📣 Call for Participation
W3C will hold a virtual "Workshop on Smart Voice Agents" from 25–27 February 2026 to explore stakeholder needs, use-cases, and gaps in Web standards for voice agents.
Topics include #accessibility, internationalization, modality integration, #trust, #security, and business models. Attendance is free and open to all.
https://www.w3.org/2025/10/smartagents-workshop/
Submit your talk proposal by 27 November!
Weil ich das heute schon ein paar Mal gesehen habe: Links gehören nicht in die bildbeschreibung, dort kann man sie nicht anklicken. Verlinkungen ausschließlich in den Tröt. #Accessibility #Bildbeschreibung
As someone who is totally blind, the Fediverse is the only place where I have ever been able to follow people such as photographers, artists, or even those who post pictures of their cats or the food they ate. The reason is that most of them use alt text. They take the time to describe the images that my screen reader can't recognise. Some write the descriptions themselves, and others use tools such as altbot. Some worry that their descriptions aren't good enough, especially when they are new at this. Let me assure you, not only are they good enough, they are extremely appreciated! If the rest of the world thought as you did, it would be a much better place. Don't hesitate to ask if you're unsure of something, but never think that we don't notice your effort.
#appreciation #accessibility #altbot #alttext #blind #blindness #fediverse #gratitude #images #inclusivity #peoplewhocare #pictures #technology
*sigh* any lawyers on here wanna help me sue every one of these overlay companies? I've got all the time in the world to be a plaintiff, and the knowledge to make them look like donkeys in court. https://chrisyoong.com/blog/nhs-trusts-and-accessibility-overlays #Law #Accessibility
What convinced you to start adding alt text to images you post online?
WCAG 2.2 is now ISO/IEC 40500:2025. The formal recognition enables more countries to formally adopt WCAG 2.2. ISO/IEC 40500:2025 is free from the ISO website. Supporting resources and translations are free from the W3C website. You can read more and share our press release https://www.w3.org/press-releases/2025/wcag22-iso-pas/
NEW ACCESSIBILITY SHIRT!
A11Y is going to space!
If you saw my tees at #a11yTOConf and wondered where you could squander money on them…
The POURP shirt:
https://aardrian.threadless.com/designs/pourpn-atkinson-hyperlegible-white-text/mens/t-shirt/classic
The W*C*A*G shirt (brown version):
https://aardrian.threadless.com/designs/w-c-a-g/mens/t-shirt/classic
This is a perfect example of how nebulous #screenReader #accessibility is, and why it confuses so many laymen. I am looking at a web page right now that has a "Download" button. The button is an a (anchor) tag, with a div inside of it with the CSS class for a download button.
Obviously this is awful HTML, but it works fine, if you can see. There's a big fat button with "DOWNLOAD!" in all caps on the screen. Clicking this button starts the download. Seems good, no?
Well, no. This div has no actual textual content, and the anchor tag has no href or text either. So this huge honking button is entirely invisible to screen readers. How do I even begin to explain this to, say, a customer support rep? :)
I see people are again blaming screen readers when being politely asked to maybe use fewer emoji and Unicode characters as decoration. Too easy to blame something you don’t understand than to be considerate.
https://adrianroselli.com/2021/10/blaming-screen-readers-red-flag.html
#accessibility #a11y
Today is the Global Accessibility Awareness Day - and so Apple sat down with me to talk about how I build truly accessible apps. 🦾
The interview is now live on the *front page* of the App Store 🥹
Wagtail Space is a go! We're on the hunt for speakers right now. If you have a great Wagtail story to tell or a story about #AI, #Accessibility , or #Sustainability that would be relevant to our audience, we definitely want to connect. 😁
- error fields are marked in red, non error in green, good luck if you are colorblind
- good luck also to know what the error is. Did you put an invalid post code, or just forgot about a mandatory field, who knows, right?
- and don't get me started on placeholders as labels (the worse is that, there is an actual label with the star to indicate mandatory fields, but they are hidden with a big display none)
When it comes to accessibility, and UX, never assume something is "common sense". Always make sure this "common sense", makes it to production.
Ruminating on the potential for #AI in #accessibility https://www.aaron-gustafson.com/notebook/opportunities-for-ai-in-accessibility/
Wix going all "use text marquee to add scrolling effect to content you want to highlight", how about, no? This is an accessibility nightmare, there's a reason the HTML marquee tag was removed.
Also, scroll animations, again, please no. Or at least, respect prefers-reduced motion.
