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Thread: Accessibility Plugins and Widgets - back with a vengeance

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Number of posts in this thread: 4 (In chronological order)

From: John E. Brandt
Date: Fri, Apr 17 2020 11:47AM
Subject: Accessibility Plugins and Widgets - back with a vengeance
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I've had announcements of two new websites this past week, both of which are
related COVID-19 responses and resources, and both of which use one of the
many "accessibility plugin widget add-ons". Both new sites are promoted as
"fully accessible" and of course neither are. One used a widget call Recite
Me and when it was loaded over the site made navigating with VoiceOver on
the Mac completely useless. Needless to say, the classic access errors were
all there, color contrast and "click here", none of which would be improved
by any plugin.

The good news is at least these organizations are aware that accessibility
is important. The bad news is they are looking for expedient solutions and
are wasting money on these addons.

Anyone have any thoughts on how to address this?

This was discussed on the WebAIM list last summer (see
https://webaim.org/discussion/mail_thread?thread=9283) And Karl Groves
blogged about this several years ago
https://karlgroves.com/2016/01/07/on-overlays-as-a-means-of-resolving-websit
e-accessibility-issues

John E. Brandt
jebswebs.com

= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
jebswebs.com

From: Lucy GRECO
Date: Fri, Apr 17 2020 11:57AM
Subject: Re: Accessibility Plugins and Widgets - back with a vengeance
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i reely hait this these tools are making a killing and frankly they are
now reely makeing it harder for us to get any wair.
Lucia Greco
Web Accessibility Evangelist
IST - Architecture, Platforms, and Integration
University of California, Berkeley
(510) 289-6008 skype: lucia1-greco
http://webaccess.berkeley.edu
Follow me on twitter @accessaces



On Fri, Apr 17, 2020 at 10:48 AM John E. Brandt < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> I've had announcements of two new websites this past week, both of which
> are
> related COVID-19 responses and resources, and both of which use one of the
> many "accessibility plugin widget add-ons". Both new sites are promoted as
> "fully accessible" and of course neither are. One used a widget call Recite
> Me and when it was loaded over the site made navigating with VoiceOver on
> the Mac completely useless. Needless to say, the classic access errors were
> all there, color contrast and "click here", none of which would be improved
> by any plugin.
>
> The good news is at least these organizations are aware that accessibility
> is important. The bad news is they are looking for expedient solutions and
> are wasting money on these addons.
>
> Anyone have any thoughts on how to address this?
>
> This was discussed on the WebAIM list last summer (see
> https://webaim.org/discussion/mail_thread?thread=9283) And Karl Groves
> blogged about this several years ago
>
> https://karlgroves.com/2016/01/07/on-overlays-as-a-means-of-resolving-websit
> e-accessibility-issues
> <https://karlgroves.com/2016/01/07/on-overlays-as-a-means-of-resolving-website-accessibility-issues>
>
> John E. Brandt
> jebswebs.com
>
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> jebswebs.com
>
>
>
> > > > >

From: Jonathan Pool
Date: Fri, Apr 17 2020 1:06PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility Plugins and Widgets - back with a vengeance
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Well, there's always the lawyer's demand letter.

On 2020-04-17 13:47, John E. Brandt wrote:
> I've had announcements of two new websites this past week, both of which are
> related COVID-19 responses and resources, and both of which use one of the
> many "accessibility plugin widget add-ons". Both new sites are promoted as
> "fully accessible" and of course neither are. One used a widget call Recite
> Me and when it was loaded over the site made navigating with VoiceOver on
> the Mac completely useless. Needless to say, the classic access errors were
> all there, color contrast and "click here", none of which would be improved
> by any plugin.
>
> The good news is at least these organizations are aware that accessibility
> is important. The bad news is they are looking for expedient solutions and
> are wasting money on these addons.
>
> Anyone have any thoughts on how to address this?
>
> This was discussed on the WebAIM list last summer (see
> https://webaim.org/discussion/mail_thread?thread=9283) And Karl Groves
> blogged about this several years ago
> https://karlgroves.com/2016/01/07/on-overlays-as-a-means-of-resolving-websit
> e-accessibility-issues
>
> John E. Brandt
> jebswebs.com
>
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> jebswebs.com
>
>
>
>

From: Amber Holladay
Date: Thu, Apr 23 2020 4:15PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility Plugins and Widgets - back with a vengeance
← Previous message | No next message

I would address it the same way I would address it on any other website
that is inaccessible. Send the website owners an email, tell them how I
tried to use the site (including exactly how the widget did and did not
work), and tell them how I would expect it to work. If possible, I would
copy the widget maker. If there is a way to create a review of the widget,
I would hunt that down.

That is how I would start.

On Fri, Apr 17, 2020 at 1:06 PM Jonathan Pool < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> Well, there's always the lawyer's demand letter.
>
> On 2020-04-17 13:47, John E. Brandt wrote:
> > I've had announcements of two new websites this past week, both of which
> are
> > related COVID-19 responses and resources, and both of which use one of
> the
> > many "accessibility plugin widget add-ons". Both new sites are promoted
> as
> > "fully accessible" and of course neither are. One used a widget call
> Recite
> > Me and when it was loaded over the site made navigating with VoiceOver on
> > the Mac completely useless. Needless to say, the classic access errors
> were
> > all there, color contrast and "click here", none of which would be
> improved
> > by any plugin.
> >
> > The good news is at least these organizations are aware that
> accessibility
> > is important. The bad news is they are looking for expedient solutions
> and
> > are wasting money on these addons.
> >
> > Anyone have any thoughts on how to address this?
> >
> > This was discussed on the WebAIM list last summer (see
> > https://webaim.org/discussion/mail_thread?thread=9283) And Karl Groves
> > blogged about this several years ago
> >
> https://karlgroves.com/2016/01/07/on-overlays-as-a-means-of-resolving-websit
> > e-accessibility-issues
> >
> > John E. Brandt
> > jebswebs.com
> >
> > = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> > jebswebs.com
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > > >