Web Axe - Practical Web Design Accessibility Tips - Podcast and Blog

Podcast 94: Women of CSUN12

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:40:36 PST

This podcast is a preview of the 27th Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference, commonly known as CSUN, February 27 thru March 3 in San Diego, California. If you're not attending to the CSUN conference this year, this podcast is valuable in learning about current issues in web accessibility and "meeting" several great people in the field. If you are going, then you can also make a better decision in which sessions you want to attend.

First, Dennis and Jennison Asuncion (@Jennison) do an excellent overview of the conference (OK, mostly Jennison). Then several guests, all women, speak about their work, their sessions at CSUN, and some other fun thoughts. Four of the women live in the UK!

Download Web Axe Episode 94 (Women of CSUN12)

[Transcript of podcast 94]

Guests

Glenda Sims / @GoodWitch
Henny Swan / @IHeni
Lainey Feingold / @LFLegal
Leonie Watson / @LeonieWatson
Sandi Wassmer / @SandiWassmer
Sarah Lewthwaite / @Slewth

More Related

CSUN12 Tweetup, Thursday, March 1 at 6:30pm
Project: Possibility / @ProjPossibility
Adobe at CSUN12 / @AdobeAccess
Manchester Grand Hyatt

Fixing Alt - Facebook Like Button Explained

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:23:32 PST

The next in our "Fixing Alt" series is the Facebook Like button explained posted on MakeUseOf a while back. It's a short but sweet comedic image, but again, with no alternative text provided. So here it is.

Facebook Like button, equals: I've read it, but I'm too lazy to comment!

PS: There are so many other things wrong with the MakeUseOf web page. But since my New Year's resolution is not to be as critical, I won't go into it.

Web Accessibility Conferences 2012

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:51:56 PST

Here's a list of conferences relating to web accessibility this year. Details for some of the annual events are not announced yet. Please comment with any changes, additions, and comments.

ATIA 2012 Orlando
January 25-28, 2012
Orlando, FL U.S.A.

Techshare India 2012 "Bridging the Barriers"
6-7 February 2012
New Delhi, India

International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference
Feb 27-March 3, 2012
Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel
San Diego, CA U.S.A.

Power Up 2010 Conference and Expo
April 2 and 3, 2012
Columbia, Missouri U.S.A.
Holiday Inn Executive Center
presented by Missouri Assistive Technology

W4A 2012
9th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility
16-17 April 2012
Lyon, France

John Slatin Access U (from Knowbility)
May 15-17, 2012
Austin, Texas U.S.A.

Penn State Web 2012 Conference
June 11-12, 2012
Pennsylvania U.S.A.

The Accessibility Conference
University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada)
TBD

ICCHP
13th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs
July 11-13, 2012; Pre-Conference July 09-10, 2012
University of Linz, Altenbergerstraße 69, 4040 Linz, Austria

AHEAD: Association on Higher Education And Disability
July 9-14, 2012
New Orleans, Louisiana U.S.A.
The Sheraton Hotel

Illinois Web Accessibility Conference and Expo
TBD

HighEdWeb Association (Higher Education Web Professionals)
October 7-10, 2012
Milwaukee, Wisconsin U.S.A.

ASSETS 2012
The 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility
October 22-24, 2012
Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.

Accessing Higher Ground
Accessible Media, Web and Technology Conference
TBD
Colorado, U.S.A.

OZeWAI Conference
Australian Web Adaptability Initiative
Melbourne, Australia
Late November

Web Axe 2011 Year in Review

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:44:26 PST

So another year has gone by, and another bigger and better for web accessibility! One good sign is that I've noticed lots of job openings related to web accessibility, you probably noticed multiple posts on that this year. And more lawsuits going on as well, which I believe is an evil necessity to wake up many companies on the topic.

The "Fixing Alt" series continued which provides alternative text for various web pages in the wild. Check out two for The Oatmeal: the Netflix Comic on the company's pricing fiasco, and 6 Reasons Bacon Is Better Than True Love.

We had a couple guest blogs including Jennison's IT Accessibility Goes To Camp. Mid-year, Web Axe joined Facebook, serving as another great avenue to share the good word. And, now you can order your own Web Axe T-shirt!

2011 was also a big year for Easy Chirp, created by Web Axe author Dennis Lembree. The accessible Twitter web app was renamed from "Accessible Twitter" and was a recipient of the AFB 2011 Access Award.

Dennis was busy in November and gave presentations for the @AccessibilityDC meetup, How To Build An Accessible Web Application, and for EASI, Twitter and Accessibility.

