StevenJul 25, 2023
Reina 

I have two questions about legibility for blind people on Fedi.

Does word shortenings and stuff make things illegible to you? For instance, if I write "smth" instead of something or "idk" instead of "I don't know", does that make it hard for you to follow?

I'm kinda oldfashioned when it comes to emoji. I usually write them using symbols rather than unicode. Does that become a jarbled mess for you or do you understand the meaning of things like :) and xD?

If any of these are an accessability concern to you, I'll do my best to address it for future posts of mine.

#Accessability #Blind

Jul 25, 2023 at 9:10amWeb
Show threadD.Hamlin.MusicJul 25, 2023
@reina I mean some shorthand stuff is less clear than others but I use things like idk, afaik, brb, all the time, also things like :) and :D should convert into the visual version that will be read by screen readers.
Show threadD.Hamlin.MusicJul 25, 2023
@reina on a different note #braille uses shortforms to convey longer words in less space so it's not that different, like I do not type yourself out it's just yrf or afterward is afw, and there are many more, braille is just brl.
Show threadReina Jul 25, 2023
@dhamlinmusic Oh, that's interesting. I didn't even consider braille devices :P
Show threadD.Hamlin.MusicJul 25, 2023
@reina I’m not using my #BrailleDisplay right now just the #BrailleScreenInput on my phone.
Show threadMiakoda Jul 25, 2023
@reina
Turn on a screen reader and see what you get
Show threadStevenJul 25, 2023
@reina What you have to remember is that out of the box the SR probably doesn't have a definition for shortened words as they seem to be ever evolving and that SR's will read "SMTH" and "IDK" differently than "smth" and "idk" sometimes. Just be consistent with caps if you plan to use them. As far as old school emoticons, they are just punctuation, if the user has punctuation reading set low, then they probably won't see half of them. #blind
Show threadD.Hamlin.MusicJul 25, 2023
@baethyn @reina the emoticon thing depends if they convert to a visual, like :) reads fine even though I have punctuation off.
Show threadSarah RussellJul 25, 2023
@dhamlinmusic @baethyn @reina That is very screen reader dependant. Some can transcribe them where they can be identified and read aloud, but that is not usually a default setting.
Show threadStevenJul 25, 2023
@dhamlinmusic @reina yes, but NVDA for example doesn't come with that emoticon predefined. So while emoticons are fine, if the user wants an output they'll have to either find or create their definitions for each one. #blind
Show threadSarah RussellJul 25, 2023

@reina Shorthand can be hit or miss as language is ever-changing. I personally prefer shorthand be avoided. There are some such as IDK, LOL and ROFL that are more widely known, but it is likely better to just avoid most as the screen reader will read SMTH as each letter individually and force users to try and parce what you mean.

As for the text emoji, most screen readers won't read the punctuation most are made of depending on user settings. Most users won't hear them. #Blind