You say potato and I say potato, and yes, I know VoiceOver
read both of those the same way, so you will have to imagine the commonly
used expression. Being a VoiceOver user on the iPhone and Mac since 2009, I
have become very familiar with the word accessibility and the hash tag
#A11Y. The interesting thing about both of these terms, is that they mean
something different to everyone.
If you are like me and follow people in the blind tech community on Twitter,
or subscribe to a blind tech email list, and frequently check AppleVis, you
will come across the word accessibility on a daily basis. One thing I find
interesting is that people use the word differently. For example, lets say
that an app has a few unlabeled buttons. One person might call it
inaccessible due to the unlabeled buttons, while another might say the app
is very accessible but takes a little work to use. Neither one of these
statements is incorrect. It all depends on how you view the meaning of the
word accessibility.
Lets take a closer look as we look at the Facebook iPhone App review on
AppleVis. Under the heading accessibility comments it says, the app is
getting better in terms of accessibility. This statement is very true. If
you have been a long time Facebook user like me, the app has come a long way
in compatibility with VoiceOver. I would call the app about 90% accessible,
as I still always have a little difficulty using things like events when
wanting to create one and add people to invite to it. I also still haven't
fully grasped how the timeline works, as sometimes I can get everyone's
posts, and other times I have major time gaps between postings. By no means
would I call Facebook inaccessible, but some people still do. Under
VoiceOver performance, it says VoiceOver reads most page elements. If you
only feel apps are accessible is if you can use a hundred percent of the
app, than you might still say Facebook is inaccessible. Do I view somebody
who would say this as wrong? Absolutely not, we just have a difference of
opinion on what accessibility means to us. Under the heading Usability the
review says, there are some minor accessibility issues with this app but
they are easy to deal with. I agree with this statement, but someone that is
new to VoiceOver might not have the same level of comfort using VoiceOver
therefore they might say what in the world are you talking about? I can't do
a thing with the app. Again, are they wrong? No. Accessibility can almost be
viewed as a skill level, and length of use will make apps that don't work
fully with VoiceOver more accessible to more experienced users.
Comparatively lets think about a sighted person who has never used a Mac,
and has used a PC their entire life. If you sit them in front of a Mac and
expect them to use it as quickly as they accomplish tasks on a PC, it isn't
going to happen. They are going to not know how to do certain tasks. sMy
point is, accessibility can be viewed as experience and knowledge of how to
use an operating system.