Other great blogs this year:

My T-Shirt Design

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:44:36 PST

I designed a Web Axe t-shirt on a neat new website, ooShirts.com (although I haven't tested the accessibility). ooShirts is an apparel startup company located in Berkeley, California. I hope to give away a couple Web Axe t-shirts sometime soon, maybe at CSUN 2012. And you can always order your own!

Web Accessibility Jobs, Dec 2011

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:44:42 PST

More great job openings in web accessibility:

UK: Contract web designer with accessibility & usability skills (Hampshire, UK)
Web Accessibility Navigation Specialist wanted at Penn State University
Web Development and Accessibility Specialist at Department of Assistive & Rehab Services (Austin, TX)
Accessibility Specialist at TEKsystems, contract (Louisville, KY)
IT Specialist at Department For the Blind & Vision Impaired (Henrico, VA)
Chief Information Accessibility Officer (St. Paul, MN)
SSB BART Group seeks Lead PHP Developer with WCAG & Java experience (San Francisco, CA)
Section 508 Compliance Analysts, contract (Washington, D.C.)
Section 508 Compliance Tester at Koniag Technology Solutions (Lanham, MD)

For updates on Twitter, follow me, @a11yJobs and @Accessible_Jobs.

Podcast 93: Teaching Mistakes

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:44:49 PST

Dennis talks briefly about a couple of his recent presentations, a few other presentations and articles, and has a great conversation with Katherine Lynch.

Download Web Axe Episode 93 (Teaching Mistakes)

[Transcript of podcast 93]

Happenings

Busy new day job for Dennis at PayPal.
Two recent presentations by Dennis. Shout out to Norm Coombs of EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information) and John Croston (@jfc3) for putting on the Accessibility DC meetup.

Articles

How Expensive is Accessibility? (by @KarlGroves)
ARIA and HTML5 Accessibility (by @WebAIM)
Screen readers and CSS (by @RogerJohansson)
HTML5 Video Accessibility (by @SilviaPfeiffer)

Discussion with Katherine Lynch.

Katherine Lynch who works for Drexel University Libraries in Philadelphia. Katherine is a Drupal and accessibility professional and has done many presentations and written many articles. Find her on Twitter at @katelynch. Dennis and Katherine discuss her recent article 5 Teaching Mistakes Accessibility Advocates Make:

We assume that others don't know anything.
We assume that others know too much.
We get hung up on one cause of accessibility.
We try to convert people who don't need converting.
We blame people for not already knowing.

Slides from DC meetup: How To Build An Accessible Web Application

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:44:54 PST

Web Axe author Dennis Lembree presented "How To Build An Accessible Web Application" last week (via Skype) at the Accessibility DC meetup (on Twitter at @AccessibilityDC). Examples from the Easy Chirp website are given throughout the presentation. Here are the slides.

How To Build An Accessible Web Application

View more presentations from Web Axe

Slides from EASI webinar on Twitter and Accessibility

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:45:00 PST

Web Axe author Dennis Lembree gave an EASI webinar today about Twitter, accessibility and Easy Chirp. Here are the slides.

Twitter and Web Accessibility (EASI Webinar)

View more presentations from Web Axe

More A11Y Jobs

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:45:05 PST

Assistive Technology Specialist job in Salem, Massachusetts

Usability and Accessibility Research Specialist at BBC in Salford, UK

Front End Web Developer & WCAG Specialist at System One Holdings in Oakland, CA

CNIB seeks Manager, Digital Accessibility Services in Toronto, Canada.

Research in Motion (Blackberry) seeks an Accessibility Test Specialist in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Send Twitter DM or email resume to: accessibility at rim dot com.

Web Accessibility Related Jobs

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:45:11 PST

Some great job opportunities relating to web accessibility!

Web design/production lead in San Francisco, CA with strong working knowledge of accessibility.
Government of Canada seeks web accessibility developer in Ottawa.
Section 508/Usability position open at SAIC in Rockville, MD.
Amazon seeks Program Manager focused on the Assistive Technology user experience, Seattle, WA.
City of San Francisco seeks Web Accessibility Expert.
Alternative Media Specialist wanted for college district in Glendora, CA.

For updates on Twitter, follow me, @a11yJobs and @Accessible_Jobs.

Fixing Alt - Netflix Comic

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:45:16 PST

The Oatmeal does it again! A great comic with no alternative text. This time, it's a on the recent Netflix pricing fiasco. The comic is called Why Netflix is splitting itself in two. So once again, here is the text for those who cannot access the image content:

Title: Why Netflix is splitting itself in two.