Those examples appear while their new studio loads. Just looking at them made me nauseous. I have prefers-reduced motion switched off, but, I still get the very annoying example. Meh.
Many people still misunderstand screen readers — who uses them, how they work, and what inclusive design really means.
Ela Gorla has unpacked the most common myths and what they reveal about digital accessibility on the TetraLogical blog:
https://tetralogical.com/blog/2025/10/14/common-misconceptions-about-screen-readers/
There’s an accessibility bug on Mastodon: you cannot add custom alt text to your profile or header image. This means people using screen readers can’t know what these images show, so important info is missing for visually impaired users. ♿
Please help by upvoting and commenting on the issue so it gets more attention from developers 👇
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/36439
Let’s make Mastodon more inclusive for everyone! 🤗
CC 
@Mastodon
Hey everyone! I'm Matthew Whitaker, an Emmy Nominated professional blind touring musician, producer, singer, songwriter, and accessibility advocate. My musical journey has led me to collaborate with legends like Stevie Wonder, Christian McBride, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and Kim Tibs. You might have seen my performances on shows like The Harry Connick Jr. Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Showtime at The Apollo.
I'm passionate about making technology accessible for blind users and love working with developers to achieve this. A Juilliard graduate, I currently serve as the Minister of Music at New Hope Baptist Church in Hackensack, New Jersey, where I was born and raised.
Beyond music, I enjoy video and audio games, skiing, indoor rock climbing, and bowling. I love spending time with family and exploring new musical and non-musical adventures. Excited to connect with you all here!
Learn more about my work on my website: [www.matthewwhitaker.net](http://www.matthewwhitaker.net).
#Music #Accessibility #BlindMusician #Collaboration #Innovation #Juilliard #Community #Gaming #Adventure #Faith #Family #NewHorizons
By now you know that Microsoft is now defaulting to saving new Word documents directly to OneDrive. I guess Excel will be the next inline. The cynical take is that this is incredibly convenient for them, especially if they plan on using that data to train future LLMs. Imagine paying for software only to have your data automatically funneled into their cloud. Plus, what happens when you're offline and need those files? Just use the LibreOffice and just say no to all Microsoft products.
I am getting really tired of that word 'Just" in these kinds of rants. For a huge amount of people, there's no such thing as "just switch", because in a lot of cases these people are considered "just" a minority that are "just" so difficult to keep in mind when developing these alternatives, I bet I only "just" made you think of them again "just" now. So with all due respect, kindly "just" f*ck off telling me what I should "Just" switch to until #accessibility actually "just" works. Until then, "just" do better at being "just". Ok? Can we do that?
This coming from "just" another #accessibility professional who sometimes "just" gets a little tired of bringing it nice and polite and "just" wants to tell people to "just" feckin' follow the myriad accessibility standards that have only existed for, I dunno ... "just" a couple of decades?
If you build an app that is fighting fascism, anywhere in the world, please reach out. I’d be delighted to offer as much free accessibility consulting as you need.
#accessibility
Hey fediverse, today is the World Sight Day!
How about, as a small gift for the blind and visually impaired folks on here, we step up our alt text game!
Visit https://alttexthalloffame.org to learn why this is important.
This article might also be useful!
https://stefanbohacek.com/blog/polls-about-alt-text-on-social-media/
And follow 
@alttexthalloffame for occasional tips and some great examples of well-written alt text!
Hey fediverse, today is the World Sight Day!
How about, as a small gift for the blind and visually impaired folks on here, we step up our alt text game!
Visit https://alttexthalloffame.org to learn why this is important.
Hey there! I'm one of the blind folks who read alt text on here. I'd like to say thank you for adding that so that I can also enjoy images of cartoon animals. A little effort from you means a world of difference for people like me
#accessibility #AltText #blind
Hello Masto-peeps who use screen readers!
I just learned that I need to put alt text on URLs for more accessible PDFs, but -- what should it say?
I am formatting academic citations that include a URL, so all the information about where that link will take you is in the text. I don't want it to read the URL to you and I don't want to just repeat the same information you just heard. What do you find most helpful in this situation?
Pls boost for reach!
When I moved to mementomori.social I just copied and pasted my old introduction, so it's time for a new one!
👋 I'm David (or D. or Dave). I'm queer, I'm nonbinary, I'm a parent, I'm a physicist, and I live in Helsinki. I'm currently working 50% part time so I can take care of my kid.
