WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

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Re: Developers don't detect my screen reader

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From: Jennifer Sutton
Date: Aug 10, 2015 1:43PM


Speaking only personally, not professionally, and as a screen reader
user, for what it's worth, I ignore these kinds of hidden things and
*never* use them.
I view them as a signal that whoever has included them doesn't really
know about accessibility because they don't know how to make whatever it
is accessible.

Such hidden things reduce credibility for me, immediately. And as a
professional, I always strongly advocate against any such approach, for
all the reasons previously cited.

Frankly, I often see these things posted on sites with big names (I
won't name and shame), and they stay there for years. People can't see
them there, so they forget, or they think that that hidden thing has
absolved them of actually fixing the thing.

In short, a "hidden" link or button for screen reader users is a big
turn off to me.
Sorry to be so blunt, but experience teaches.

Best,
Jennifer