Image: Store front with store name "Netwiches". Sign in left window says "Now streaming sandwiches 24 hours!". Sign in right window says "Instant yum".

Cashier: Hello, welcome to Netwiches. What would you like?

Customer: Hmm...could I get a coconut gravy frosted Netwich with extra cheese?

Cashier: Sure thing. That'll be $15.98.

Customer: What? You raised your prices by 60%!

Cashier: No sir! We lowered our prices. See, if you buy just the bun, it's only $7.99!

Customer: Why would I only want the bun? Can I speak to your manager?

Manager: Hello sir! I understand you're unhappy with our price change. How can I help?

Customer: How about giving me my sandwich at the old price?

Manager: Sorry sir, I can't do that. We've received a lot of complaints about our recent price change, however, so we intend to fix it. Come back later and we'll have it all sorted out.

Later...

Cashier: Welcome back to Netwiches! What would you like?

Customer: Could I get a coconut gravy frosted Netwich with extra cheese?

Cashier: Sure thing! We listened to your feedback and we only sell buns now. If you want meat and condiments you have to go across the parking lot to another restaurant!

Customer: Wait, what? How does that fix anyth-

Cashier: It's like an adventure! You get to walk across the parking lot! Why just the other day I saw an adorable little chipmunk eating some stale nachos. It was like dinner and a show! A nacho chipmunk show, ha ha! And no extra cost!

Customer: Can't I just get my sandwich at the old pri-

Cashier: And look! Food from this other restaurant comes in the same red bag you know and love! Yay a plastic bag! Weeeeee!

Customer: Seriously? I'm about as attached to that bag as I am to your food after it comes out of my butt.

Cashier: Hey, where are you going? I've save the best for last. This new restaurant has an incredible Web 2.0 name that's sure to blow your Web 1.0 mind right out the god damn window!

Image: Second store front. Sign in right window says "grand opening". Store name is "Qwichster: the Friendster of Sandwich Restaurants!"

Response to Accessibility in Google Docs

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:45:21 PST

Read Write Web recently published the article Google Announces Sweeping Accessibility Improvements for Visually Challenged Users. On one hand, this is great news. But on the other hand, Google's accessibility efforts have been inconsistent, and mostly within their own technologies; as we'll discover below, not implemented for universal use.

The Google Docs updates have been tested by a screen reader user, Kevin Chao. With permission, the following is taken (and slightly edited) from his web post Google announced and took the wraps off what's been dubbed "enhanced Accessibility in Google Docs".

Google announced and took the wraps off what's been dubbed "enhanced accessibility in Google Docs"
Applaud, Thank, and Appreciate
I certainly applaud, appreciate, and praise Google in their accessibility efforts, but there seems to be this level of accessibility, which includes efficiency, effectiveness, and equal access that Google is far from with all attempts, which Docs is no exception.
Dumbed Down Accesssibility limited UI/Look
Visiting Docs.Google.Com using Firefox and NVDA, either classic or new Look/UI, latter is much worse from an accessibility point, but all is relative, including "enhanced accessibility". Google is always in in a race with itself, changing elements, such as looks/UI. Often there are different views to pick from, and it's often the one that is "basic" or "classic" that is more accessible, which leaves screen readers with a dumb-downed experience than an equal experience Compared to the full "standard" or "new" UI/look that everyone else who does not need to use a screen has the luxury of using. There should not be more than one view, if there has to be an experimental/enhanced view, it should be accessible, and it's very degrading that Google by only putting accessibility resources into the dumbed UI/Look implies that all blind screen reader users are unable to perceive, understand, and work with advance, complex, and rich UI/Looks.
Now, let's move onto the main focus, which is the enhanced Accessibility in Google docs.
Using Firefox, NVDA, and looking at Docs.Google.com in classic view.
Main UI/Look

Navigating by form fields or line will reveal lots of unlabeled Controls, such as "button", clickable, expanded, checkboxes, and clickable list. It's bad enough from a user interface, experience, and accessibility standpoint that all these controls do not have proper labels, making them accessible, but there's more.

Instructions indicate to get started, activate create new or upload button, but these are identified as clickable, which do not do anything when pressing ENTER. However, with enough attempts of everything under the sun such as NVDA+CTRL+SPACE, SPACE, mouse click, etc.; it will be possible to activate these buttons. It should not be this difficult, frustrating, and require all these work-around to activate buttons (no, no, they are not buttons, but clickable).