💁 On Fedi I post in a personal capacity about things that interest me. That does include physics, but also how to make academia (and society) a friendlier, more welcoming place. I try to learn about, develop and put into use innovative teaching and supervision methods.
🛤️ I love trains and slow travel, but I'm not really travelling so much these days since becoming a parent. I therefore try to highlight the need for scientific conferences and events to be hybrid or online, amongst other accessibility measures that benefit everyone.
🌄 The outdoors is my happy place, I spend lots of time wandering around (or these days pushing a buggy), and enjoy hiking when I can. Still trying to improve my bird recognition skills. I love gardening and gardens as well, and hope to have one I can potter about in again quite soon.
💬 I always try to add alt text, always grateful for feedback on improving what I write.
🇫🇮 I communicate in Finnish at B2 level and French at B1 level (this means I can listen to the radio and read news articles in both languages), but this account is mostly in English. Do please however feel free to write to me in Finnish or French, and apologies in advance for typos in my replies.
🙍 It can be very tempting but I try not to boost, interact with or bring up politics here, except how it intersects with my above interests. I have filters set up for many politics keywords. Politics matters a lot to me, but this is not where I discuss it, and this way I keep Fedi a place of joy for me.
🚫 I CW at least selfies, food and drink, and direct politics references.
Feel free to follow me, but unless we've interacted, I'm unlikely to follow back to keep my feed manageable.
Some tags: #introduction #queer #parenting #physics #science #LGBTQInSTEM #QueerInStem #LGBTQ #Helsinki #trains #SlowTravel #accessibility #hiking #gardening #outdoors
Avatar alt text: a profile picture of me in a lift wearing a purple hoodie with pictures of birds, and a black jacket. There is brushed metal behind my head.
Header alt text: An autumnal view down Justinjohka valley in Sápmi, viewed from Inarinpolku.
#introduction
I’m Adrian. I’m plenty of things, but the most important is that I’m a good, loyal friend.
I love iOS Development. I also love creating my own cartoons, music from pocket to stage, game dev, endurance sports, and a dash of whimsy.
I’m ever-learning, so it’s an honor to cross paths with you. I worked at Apple on #accessibility, and I’m fortunate to continue with Disney/Marvel.
I want to make the world a more inclusive place, starting with me. So welcome, and I’m glad you’re here!
Is it a new thing that macOS "find and select text in images" also makes that text available… for the VoiceOver screen reader. That’s an #accessibility feature right, not a bug? Spotted on the 
@wagtail homepage video: https://wagtail.org/
With the World Sight Day coming up on Thursday, I wonder if I should attempt to make #FediverseWorldSightDay happen, again.
Article from last year: https://stefanbohacek.com/blog/fediverse-world-sight-day-global-accessibility-awareness-day/
(It would be nice to have a day of action either way.)
Some things about me:
I am #aromantic, #asexual, #agender, and #intersex. Very #queer and #neuroqueer.
I have so many disabilities, I find it difficult to remember most of them. This includes the following: #ADHD, #Autism, #Insomnia, #Dysautonomia, #ChronicMigraines, #Type2Diabetes, #VisualSnowSyndrome, #Agoraphobia, #Dyspraxia, #ChronicDepression, #TopographicalDisorientation, etc. This list is nonexhaustive.
I am also very political.
#Accessibility is very important to me. As a #disabled person, I choose to use my privileges to help other disabled ppl as much as I can. Making #ClosedCaptions, writing #transcripts, #proofreading them, and studying #stenography are the least I can do, I think :)
Something that'd be super cool is if streamers and YouTubers and people involved in closed captioning and transcription networked more closely with each other.
So, this project is called the Open Steno Project. It's a volunteer-run group that produces software, educational material, etc., in order to bring down the costs of stenography equipment, technology, and education. I love this project with all my heart.
https://www.openstenoproject.org/
And this is the Discord server, for anyone wanting to talk to transcriptionists, closed captioners, stenography students, court reporters, and hobbyists about this field (I'm in it! It's super fun!). It's not specifically a place for *hiring* someone, but getting to know the industry and the people in it is a net good. And you might even learn stenography while you're at it, idk. 😎
https://discord.gg/plover
--
#networking #VTuber #EnVTuber #VTuberEn #Twitch #TwitchStreamer #VTuberUprising #VStreamer #YouTube #Accessibility #Stenography #steno #Captioning #Transcription #ContentCreation #Plover
From Hobby to Career: Sara Joy on CSS, Accessibility, and Making the Web More Whimsical, by 
@sarajwSara Joy 
and 
@kevinpowell:
I do need to apologise that a lot of these things will end up visual-only, and therefore inaccessible.
