Samantha Rose3d ago
lizzzzard

How the hell am I supposed to even argue with this?

Coworker about accessibility (in the context of "why don't devs/their bosses book the accessibility training for frontend developers we offer?"):

"for me as a front-end developer, accessibility is a niche issue. I have a hundred other problems to deal with. The fact that a small group of 2–4% of the market has trouble using my website is, frankly, none of my concern. Especially when it requires a huge amount of extra effort to implement and maintain. Either a UI library handles it for me, or I simply don’t do it."

I'm quite helpless in the face of this major fail of both human decency AND work ethic. And I assume they aren't a singular phenomenon, they just trust me enough to speak frankly.

#accessibility #a11y #webdevelopment

Mar 27 at 10:22amWeb
Show threadlizzzzard3d ago
Oh and failure of understanding both the problem and possible solutions, too.
Show threadAndré Polykanine3d ago
@lizzard No, you're an incompetent developer (it's an answer to the quote, not targeted at you, of course). If you use some crappy UI components and don't give a F what they are doing, it's your F'ing problem. Also, if you know only two HTML tags, div and span, it's also your problem.
Show threadPatrick H. Lauke3d ago
@lizzard this has been the attitude ever since i started in the field, circa 2002. plus ca change...
Show threadragman3d ago

@lizzard I've found that mentioning government regulations sometimes works.

Nothing devs fear more than the word "lawyer"!

I don't know about Germany, but I've seen businesses in the US be forced to at least do an accessibility audit by threat of lawsuit.

(I really like this post talking about it in the industry at large: https://fireborn.mataroa.blog/blog/because-fuck-you-why-consumer-choice-is-being-stripped-away-and-how-the-tech-industry-profits-from-it/#:~:text=what%20actually%20changes%20things)

But I'm sorry that appealing to human decency isn't working. It's awful to realize that people around you just... don't care :(

“because fuck you”: why consumer choice is being stripped away and how the tech industry profits from it — fireborn

Show threadlizzzzard3d ago

@ragman yeah, that's my only hope. Some sectors are regulated.

Alas, even customers that are heavily regulated (major public transport companies) routinely instruct us (their hired developers) to ignore accessibility. Not all of them, but it happens often enough.

The EU has a very different stance on paying damages to people who've been discriminated against than the US. As long as there are not only laws, but enforcement is also painful, I'm afraid that the colleague is right.

I'm just frustrated about it is all.

Show threadMostlyBlindGamer3d ago
@lizzard @ragman transportation is well within the scope of the European Accessibility Act. Yes, the frameworks are different (and there isn’t really a profit motive), but that’s actionable.
Show threadlizzzzard3d ago

@MostlyBlindGamer @ragman yeah, I know, our devs and project managers know and so does the customer. And it will be implemented. Just not by thinking about it from the start and thus, sadly, not perfectly (read: with huge holes).

(We also have other customers who do very well on that front!)

Show threadMostlyBlindGamer3d ago
@lizzard @ragman I think it’s a bit like security used to be. Nobody cared, right? Now they do, but most just worry about compliance and worst-case scenarios.
Show threadsennomo2d ago
@ragman @lizzard One time I mentioned government regulations and the response from a 3rd party provider was, "We understand that the President is going to roll back those regulations, so we don't we don't want to invest in such concerns."
Show threadlizzzzard1d ago
@sennomo *sigh* 😑
@ragman
Show threadJeffrey D. Stark3d ago
@menelion @lizzard welcome to the most common reaction to accessibility
Show threadSvenja3d ago
@lizzard and thats why the world is as shitty as it is. All this "why should I care for minorities?" and then the same people wonder why everyone who belongs in this group hates most people.
Show threadlizzzzard3d ago
@svenja "why should I invest any of my strength into those few people" is the basic world view of the privileged. I want to stand on the side with the pitchforks and torches when the uprising finally comes. Fuck, I'm currently in the mood to open a pitchfork factory!
Show threaddodothedev🦤💻3d ago

@lizzard
That's very sad. Its the equivalent of "so what if you're trying to sleep, I like playing my music this loud!"

Very self centred and disappointing.