When navigating to the expand button, pressing ENTER, NVDA is silent. The new status, which is collapsed, is not conveyed from Docs via ARIA or any accessibility event. In addition, arrowing down does not show any additional content. ARIA Live-regions should be used to alert user of updated dynamic content.

Navigating to unlabeled button, pressing ENTER, reviewing contents on screen does not show that anything changed.

Lots of items are identified as menus and submenus, which when activated do not work as ARIA jQuery menus, but instead do not do anything, cannot track focus/read, and/or it's not possible to exit menu/submenu.

Effective and efficient navigation is lacking greatly, which could Be improved by use of ARIA Landmarks and headings.
Creating/Editing Docs

Browse/upload process does not work by simply using arrows/TAB and ENTER/SPACE, but requires the same level of fighting, frustration, and work-around that was required to get into the upload page.

Creating a new doc/opening an uploaded one will open it in a new Tab, which is identified with: document title, app, JavaScript, file type, and editable". While all this is great, arrowing in document reads absolutely nothing and same goes for tabbing around.
Conclusion
Google has optimized Google Chrome, ChromeVox, and Docs to work very well together. This locked-in and non-universal design towards accessibility should be avoided at all possible cause, which results in not as many people using it due to the need to use a different environment for particular task. One of the many benefits to a cloud solution, such as Docs is the anywhere access on anything, which ranges from desktops to mobiles, which Docs accessibility is far from.
Please, Google, there really needs to be real accessibility present, which includes effectiveness, efficiency, and equal level of access. No more of this Google accessibility, which is half-baked at best.

About CMS Accessibility

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:45:27 PST

This article was written for Web Axe by our friend, John Siebert, a Tampa Web Designer who has an interest in creating accessible web sites.

Content management systems (CMS) are a good way to go for both personal and business use. An open source CMS can get a website up efficiently, but is it accessible? With about 25% of internet users needing accessibility, it is very encouraging to keep your site web accessible. This is for every "human user" disabled and non-disabled no matter what browsing technology they are using. CMS platforms can definitely help you with that. But which one is the most accessible friendly? We will look into WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and Posterous and compare the level of web accessibility.

All users have equal access to information and functionality. It is the developer's responsibility to correctly design and develop a site that everyone can view and understand. What effects accessibility includes layout, markup, images and media, and JavaScript. A good CMS platform can make sure that these issues are compliant.

WordPress

WordPress states that it is web accessibility compliant. Unfortunately if developers tweak or create templates, it is up to the developer how well or little they configure accessibly into the site. There are plenty of accessibility plugins that a developer can implement into their WordPress site.

Here is a very helpful link full of WordPress accessibility plugins. WordPress also provides plenty of information and guidelines for creators that cover all basic HTML topics. Also check out the comments in the Web Axe blog on accessible WordPress themes.

Drupal

Drupal has plenty of helpful links for tips and topics to input accessibility into their platform. A helpful Drupal tutorial goes over:

What are the common accessibility barriers that my website needs to overcome, and how?
What tools help me manage the accessibility of contributed content that is beyond my control?
What Drupal modules and 3rd party accessibility tools will help?

You may want to check out the Web Axe podcast on the Drupal 7 and accessibility from last October. And here are a few more links for Drupal accessibility:

Posterous

Posterous does not cover as much accessibility information as other CMS platforms. Which leads me to believe that Posertous would not have much support for developers using their platform. We think it’s time Posterous stepped up to the plate on this issue and have sent them an e-mail with our concerns.

Joomla

Joomla has their own accessibility statement that shares their promises of fulfilling a true web accessible environment. However, they state that it is up to the designers and template designers to follow rules and regulations. They also state that they understand that the Joomla site itself does not comply with many WCAG/508 requirements.

Conclusion

When choosing a CMS platform, find one that has the most web accessibility support. The best would be WordPress and Drupal out of the four compared. By using a CMS platform you will have more support to maintain a web accessible site. Most of the accessibility changes can be fixed once and to the entire site through these platforms, saving time and money.

The best way to understand accessibility is to get to know a user that benefits from the accessibility you put into code. Once you understand the reason why accessibility is important for your site, you can then comprehend the reason for a CMS platform like WordPress or Drupal as the base of your site.

If you have any feedback about CMS and accessibility, especially Posterous and Joomla, please leave a comment.

Podcast #92: Frustrated

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:45:48 PST

Dennis vents about frustrations around web accessibility and revisit the "game plan". He and Ross also discuss some great recent articles and review several upcoming web accessibility events.

