To escape the icy, dark, raging seas
a lone ship with all her sails lost, flees,
the crew of Her Majesty’s frigate, “Raven,”
in search of a headland, to act as haven.
Worth bearing in mind
Is your blog accessible to blind computer users?
3 Replies
My thanks to Chris Graham (AKA The Story Reading Ape) https://thestoryreadingapeblog.com, for drawing this article on why much of the internet is inaccessible to blind people to my attention, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49694453.
As many of you who follow my blog will know, I lost the majority of my eyesight at 18-months-old. I am unable to read print and use software called Job Access with Speech (JAWS), which converts text into speech and braille enabling me to use a Windows computer or laptop. For anyone interested in finding out about JAWS, please follow this link, https://www.freedomscientific.com/products/software/jaws/.
The article linked to above, details a number of problems faced by blind users of the internet, many of which I have experienced whilst navigating the World Wide Web. For example, the piece explains how blind computer users can be faced with unlabelled links on a webpage meaning that what is heard is next to useless. I have myself been faced with a page where JAWS reads “link, link, link”, meaning that the only way in which I can ascertain what the content of a particular link may be is by clicking on said link. This is, obviously a very tedious undertaking and, in many instances I have given up on the site in question and visited a more accessible alternative.
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Turning specifically to sites hosted directly on WordPress (such as my own blog), these are, on the whole accessible. For example all the social media sharing buttons on kmorrispoet.com are labelled so anyone using a screen reader such as JAWS will hear “Twitter, Facebook” etc voiced by JAWS. Likewise the comments form is clearly labelled as such meaning that anyone logged into a WordPress account can easily post a comment.
In contrast I have found that many of the self-hosted WordPress sites are not as accessible as those hosted directly on WordPress. For example I often come across unlabelled sharing buttons on self-hosted sites so the only way in which I can determine what the button in question may be, is by actually clicking on it.
Whilst some comments forms on self-hosted sites are labelled with fields such as “comment”, “your name”, “email address”, others are not. In the latter instance the JAWS (or other screen reader user) is forced to guess what each field is or, more often simply to give up on their intention of posting a comment and navigate away from the site/blog in question.
In my experience the vast majority of bloggers care about their readers and wish to ensure that everyone is able to access their sites equally and enjoy the same ability to participate in discussions. However, unless a blogger is themselves blind (or knows a blind screen reader user), its perfectly possible that they have little (if any idea) as to how blind web users access their site/blog.
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has links to useful guidance explaining how webmasters can ensure that their sites are accessible to those with site loss. For anyone who is unsure whether their blog and/or website is accessible, you may find it helpful to visit here, https://www.sightadvicefaq.org.uk/independent-living/accessible-website.
Kevin
Filed under Factual, From the heart, Re-blogged
Colleen’s Weekly Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge . #Tanka ~Dreamland
One thousand fireflies
cast shadows in the meadow,
all to no avail,
darkness calls for silence though
crickets chirrup on the breeze.
Heeding Haiku With Chèvrefeuille, October 2nd 2019, stormy weather
While winds play cello
to the rhythm of the rain
clouds with lightning dance
Filed under Haiku, nature inspired, On the lines of romance, Self compositions, Uncategorized
Crimson’s Creative Challenge #47 ~Under the shell #Limerick
A pious girl called Susan from Hay
knelt down in the church to pray
it was like every males dream
when her skirt split at the seam
showing she’d gone commando that day
RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #273 Forest&Whisper
Fading forest light
casts long shadows over lips,
in nervous whisper
Filed under Factual, Haiku, nature inspired, Otherworldly, Rural life, Self compositions
Samiscribbles weekend writing prompt #125 ~A familiar ultimatum
I sighed in my loudest resigned manner, in the hope that someone, or something, would gauge my anger and frustration. As I replaced another clean puppy pad, the hound-dog from Hell had released another stream of steaming fluid onto the caramel coloured shag pile. Time to make my stand. “That’s it dog, once more and you’re banished,” I shouted, through my smile.
COLLEEN’S 2019 WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #146 Synonyms only ~Fall & Give ~Fading light
In the beginning
actions at first thought funny
then a little odd,
descent into psychosis
served to provide the answer
Filed under As you read it, dystopian view, No offence intended, Self compositions, Tanka, Uncategorized
Sue Vincent’s photo prompt: Harbinger #writephoto
The villagers hated to see the magpie who nested in the old elm tree. To them it seemed the bird had been sitting up there forever, with it’s mocking call and loud chattering every time any one passed by. It wasn’t so much that they disliked magpies, in fact most admired his contrasting black, blue and white plumage.
To them though this one was different, he had never been seen with a mate, in fact no other magpies had ever been seen or heard near the old tree where he was perpetually on guard. This caused the villagers, both old and young distress, for in accordance with the old, well known saying, “One for sorrow, two for joy, ” it was customary to greet a solitary magpie with a, “Good morning, mister magpie, how’s your wife. ”
To ignore a single magpie was sure to cause evil to the observer. It now seemed that any event that could be ascribed to bad luck was the fault of someone failing to pay the necessary respects to their resident bird. As he got older he had taken on the mantle of, and was often referred to as, “The Harbinger of Doom.”
Fearful of dire repercussions if they did anything to harm the bird, the villagers realised that all they could do was wait until they saw the bird no more, in the hope that this ill-starred resident had finally taken his leave, then hopefully his place would be taken by a pair or perhaps more of his kind.
Heeding Haiku With Chèvrefeuille, September 25th 2019, autumn equinox
For one brief moment
both light and darkness balanced
Autumn tips the scales.
Filed under Factual, Haiku, nature inspired, Seasons, Self compositions
When the pen takes control. 