Issue #1: January 21, 2025
Tip jar updates, my goals for the week, 4 recommended readings, and the weekly side quest.
Hello Pond friends! I’m so glad you’re here. It’s newsletter day and the very first! I think I’ll be sending it out on Tuesdays.
Until The Accessibility Pond is officially launched, the Recommended Reading portion of this newsletter will mostly share links to external news, articles, tools, etc. Then as I establish a regular reading, writing, and publishing flow, I’ll include my analysis and commentary for these materials.
I can’t wait to get there! I’ll be able to contextualize more information, discuss nuance, and explore intersections of digital accessibility with other areas of accessibility.
What’s in store this week
Tip jar fundraising updates
My goals for the week
4 recommended readings
The weekly side quest
Tip jar fundraising updates
I announced The Accessibility Pond on January 17th, and requested donations to my tip jar with a $3,000 USD goal. As of January 21st at 11am Indianapolis time, 20 donations have been made totaling $1,616 USD! 🎉
That’s 53.9% of the goal! I’m awestruck by folks’ generosity and interest in this soon-to-be community. I’ve been dreaming about it for so long! You all have helped me feel seen, valued, and brave. Thank you!!
My goals for the week
Ship the ebook version of Automating Accessibility: How To Test for the 6 Most Common Accessibility Issues on Home Pages
Add video descriptions to an existing article: A Quick-ish Accessibility Review: shadcn/ui Charts
Recommended reading
Disabled People are the Canaries in the Coal Mine, The Disabled Ginger, January 15, 2025
Your Local Government Isn’t Ready to Evacuate Disabled People, Julia Métraux, January 18, 2025
For Someone Like Me, Power Outages Are Not an Option, Alice Wong, January 22, 2023
Finally! The digital accessibility portal available in English, Digital Accessibility Luxembourg, January 14, 2025
Weekly side quest
The following list represents the most problematic items screen reader (SR) users encounter on websites according to WebAIM’s 10th SR User Survey (published February 2024). I copy-pasted straight from the results (linked below) and alphabetized it.
Note: I’ve excluded CAPTCHA from the list because it’s the most problematic item by a large margin and probably easy to guess as a top-three since it’s awful for everyone!
The question: What do you think are the top three most problematic items? Take a few minutes to think about it, then check your answer against the survey’s results.
Complex data tables
Complex or difficult forms
Images with missing or improper descriptions (alt text)
Inaccessible or missing search functionality
Interactive elements like menus, tabs, and dialogs do not behave as expected
Lack of "skip to main content" or "skip navigation" links
Lack of keyboard accessibility
Links or buttons that do not make sense
Missing or improper headings
Screens or parts of screens that change unexpectedly
Too many links or navigation items