Download Web Axe Episode 92 (Frustrated)

[Transcript of podcast 92]

Sponsor: Help make a difference and join Project:Possibility: a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating open source software that benefits persons with disabilities. Our SS12 Code for a Cause competition is an opportunity for students to learn about accessibility and make a difference by developing innovative projects for persons with disabilities, as well as the chance to work with industry professionals.

Goings On

Ross' book update.

California court rules for JetBlue:

Court Rules in Favor of JetBlue - Airline Websites and Kiosks Not Covered by State Law (@LFLegal)
Why JetBlue, FAA [and DOT] are on the wrong side of justice (by @blindtravel)
Airlines Continue to Evade Accessibility of Check-In Kiosks and Websites (by COAT)

Old Twitter gone for good; New Twitter not accessible.

The official word about the final rollout of New Twitter.
Forced to use New Twitter & unable to use it? Try the robust and web-accessible Easy Chirp (@EasyChirp). On iPhone, try TweetList.

Frustrated!

Unfortunately, after 20 years since the World Wide Web opened to the public, I'd have to say that accessibility is worse than ever.

Laws haven't improved. Section 508 static for over a decade. See above. Target wan't found guilty.
Social media, banking, and Olympic websites not accessible. Google Plus Keyboard Accessibility (Web Axe)
Widgets and services. DISQUS: Shutting Out the Blindness Community from Discussion
Even government websites not accessible!
Even the W3C removing accessibility markup and attributes without an adequate substitute e.g. longdesc, summary. Leaving accessibility for last e.g. video captions.

Articles

A simple introduction to web accessibility by Ian Hamilton, BBC.
More from 4Syllables (@Writing4Web):
- Link purpose: accessibility for web writers, part 9.
- Headings & labels: accessibility for web writers, part 10.
Web Accessibility and SEO from WebAIM.
Popular Mistakes in Universal Web Design by Dennis on Design Festival.
30 (Million) Reasons for Accessible Design (not web specific)

Web Camp/Unconference Reminders

Accessibility Camp Montreal
Friday, August 26, 2011
Montreal, Canada
Twitter: @A11yMTL

Boston Accessibility Unconference
Saturday, September 17, 10am to 5pm EST
Twitter: @a11ybos

Accessibility Camp Toronto
Saturday, September 24
Toronto, Canada (OCAD University)
Twitter: @A11yCampTO Email: a11ycampto at gmail dot com

Web Accessibility London Unconference
Wednesday, 21 September 2011, 10am to 4pm
London, UK (City University London)

Accessibility Camp DC
Saturday, October 22
MLK Library in Washington, DC
Twitter: @AccessCampDC

Accessibility Videos

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:45:53 PST

Here's a great list of videos and YouTube channels about web accessibility, assistive technology, and more. And from some excellent sources!

We Are Nomensa YouTube Channel
Yahoo Accessibility YouTube Channel
AbilityNet YouTube Channel
AccessOntario's Youtube Channel
MIT Assistive Technology: Universal Access
Older, but still fun! WCAG 2.0 Theme Song
Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII) [Great example of audio description]
How Assistive Technology Works: Video Demonstrations (University of Dundee, Scotland)
For videos about accessibility from this year's Google I/O, visit the Web Axe blog Accessibility at Google IO 2011.

AAP Provides Longdesc Feedback to W3C

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:45:58 PST

There's a debate over whether or not the longdesc attribute should be made obsolete in HTML5. I wrote a bit about it a few months ago in the article Longdesc & Other Long Image Description Solutions.

Recently the Association of American Publishers (AAP) submitted feedback on longdesc to the W3C HTML 5 Working Group. It's very well written and thought it should be shared. I obtained permission to publish the response (thanks Suzanne and Ed). Here is the main part of it:

Use of structured text as a text alternative for an image is supported in HTML through the longdesc attribute. Though there are other options for presenting structured-text, the longdesc attribute provides following benefits:
For User Experience
The longdesc attribute is a dedicated mechanism for just this purpose, and it always works in the same way:

Students and instructors will find the same user interface throughout all materials, so they will not need to learn new interfaces product-to-product, which takes time and attention away from the learning content.
The longdesc attribute can be revealed programmatically through browser extensions, providing access for users who do not use screen readers. Many users benefit from text alternatives, especially users with low vision.
The longdesc attribute does not impact the visual design. So, authors do not have to worry about how the text might impact the visual user experience. Authors can, therefore, focus on the experience of students and instructors with visual impairment while they write text alternatives. This focus on the primary audience helps authors create text that is well-suited for its purpose.
For Production Processes and Quality Assurance:
The longdesc attribute is easy to code. There is no need for custom scripting.
The longdesc attribute works with assistive technology today. If the longdesc attribute continues to be supported, content that works well for users today can be used in future products without editing.
The longdesc attribute can be programmatically recognized and tracked, allowing publishers to locate existing long descriptions and to test for the presence of long descriptions.
We are using longdesc increasingly in our products. Unless a different mechanism is created that meets all these requirements, we urge the W3C to keep the longdesc attribute in HTML specifications moving forward.
We do acknowledge that user agent support for the longdesc attribute should be improved. In particular, users who have low vision or who find image descriptions helpful for any reason should be able to set their user agent to reveal the descriptions. The HTML 5 specification should clarify that user agents should provide this functionality in addition to passing information to assistive technologies. In this case, publisher documentation for products with numerous longdesc attributes might include tips about use of these user agent settings.
Evaluating Other Solutions
We discuss the aria-describedby attribute following to illustrate that solutions that at first seem to duplicate the qualities of the longdesc attribute may not actually be as useful when implemented.
The aria-describedby attribute takes the unique indentifier (“ID”) of another object on the same page as its value. In other words, it points to another object (e.g. a paragraph or a link) on the page. This attribute could become an effective way for developers to indicate that the information provided by an image is actually redundant with other information on the page.
Screen reader developers might implement this attribute so that it is silent in screen readers when used on an image by default. They might also allow those who want additional information to set their screen reader to announce aria-describedby and to provide a way to jump to the object indicated by the attribute. An instructor, for example, might choose this setting to be aware of what sighted students will be experiencing.
But, the aria-describedby attribute falls short as a mechanism to link to a separate page of structured text. The aria-describedby attribute could point to a link on the same page as the image, but:
Hiding the link visually would require custom CSS or scripting. The mechanism for hiding the link would therefore differ product-to-product, making browser extensions or features to show the links more complex to code and less reliable for users.
The link would have to be present on the page for screen reader users, creating redundancy for those users.
Since the aria-describedby attribute points to a link or to other content on the same page, its structure implies a two-step process to reach the text alternative. Compared with longdesc, the two step process is more tedious:
The user moves to the object that aria-describedby references.
If the object is or contains a link or a button, the user interacts with that object to move to the text alternative.
If the issues above are resolved and aria-describedby is used as a way to access descriptions that are otherwise hidden from all users (including screen reader users), another problem emerges. In that case, aria-describedby cannot be silent by default in screen readers when used on images, compromising its use to illustrate that the content of an image is already available on the page. Developers may not realize the distracting and frustratingly circular user experience that this would cause and might use aria-describedby to point to, for example, a paragraph just above the image. Users would then likely follow the aria-describedby announcement, expecting to find additional content, but they would arrive, instead, at a paragraph that they have likely just read.
We urge the W3C HTML Working Group to write out the expected implementation and user experience details of any proposed replacements for the longdesc attribute to be sure that they will be at least as effective as the longdesc attribute in practice.

Google Plus Keyboard Accessibility

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:46:03 PST

Social media in general has major accessibility problems. Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook all certainly need improvement.

Google's latest attempt at social media, Google Plus, launched a short time ago. This time, Google says they "considered accessibility of Google+ from day 1". Although it's a much better attempt at accessibility than the ill-fated Google Wave, Google Plus still has a lot of room for improvement.

I've only come across one Google+ accessibility review, Will Blind Users Be +1ing?, by a visually impaired user. So I decided to do some more testing myself. Once I got started, it quickly became apparent that only keyboard access checks were needed to determine how much more work needs to be done, as there were many, unfortunately.

Below are some of the web accessibility issues I found on Google Plus, all keyboard access issues.

Home/stream page

Tab into "Share" flyout but could get out without mouse. Strange since you can use Escape key to close the Notifications and Options flyouts.
In right column under "Suggestions", can tab to "Add to circles" button but can't activate it. Also, unable to tab to "Show all" link.
Under stream in left column, the circles links do not have visual focus state.

On a profile page

Unable to open Circles options.
Can open "Send an email" dialog, but upon closing, focus is lost and returned to top of page.
The text and image links in left column have no visual focus indicator, (how frustrating!): People in common, In [username] circles, Have [username] in circles.
On posts, no visual focus on "limited" link.
On posts, options are not keyboard accessible.