The prompts are based on Inktober I think, a drawing challenge.
I would love to have the time to make the whole thing work for everyone. Given my rhetoric online, I feel very... Lacking.
So yeah, sorry 💜
Simplified Accessibility Testing, right from your browser?! 💡🔍
I designed and coded this little landing page to showcase all the #accessibility browser #bookmarklets powered by #CAAT and created by my wonderful team here at mindscreen.
Take a look: https://tools.caat.report/
Perhaps one of these bookmarklets could be integrated into your #a11y #testing process? 👀
Erissa Duvall is coming back to #techbash this fall. Don't miss her sessions on accessibility and reasonable accommodations in the workplace.
Register by EOD Friday for Standard registration and save $100 more with code LASTCALL100 https://techbash.com/
#devconference #developers #kalahari #poconos #devcommunity #accessibility
After a nice punchy webinar from Axess Labs I'm like, hm, my company's app is US only, but I'm in Germany, I should know who our "competent authority" is, to which under the EAA accessibility issues should be reported.
Best I can find is this, effectively saying "yeah, so we're setting it up now"
https://ms.sachsen-anhalt.de/themen/menschen-mit-behinderungen/aktuelles/marktueberwachungsstelle-der-laender-fuer-die-barrierefreiheit-von-produkten-und-dienstleistungen
I dunno, we seem to be somewhat flying-by-seat-of-pants here. Skin-of-teeth. Usw.
And then I see the top toolbar - is that an OVERLAY?
Anyone interested in helping me test a tool I'm working on?
Right now it can tell you how many of your images are missing alt text. Some ideas I am playing with:
- check for image descriptions that are too long or too short (Whatever that means! And what about non-English text?)
- check if you CapitalizeYourHashtags properly
Link: https://data.stefanbohacek.com/projects/fediverse-post-accessibility
#accessibility #a11y #AltText #ImageDescription #WorkInProgress
I have no words to describe this. 😟
That is the footer of https://taylorswift.com
I'm so honored to be among the extraordinarily talented and exemplary creators in The Game Awards Future Class, 50 inspiring individuals who represent the bright, bold and inclusive future of video games. Thank you so much to everyone who nominated me. Congratulations to all my fellow Future Class members! Check out all of our profiles here: https://thegameawards.com/future-class
#gamedev #TheGameAwards #FutureClass #accessibility #inclusion
If you pick up a copy of Star Trek Explorer this month, you might see a familiar face! I'm honored to be an IDIC Award Winner for my work in accessibility, diversity, equity and inclusion. Thank you to Star Trek Explorer for featuring me and also for supporting everyone who demonstrates the ideals of Star Trek in real life. LLAP! 🖖🏿 #StarTrek #cosplay #StarTrekExplorer #GeordiLaForge #LeVarBurton #Accessibility #Diversity #LLAP #IDIC
Tiny reminder FediFriends to not forget to add alt-texts to your beautiful pictures and funny memes.
Let's keep the Fediverse inclusive and accessible for all! 
redoing my #introduction, spring cleaning my profile
i am a total shitposter. i work in infosec (blue team), but don't follow me for good infosec information. just don't.
i like weird people... the communists and anarchists. the black sheep. the loners, outcasts, wallflowers, bizarros, rejects, outsiders, odd ducks, and the eccentric ones.
the broken. the lost. the lonely. the people who look in the mirror and can't see a beautiful person looking back.
the freaks, geeks, weirdos, goths, emos, punks, lovers with aching hearts, poets who don't know it, the elder gods/goddesses/others/cubes, nerds who love assembly, nerds who love obscure CSS, people who used to be carnies, people who want to be carnies, clown school dropouts, quiet librarians, midnight philosophers, chaotic good bartenders, D&D forever-DMs, speedrunners of life, cursed doll collectors, people who unironically love dial-up sounds, cassette tape hoarders, writers of unsent letters, DIY necromancers, time travelers stuck in the wrong timeline, indie game devs with imposter syndrome, hopeless romantics with a cynical streak, travelers of the astral plane, meme historians, collectors of lost media, aesthetic hoarders, souls lost in liminal spaces, thrift store treasure hunters, broken synthesizer enthusiasts, conspiracy theorists who know too much, introverts who overshare online, VHS romantics, late-night train station wanderers, noise music aficionados, digital ghost hunters, hopeless maximalists, cursed artifact restorers, wandering bards, and rogue rouge enthusiasts (people who dabble in makeup with chaotic flair, applying blush with the reckless abandon of a true artist).
