share in the pride of what we've achieved. If you currently have an active recurring donation to AppleVis, you can expect to receive a confirmation email from PayPal in the next few days stating that this has been cancelled. We appreciate your ongoing support and want to ensure that you're not charged for any future donations given our impending closure.

I would also like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the individuals at Apple with whom I've had the privilege of interacting over the past fourteen years. It has been incredibly rewarding to witness firsthand the impact that AppleVis has had on improving the accessibility of Apple technologies for the blind and low vision community. One of my biggest regrets has been not being able to speak openly during this time about the extensive collaborations, initiatives, and work that Apple undertakes with individuals, groups, and organisations to enhance the accessibility of its products. It has been particularly frustrating to observe certain criticisms of Apple's accessibility team or circulating information about them, knowing that it doesn't reflect the full reality. I sincerely hope that a time will come when Apple can be more transparent about these efforts, as they truly go above and beyond what is publicly known. It has also been immensely gratifying to see the reach and influence of AppleVis within Apple itself. Learning that people at the highest levels of the company have, on occasions, been aware of and acted in response to concerns and wishes expressed by our community has been both humbling and inspiring. This behind-the-scenes impact has been a constant source of pride and motivation throughout our journey.

Effective immediately, the AppleVis website will be set to a read-only mode. This means that while all existing content will remain accessible, new posts, comments, and account registrations will be disabled. We anticipate maintaining this read-only state until August 31, 2024. At that point, unless the editorial team has identified a viable option to keep AppleVis alive in some form, the website will be taken offline permanently. This timeline allows the team a period to explore potential alternatives while still providing access to the valuable resources and information currently on the site. We understand that this change may be disappointing, especially as it coincides with Apple's usual major OS release cycle in September. However, this decision reflects our current circumstances and the need to manage the site's closure responsibly. We encourage users to save any crucial information from the site during this read-only period, as access beyond August 31 is not guaranteed.

In closing, I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has been part of the AppleVis journey. Your contributions, support, and engagement have made this community truly special. While this chapter may be ending, the impact of our collective efforts will continue to be felt in the world of Apple accessibility for years to come.

Thank you for being part of AppleVis.