Photos page

After selecting a page number or prev/next, focus is lost and returned to top of page.
Image hover event not available with focus.
Can open image view, but upon closing, focus is lost and returned to top of page.
After opening image view, no visual focus on almost everything, I'm lost.
After opening image view, unable to select arrows to go to prev/next image.

Circles page

I give up. None of the main content on this page is keyboard accessible. No wonder why screen reader users can't add people to circle; requires mouse-only drag-and-drop. I guess Google missed Opera's article on accessible drag-and-drop using ARIA.

Global

No visual focus on footer links: Terms - Content Policy - Privacy

Summary

Google+ is more accessible than most Google apps, especially for a new one. But that's not saying much; there are still many issues to resolve. And again, the list of problems on this post are only a subset of issues. It's sad the such a huge, powerful, rich technology company can't get the basics of web accessibility, even when they planned it from the start.

PS: When setting up Google voice and video chat, I quickly came across two "click here" links, yuck!

Web Accessibility-Related Jobs!

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:46:08 PST

Here's a great list of recent job listings (all but one in the U.S.) relating to web accessibility.

Interactive PDF (Accessibility) Specialist needed in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
User Interface Accessibilty Analyst, global entertainment & eCommerce company, Los Angeles, California.
Accessibility Specialist at Kforce Technology Staffing in Wilmington, Delaware.
User Experience Specialist Librarian at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Web IT Consultant/Expert at California State University - Fullerton. Includes assistive technology support.
Accessibility & Usability Consultant at AbilityNet in London, UK.
Web Accessibility Engineer for W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative at MIT in Cambridge, Mass.
Added: AFB Consulting seeks cross-disability consultants (LinkedIn)

Fixing Alt - MacGuyver Coffeemaker

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:46:13 PST

No coffeemaker and need coffee?! So you search the web and find an article about brewing coffee MacGuyver-style, but can't access the large image which contains the vital points. Lifehacker's article Brew an Emergency Cup of Coffee with Two Paper Cups and a Filter is practical and fun, but the image containing the crucial steps is missing alternative text. So to save my fellow coffee fans in a time of crisis, here's the alt text:

Acquire 2 paper cups, 1 filter, boiling water, a cutting instrument.
Cut one cup towards the top so that it creates a ring at least 2 inches tall. Place the filter over the other uncut cup.
Slide ring down over the filter, which is sitting on the uncut cup. Push down until small amount of filter is visible on all sides.
Place desired/available coffee grounds in the cup over filter.
Begin slowly filling open portion with near boiling water. Do not over fill and occasionally stir.
Brewing may take anywhere between 5 and 10 minutes including set up and brew. However, it's a hell of a lot better than having no coffee at all.

Now on Facebook

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:46:25 PST

Web Axe is now on Facebook! If you're on Facebook, please give me a "like"! I plan to post the best of the best there fairly regularly, but not too often (maybe every other day). I may even do a poll or two.

Yea, I know it's somewhat ironic, maybe even a bit hypocritical, that I'm on Facebook since it has major web accessibility issues (with no captioning support, just one of many Facebook issues). But nonetheless, I'm there. All things considered, it's the biggest social network in the world; it'd be silly not to take advantage of that in spreading the word about web accessibility.

Podcast #91: Game Plan, CSS, Lawsuits & Events

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:46:44 PST

Dennis and Ross discuss the "Accessibility Game Plan", a couple good CSS tips, upcoming events, and a few lawsuits, and more!

Download Web Axe Episode 91 (Game Plan, CSS, Lawsuits & Events)

Transcript of podcast 91

What's New

Ross' book update
Accessible Twitter is now Easy Chirp!

The Game Plan

Barriers to Improving the Accessibility Game Plan
Accessibility: Let's put away the wrecking ball!
Takeaways:

It about semantics (pun): universal design, inclusive design
Educate others in a web camp, Refresh chapter, UPA.
Share your and others' solutions.
Practice what you preach.
Advocate accessibility groups, websites, etc.

Careful with CSS

Testing the accessibility of the CSS-generated content (with before/after pseudo selectors)
CSS Background Images and Accessibility

Lawsuits

Berkeley-based nonprofit sues CNN.com for not captioning online videos and CNN Being Sued For Lack Of Closed-Captioning Online
National Association of the Deaf Files Disability Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Netflix and Netflix sued by deaf group over lack of subtitles
Court to Hear Argument in JetBlue Accessibility Case. "JetBlue has asked Judge to throw the case out of court, arguing that California's disability civil rights laws do not apply to JetBlue's website or kiosks."
Just announced: Blind Students Sue Florida State University for Discrimination

Conferences & Events

Jobs

Scotiabank seeks a Project Leader Accessibility and Inclusion (contract), Toronto, Canada
Mozilla seeks an Accessibility Engineer
New Editions Consulting (for DHS?) seeks a Senior Accessibility Analyst in Washington, DC. Ability to successfully complete a secret clearance is required.
Just announced: Web Accessibility Engineer at MIT

Events July thru Dec 2011

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:46:49 PST

Here are some great web accessibility-related events for the remainder of the year. Know any others?