And not least, the people who never quite fit in anywhere, but somehow fit in everywhere.
...you know, my people. 🖤
i'm looking for people that are cool with sharing misery most of the time, but do rarely dabble in the dark art of being fun. follow me if that's the case, or you know, don't.
you do you.
i do usually follow active accounts back, but if you don't post original posts... i don't typically follow. give me content plz.
#InfoSec #Nerd 🕵 (SIEM-SOAR-IR-RE)
#AnCom 
#Luciferian / #Satanist zealot (Not CoS or TST) 🜏
#LeftHandPath #ChaosWitch #Occultist ⛧
#HRT DIYer (EEn) 💉
#BDSM freak 
#LGBT 🏳️🌈 / #Trans militant 🏳️⚧️
#BLM always ✊🏿
#Accessibility is key ♿
#Manjaro fanatic 
#KDE nut 
#Python lover 
#Piracy hoarder 🏴☠️
#Cyberpunk crank 
#Music of many stripes, mostly #Techno and #HeavyMetal 🎶
Join Navya Agarwal for a case study on building accessible UI with GitHub Copilot at TechBash 2025.
Only one week left to save $100 with code LASTCALL100. Register and info at https://techbash.com/
#accessibility #ai #githubcopilot #ui #ux #devcommunity #devconference #techbash #nepa #poconos #kalahari #programming #developers
Come hear me speak about "Engineering Accessibility: Practical, Maintainable, Testable" at Pragma Conference and Do iOS this fall!
🍝 Pragma Conference: October 30th in Bologna, Italy
https://pragmaconference.com/
🧇 Do iOS: November 12 in Amsterdam https://do-ios.com/
Pasta and stroopwaffles, here I come! 🤣
I'm RealZero or "Bryan Greyson".
I'm a self-declared-nerd, #Furry, kinda-Brony, antifascist, socialist(?), leftist vegan working in IT. (are those all checkmarks I need for here?^^)
I'm a big fan of cartoons, animated movies, #videogames and also some #boardgames.
I highly value all my cartoon crushes. ❤️
I'm relationship-anarchist and atheist. (or better: ignostic)
I mostly listen to metal, rock and punk stuff, and in general everything socio-critical and anti-capitalistic.
Supporter of body-positivity, #environmentalism, #sustainability, #accessibility, #OpenSource / #FOSS.
Bite greedy corporations, bite fascists, bite everyone that abuses human and non-human animals.
Warning: talks about nudity, kink and (cartoon) porn (behind warnings)
Profiles, etc.: https://realzero.carrd.co/
Inclusive Design 24 is tomorrow! 24 hours of free, live-streamed talks about #accessibility #InclusiveDesign. Check out our schedule and tune in! #id24 https://inclusivedesign24.org/2025/schedule/
This one is packed with interesting and instructive stuff, so I'll just link to the whole thing:
I was asked to write a short #introduction, I'm a Accessibility Specialist, Front-end dev and scrum Master from Sweden. Been in the industry for about 20 years. I work at Axess Lab doing audis to help companies with their digital solutions and trying to make the digital world a better place for everyone. A big thing but if we all come together and help out with this we will achieve some great things!
If you have any questions, just fire away! :)
Hi, I’m micr0, creator of Altbot, an open-source bot that generates alt-text for images and videos on the Fediverse, with zero data retention.
I’m back from camping. The DDoS is still ongoing, so I need to move Altbot off my home network into professional colocation with enterprise DDoS protection.
We’re at 40% ($1,152 / $2,880). $1,728 to go to lock in 12 months of secure colocation at a proper datacenter.
If you can, please chip in or boost!
Support:
0xC992E57236eb9F30E79d0469446a6CF08Be05939I can’t go into personal debt to cover the gap this time around. Thank you all for helping keep #Altbot online and accessible. <3
#Accessibility #Fedi
Had an amazing time at Do iOS in Amsterdam this week. I spoke about my two favorite topics in one talk – accessibility and design systems! My highlight was definitely the conversations afterwards how other people approach building accessible apps at work. Loved to hear your stories and you all rock! Keep it up 🙌
#accessibility #doios
We all like to move it move it... but #SwiftUI .onMove doesn't have accessibility support! To fix this, I made a free SPM with view modifiers that add accessible move actions.
