Shelly Brisbin
Here’s a thread about the Mastodon client @ivory, and accessibility aka. #a11y. The app is in beta, so this is not a review so much as a followup to concerns I raised previously about the developers’ approach to this topic. (thread linked below.) Since I made that post two weeks ago, I’ve joined the TestFlight for the iOS version of the app, and can now write intelligently about the state of the app’s accessibility.
https://journa.host/@ShellyBrisbin/109565648260766092
Shelly Brisbin (@[email protected])

@[email protected] A question: will Ivory be accessible to screen readers? Have you included blind and visually impaired Mastodon users in the beta? OK, that’s two questions!  #a11y

Mastodon
Jan 7, 2023 at 4:56pmWeb
Show threadShelly BrisbinJan 7, 2023
Why it matters: Tapbots makes Tweetbot, a very popular Twitter app that routinely earns praise from the Apple pundit class, of which I am allegedly a member. But when I tried it some time ago, I found the app did not support VoiceOver, the iOS screen reader. And the developer never responded to requests that the app be made accessible.
Show threadShelly BrisbinJan 7, 2023
When I saw that Ivory was potentially headed down the same path, including getting a lot of praise from people who say they value accessibility, I posted the above to ask Tapbots about their plans. The dev wrote back to say that theirs is a small team, and that accessibility was not on the current priority list. I maintain that if you make something good, and get credit in the community for doing that, people should know whether/how you approach accessibility.
Show threadShelly BrisbinJan 7, 2023
On the list: I lined up to join the TestFlight when it opened up on Thursday. I’ve had no more direct communication with Tapbots. This is just something I decided to find out for myself. So, after long preamble, this thread is about what I’ve learned so far, regarding screen reader and low vision support.
Show threadShelly BrisbinJan 7, 2023
VoiceOver support: Ivory does support VoiceOver. You can read, post and navigate the interface accessibly. It is entirely accessible, including some of the fancier features, like customizing tab bar buttons. This is really good! So naturally, I have a couple of suggestions.
Show threadShelly BrisbinJan 7, 2023
First suggestion: implementing post actions on the rotor’s Actions menu would be awesome. With a post selected, switching to actions in the VO rotor should allow you to reply, boost, favorite, share, etc. To do these things now, you double-tap the post, then navigate to the buttons below – which are labeled. So, one or two extra gestures.
VO Suggestion 2: You can scroll your timeline by interacting with the scrollbar. I’d love a way to double-tap the top bar to fully refresh the page.
Show threadShelly BrisbinJan 7, 2023
Low Vision support: For users with low vision, accessibility comes down to flexible screen contrast options, zoom, and the ability to control onscreen type size. These are addressed by features in the operating system, but can be undone if an app chooses not to follow iOS guidelines, especially support for dynamic type. Low vision support is my primary personal accessibility interest, so what I’ll share on that topic will get into the weeds.
Show threadShelly BrisbinJan 7, 2023
Display: The Display screen in Settings lets you pick from three fonts, and either use text sizes based on your iOS settings, or within Ivory. The Ivory text slider does not work however. Perhaps that will be fixed going forward. For now, I’m relying on dynamic type and iOS per-app settings to get just the size I want. Unfortunately for me, noe of the three font options is ideal. You can also choose from two sizes of Action buttons and thumbnails. Great flexibility.
Show threadShelly BrisbinJan 7, 2023
Theming: You can choose to follow the system’s light or dark mode, as you might expect, but there are also High Contrast and OLED modes. I can’t really see any difference with High Contrast, but perhaps that’s coming. And welcome! There are a bunch of Accent colors available, whose benefits I’m a little too color blind to see, but it’s a unique option, which I appreciate.
Show threadShelly BrisbinJan 7, 2023
Browser support: I’ll wrap this up with a note about the Ivory browser. You can choose it, and even enter it in Reader mode, which I LOVE. Or you can choose you default browser. The Ivory browser even supports system dark mode, if that’s what you’re using, which I am. Brilliant!
Show threadDeacon ScottJan 7, 2023
@ShellyBrisbin I didn't realize you could default to Reader mode for Ivory browser. Cool! Thanks for the tip.
Show threadAnthony ArblasterJan 7, 2023
@ShellyBrisbin It sounds like @ivory is paying much more attention too #accessibility. Is that fair? great that @tapbots is improving in this area. #accessibility isn’t really optional.
Show threadMark Jardine Jan 7, 2023
@aarblaster @ShellyBrisbin @ivory @tapbots for what it’s worth, Tweetbot has had the same accessibility features as Ivory for years. Shelly was probably using a much older version of the app the last time she tested it. 🙂
Show threadAnthony ArblasterJan 7, 2023
@mark @ShellyBrisbin @ivory @tapbots that’s great news. Would love to hear a review @ShellyBrisbin of Tweetbot too. I love Tweetbot and am looking forward to trying @ivory myself.
Show threadShelly BrisbinJan 7, 2023
@mark @aarblaster @ivory @tapbots I’m really glad to hear that. I was so frustrated that you guys din’d address accessibility at that time that I kinda gave up. And when people I respected started saying such great things about Ivory, especially given Mastodon’s very forward-looking embrace of accessibility, I wanted to see if folks with disabilities would be included. And as you see, I’ve given credit where due.
Show threadDavid J. LoehrJan 7, 2023

@ShellyBrisbin Also, considering how Mastodon users are more aware of proper hashtags for readers, alt text for images, etc, seems like accessibility should be a priority for a Mastodon app.

To quote The Music Man, you gotta know the territory.

Show threadShelly BrisbinJan 7, 2023
@djloehr Yes. Higher standards and all. Hence my little epic here.
Show threadRachael LJan 7, 2023
@ShellyBrisbin @glennf I also experienced this. I was a fan of it — had bought two upgrades even — when my vision started going. When I started having to use VO more I discovered that major parts of tweetbot were unusable or required such painful workarounds it may as well be. I wrote them a detailed report of issues — quite hard at the time since I was hybrid VO+zooming and going through a lot of issues. No response. :(
Show threadRachael LJan 7, 2023
@ShellyBrisbin @glennf Reading your thread it sounds like they are starting from a better place but not sure I’ll ever be able to bring myself to buy it even though I loved tweetbot back in the day.
Show threadShelly BrisbinJan 7, 2023
@r343l @glennf Yeah, I can neither give them praise or criticism for the result, only their lack of communication about it. Was all this VO support an accident? Possibly. That’s what the #a11y guidelines are for. Or did they do something intentional? Either way, I had to close the loop.
Show threadʎllnɔsJan 7, 2023
@ShellyBrisbin @ivory weird. Clicking this link in #Mammoth crashes the app. Each time.
Show threadPratik PatelJan 7, 2023
@ShellyBrisbin @ivory Considering your findings, it's odd to see their original response.
Show threadSteve WilliamsJan 8, 2023
@ShellyBrisbin pretty disappointing response for them. Lots of pretty iOS animations , but no edit button essential for #dyslexic users like me. As I’m losing my hearing rapidly, I’m more and more aware what an intimidating and challenging place the world can be when you don’t fall the norm-space. Sad to start on the wrong foot.
Show threadShelly BrisbinJan 8, 2023
@blabberlicious The missing Edit button is something I just noticed today. I’ll cut them a little slack because it’s still in development. Here’s hoping though.