HCI International 2011: Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction
July 12-14
Orlando, Florida (Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek)

ARIA & jQuery UI Accessibility Hackathon
July 11-12
Toronto, Canada (Inclusive Design Research Centre, OCAD University)

Open Web Camp III
Saturday, July 16, 8:30AM to 5PM PST
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Twitter: @openwebcamp #owc3

Accessibility Camp Montreal
August 26, 2011
Montreal, Canada
Twitter: @A11yMTL

Boston Accessibility Unconference
Saturday, September 17, 10am to 5pm EST
Twitter: @a11ybos

Accessibility Camp Toronto
Saturday, September 24
Toronto, Canada (downtown, specific location to be announced)
Twitter: @A11yCampTO Email: a11ycampto at gmail dot com

Web Accessibility London Unconference
Wednesday, 21 September 2011, 10am to 4pm
London, UK (City University London)

Accessibility Summit (online event)
Tuesday, September 27, 9-5 Central Time

Accessibility Camp DC
Saturday, October 22
MLK Library in Washington, DC
Twitter: @AccessCampDC

Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) Chicago Conference
November 3-5
Schaumburg, IL

14th Annual Accessing Higher Ground
Accessible Media, Web and Technology Conference
November 14-18
Westin Hotel in Westminster, Colorado

Ottawa Accessibility Unconference
Friday, December 2
Ottawa, Canada

Easy Chirp

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:46:54 PST

In cased you missed the news a few weeks ago, the web-accessible Twitter application "Accessible Twitter" changed its name to "Easy Chirp". Here's the original Web Overhauls press release. Nice to see the story made it to other PR and news sites including MyNewsDesk.com, PR.com, and Accessible Insights.

Reasons for the change are explained in the press release.

The name change is due to several reasons, the foremost is that the Twitter rules of use for third-party applications does not allow the word "Twitter" in the name of the application. Also, the word "easy" is simpler to understand than "accessible", especially to those not in the accessibility or disability communities. And, the new name is considerably shorter, especially important with the 140-character limit in Twitter statuses, better known as tweets.

The former Twitter name/handle caused a delay in the update of two application settings that could only be resolved by changing the name.

Earlier this year, Easy Chirp/Accessible Twitter received the American Foundation for the Blind 2011 Access Award.

IT Accessibility Goes To Camp

dennislembree@yahoo.com (Dennis E. Lembree) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:06:38 PDT

A guest blog by Jennison Asuncion.

June 1 marked the date of the second Accessibility Camp Guelph. Led again by Sean Yo, it took place in an appropriate spot for a barcamp-type event, The Bullring Pub at Guelph University (Ontario, Canada). As with the five other accessibility camps I have been involved in over the last two years, Accessibility Camp Guelph offered participants a no-cost opportunity to build and drive an agenda and conversations focused on IT accessibility/inclusion.

I have been asked why I so enthusiastically "instigate" and champion the accessibility barcamp/unconference movement. As I said during Accessibility Camp Seattle last month, I have a keen interest in making the topic of IT accessibility, accessible, to the people who have a hand in making it happen: from the devs, to the usability and UI design folks, and everyone in between. As I experienced attending the first accessibility camp in Washington D.C. in 2009, the barcamp/unconference format lends itself perfectly to this purpose. By its very nature, it calls for a free, less formal, open atmosphere where folks with varying levels of experience with and perspectives on accessibility, including end-users with disabilities, come together to chart the day, discuss and learn. If the numbers of attendees and feedback surveys are any indication, these dedicated accessibility camps are being well-received. What's more, they are building community (the tribe), and have inspired monthly Accessibility DC and Accessibility Baltimore meetings.

Plans are underway in 2011 so far for events in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Boston, Washington D.C., and London UK. Want to learn more? Why not consider putting on an accessibility camp in your city. An accessibility camp website maintained by John F. Croston III is a good place to start.

You can also follow @A11yEvents on Twitter for the latest on these and other accessibility gatherings and traiditional conferences.