James ScholesFeb 27

I believe that the #accessibility of everyday tech for #screenReader users is on a slow but consistent decline. Operating systems, browsers, messaging apps, email clients, even command line tools.

These things are not being replaced with more #accessible alternatives, but nor does the investment exist to stop the rot within the current options.

This in itself is concerning, particularly as it mirrors tech trends more broadly. But what I worry about quite a bit is what it does for user expectations.

What happens when generations of people grow up with inefficient keyboard access models, faux desktop apps, and a thousand tiny papercuts here and there? When the new baseline is worse than it was before, it takes that bit more effort to imagine and advocate for best rather than just better.

Show threadJames ScholesFeb 27

If you're wondering what sort of #accessibility issues I mean when I say "papercuts," here are some examples:

First-letter navigation not working in commonly used parts of the Windows 11 UI, like "open with" dialogs and the system tray.

NVDA's browse mode suddenly becoming inactive and inoperable when transitioning between webpages.

Multi-line textareas being reported as "blank" in Chrome and Chromium-based apps.

Focus moving to the message list instead of the next or previous email when deleting content in Thunderbird.

These are things that can and should be fixed. But if or when they are, it'll be easy to write up another list of small, non-blocking issues that but nevertheless contribute to a frustrating, unproductive experience.

Show threadJamie Teh
@jscholes Not at all to detract from your point because I totally agree, but I (and the rest of the Firefox accessibility team) are at least trying our best to not allow Firefox to be a part of that trend. To that end, are you seeing the browse mode transition bug you mentioned with Firefox? I haven't seen it or heard of it, which is why I'm asking. I can't help with Thunderbird unfortunately; very different part of the organisation where I have no involvement or influence.
Feb 28 at 10:23amWeb
Show threadMarco ZeheFeb 28
@jcsteh @jscholes The main difference is that you yourself use Firefox daily with NVDA, and if you introduce a major bug that tests don't catch yet, you'll notice it quickly yourself. When I look at chromium and the bug it introduces and sometimes keeps around for months or even years, it becomes apparent that there are no serious screen reader users on those teams to be annoyed by the bugs. Like all the hideous text bugs Chromium has on the various platforms. And no, even at its worse days, Firefox text bugs were never so annoying. ;-)
Show threadJamie TehFeb 28
@marco I'm fairly sure there are at least two screen reader users on the Chrome accessibility team. I am particularly intolerant of accessibility defects and papercuts, though. Even the most trivial of papercuts can add up to hours of time wasted a week or hideous levels of extra stress and cognitive load. @jscholes
Show threadMarco ZeheFeb 28
@jcsteh @jscholes I agree. And I am grateful that you usually fix the Mac bugs I file fairly quickly, too. ;-) Firefox is by far the most stable browser on Mac nowadays, what accessibility is concerned. Apple have had some huge problems in Safari on the Mac lately, not so bad on iPhone, but Firefox has been mostly very stable. And I only use an un-googled version of Chromium if I absolutely have to, because their accessibility bugs are just hideously annoying. Same goes for Electron apps.
Show threadJamie TehFeb 28
@marco I'm genuinely glad it's working well for you. Of course, we still have our fair share of bugs, far more than I'd like, but we'll keep trying to squash the egregious ones at least. @jscholes
Show threadJames ScholesFeb 28

@jcsteh No, I haven't had it happen with Firefox. But I don't currently use Firefox frequently enough for that to represent very useful data.

Still, good to know you haven't heard of it happening there.

Show threadJamie TehFeb 28
@jscholes Fair enough.