… then you have to make sure your website is accessible for people who use devices like screen readers, adapted keyboards, speech-to-text, etc..

the big one I’m thinking of here is image captions.

If you’re going to put an image in a post, caption it in plain, screen-reader accessible text.

If there’s a link to a reader-accessible version or transcript, put it in the body of the post near the image.

but this is also for things like closed captioning.

Of the many YouTube channels I watch, I can think of only two that have regular, high-quality closed captioning (Tom Scott* and @annieelainey**, if anyone is wondering).

The rest are a sort of piecemeal, hit-and-miss fashion.

Including channels like John Oliver and Samantha Bee – these channels feature clips from network comedy news shows! They have network backing; surely they can assign someone to make sure the YouTube videos have closed captions.

Gah, and understanding that not everyone is able to use a mouse and hardware keyboard at all times.

Some people use tablets (think iPad) because of a disability. Some use a drawing tablet and pen (think what Wacom makes) because those are easier. Some people use voice-controlled mouse and speech-to-text software.

(Kristen Cashore, author of the Graceling trilogy, has written before about how she writes all her novels with pen and paper and then uses speech-to-text software to transcribe them into a computer.)

Some people can only use a keyboard, no mouse or tablet or pen at all.

my point is here that if you want to strive for progress and make that clear in your website, you must make it accessible to disabled people who use adaptive computers.

Do not leave us out of your activism because we can’t access your sites. Many of us already can’t be involved in activism offline because of our disabilities.

Don’t make the internet even more hostile to us. Please.

(I realize that I am leaving a lot of adaptive systems out of this post. If you have more examples of ways people can make websites accessible, please add them.)

*Tom Scott makes videos about science, interesting “Things You Might Not Know,” travelogues, and general British buffoonery.

**Annie Elainey is a disability activist who makes videos about her experiences with disability, race, gender, sexuality, and a number of other issues.

I don’t have much to add because the internet is generally pretty accessible to me, but here are a few:

organize your website in a single-column layout. screen readers like that and tend to get pissy about other layouts.

give warnings about things that flash. seizures are Not Fun™ and unexpected seizures are Even Less Fun™.

avoid all of these with basically no exceptions:

tiny text

low-contrast colors

any font your high school english teacher would yell about

autoplay of any kind

if someone tells you that something about your site makes it hard for them to use, they are right

do not argue with them, even if the change they suggest isn’t a viable option at the moment.

yes, even in that hypothetical situation you just thought of

Image one is a chapter title page from chapter three. In the middle, there is an illustration of a red fireplace, with an abundance of yellow-coloured envelopes shooting out of it. Below this, the title reads:

“CHAPTER 3: LETTERS FROM NO ONE”

Image two is of a grey-coloured owl in flight, carrying an envelope through the grey and white clouds.

Image three is of black, italicized, printed text on white paper. The texts reads: 

“Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon’s sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and – a letter for Harry. Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives – he didn’t belong to the library, so he’d never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be to mistake:

Mr. H. Potter The Cupboard under the Stairs 4 Privet Drive Little Whinging Surrey”

Image four is of multiple envelopes scattered on the ground. Most of them read:

“Mr. H. Potter The Cupboard under the Stairs 4. Privet Drive Little Whinging Surrey”

harry potter [part 2] | text posts

First image is of a young Harry Potter with a wand pointed at him by (I assume) Voldemort, whom you cannot see in the image. - Text post attached to image reads: “when children do things and u just wanna murder them”.

Second image is of a scene with the trio (left to right; Ron, Harry, Hermione) in the room of requirement, when training with “Dumbledore’s Army”. They all have neutral expressions. - Text post attached to image reads: “i’ve got like 2 friends maybe 2.5”.

Third image is of Ron at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, shoveling a sausage in his mouth with a fork in one hand, and holding a book in the other. - Text post attached to image reads: “why get thinner when you can get more dinner”

Fourth image is of Harry and Snape’s unfortunate meeting in one of the halls of Hogwarts at night. Snape has his wand pointed at Harry, lumos being cast, Harry staring defiantly back at him. - Text post attached to image reads: “have you ever looked at an authority figure in your life and thought ‘wow i respect a well-grilled hot dog more than i respect you’”.

Fifth image is of a young Hermione standing in front of a table Harry and Dean are sitting at in the library. Harry is glancing up at Hermione as if she just arrived at the table, she also appears to be holding a book. - Text post attached to image reads: “'Too many books?’ I believe the phrase you’re looking for is 'not enough bookshelves’”.

Sixth image is of a dark sky covered in storm clouds, with a skull (similar to the Dark Mark) rushing out of it. Most likely from the scene at the Quidditch World Cup camping grounds before the Death Eater attack. - Text post attached to image reads: “i like it when the sky looks like the world is going to end”.

Seventh image is Harry and Luna in a forest (the scene with the Thestrals) smiling at each other. - Text post attached to image reads: “people who make you feel better about yourself when you’re sad are so important”.

Eighth image is of Hermione and Ron in a lightly snowed-on forest, Hermione possibly hitting Ron with a bag of some sort. The image is most likely from the scene in the Deathly Hallows when Ron comes back to Harry and Hermione after being absent for so long while the trio was traveling to find all the horcruxes. - Text post attached to image reads: “ *accidentally bullies you in an attempt to flirt* ”.

Ninth image is of Arthur Weasly kissing Molly Weasly on the cheek in a scene in the Weasly Burrow. (The text post attached covers Harry’s face, to give more detail to what scene this is). - Text post attached to image reads: “I’m that dad who wants to start a garage band with all the other dads in the neighborhood but my wife wont let me”.

Tenth image is from the Forbidden Forest scene in 'Order of the Phoenix’ with Harry, Hermione, and Umbridge. In the image only the shoulder, hair, and wand-holding hand of Umbridge is scene. The wand is pointed in the direction of Hermione who is kneeling defensively in front of a downed Centaur with an expression of distress.  - Text post attached to image reads: “don’t u dare treat ur animals like shit in front of me i will end ur life son”.

Eleventh image is of one person’s hand holding another’s hand, pulling a sleeve back to reveal scarring skin. (I suspect this is Umbridge and Harry? When Harry is being punished with the quill that draws blood).  - Text post attached to image reads: “do you ever look at a boy’s hands and just nod to yourself”.

Twelfth image is of Snape standing in an archway, probably at Hogwarts and most likely not on ground level. All of him is clearly seen. - Text post attached to image reads: “Should I wear all black or all black today”.

Thirteenth image is of Hermione running with a grin, her hair flying out behind her, along one of the tables in the Great Hall (possibly towards someone at the end of the path). - Text post attached to image reads: “The people who come running to hug you after you haven’t seen them in awhile are my favourite type of people”.