What Accessibility Means To Me

You say potato and I say potato, and yes, I know VoiceOver read both of those the same way, so you will have to imagine the commonly used expression. Being a VoiceOver user on the iPhone and Mac since 2009, I have become very familiar with the word accessibility and the hash tag #A11Y. The interesting thing about both of these terms, is that they mean something different to everyone.

 

If you are like me and follow people in the blind tech community on Twitter, or subscribe to a blind tech email list, and frequently check AppleVis, you will come across the word accessibility on a daily basis. One thing I find interesting is that people use the word differently. For example, lets say that an app has a few unlabeled buttons. One person might call it inaccessible due to the unlabeled buttons, while another might say the app is very accessible but takes a little work to use. Neither one of these statements is incorrect. It all depends on how you view the meaning of the word accessibility.

 

Lets take a closer look as we look at the Facebook iPhone App review on AppleVis. Under the heading accessibility comments it says, the app is getting better in terms of accessibility. This statement is very true. If you have been a long time Facebook user like me, the app has come a long way in compatibility with VoiceOver. I would call the app about 90% accessible, as I still always have a little difficulty using things like events when wanting to create one and add people to invite to it. I also still haven’t fully grasped how the timeline works, as sometimes I can get everyone’s posts, and other times I have major time gaps between postings. By no means would I call Facebook inaccessible, but some people still do. Under VoiceOver performance, it says VoiceOver reads most page elements. If you only feel apps are accessible is if you can use a hundred percent of the app, than you might still say Facebook is inaccessible. Do I view somebody who would say this as wrong? Absolutely not, we just have a difference of opinion on what accessibility means to us. Under the heading Usability the review says, there are some minor accessibility issues with this app but they are easy to deal with. I agree with this statement, but someone that is new to VoiceOver might not have the same level of comfort using VoiceOver therefore they might say what in the world are you talking about? I can’t do a thing with the app. Again, are they wrong? No. Accessibility can almost be viewed as a skill level, and length of use will make apps that don’t work fully with VoiceOver more accessible to more experienced users.

 

Comparatively lets think about a sighted person who has never used a Mac, and has used a PC their entire life. If you sit them in front of a Mac and expect them to use it as quickly as they accomplish tasks on a PC, it isn’t going to happen. They are going to not know how to do certain tasks. My point is, accessibility can be viewed as experience and knowledge of how to use an operating system.

 

So we want to know what the word accessibility means to you? Feel free to chime off in the comments section below.