Took a journey into the heart of the #a11y industrial complex last night while browsing the interwebs on my phone. Started on X which is fitting. Followed a link to an Open Letter about intransigence of current world leaders to deal with the coming climate bomb among other issues.
The Elders, Future of Life Institute and a diverse range of co-signatories call on decision-makers to urgently address the ongoing impact and escalating risks of the climate crisis, pandemics, nuclear weapons, and ungoverned AI.
Interesting reading, but was skeptical, sounded like a quasi-religious organisation “Future of Life”, “The Elders”, then I checked the signatories and was pleasantly surprised to find some names I knew:
- Annie Lennox UK
- Cate Blanchett Australia
- Gordon Brown
- Julia GillardChair, Board of Governors, Wellcome and former Prime Minister of Australia
Then I noticed the Universal access symbol, at bottom left of screen
Here we go, I thought…
I pressed the icon, our old friend the UserWay Accessibility Menu appeared
UserWay is primarily an Accessibility Overlay company, who make BIG claims “Web Accessibility. Solved. Comply with ADA law and conform with WCAG 2.1 & 2.2 guidelines at every step of your web accessibility journey. Join over 1 million websites and millions of users with disabilities who trust UserWay for their digital accessibility needs.” and were recently aquired by Level Access, one of the big 3 Accessibility Industry companies.
The text was a bit small in the article, for my aging eyes, so I decided to make use of the UserWay Bigger Text feature. Pressed it once, no noticeable difference in text size, but the menu width was reduced…
Pressed it again, still no discernible change in text size, but the width of the menu was reduced further…
Closed the menu, with the hope that the text in the page itself was larger…, unfortunately not, but the UserWay Bigger Text feature had reduced the line length of the content, by about 40%.
Gaslighting people who require accessibility features
What can I say, other than this is another example of bullshit accessibility, profit driven products, fueled by private equity companies. I should have not looked at this as when I do it makes me angry. Demonstrating the cack-handedness of these products is too easy.
Further reading:
- Overlay fact sheet
- Adrian Roselli Overlay related articles
- Bolt-on Accessibility – 5 gears in reverse
Further listening:
Manic Street Preachers – If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
– Lyrics
The future teaches you to be alone The present to be afraid and cold So if I can shoot rabbits then I can shoot fascists Bullets for your brain today But we'll forget it all again Monuments put from pen to paper Turns me into a gutless wonder And if you tolerate this Then your children will be next And if you tolerate this Then your children will be next Will be next, will be next Will be next Gravity keeps my head down Or is it maybe shame At being so young and being so vain? Holes in your head today But I'm a pacifist I've walked La Ramblas But not with real intent And if you tolerate this Then your children will be next And if you tolerate this Then your children will be next Will be next, will be next Will be next Will be next And on the street tonight an old man plays With newspaper cuttings of his glory days And if you tolerate this Then your children will be next And if you tolerate this Then your children will be next Will be next, will be next Will be next
100 Gecs – Money Machine
– Lyrics
Hey you lil' piss baby, you think you're so fucking cool? Huh? You think you're so fucking tough? You talk a lotta big game for someone with such a small truck Aw, look at those arms Your arms look so fucking cute They look like lil' cigarettes I bet I could smoke you I could roast you And then you'd love it and you'd text me "I love you" and then I'd fucking ghost you With the big boys coming with the big stuff I feel so clean like a money machine, oh yeah Big boys coming with the big trucks Feel so clean like a money machine, oh yeah Big boys coming with the big trucks Feel so clean like a money machine, oh yeah Big boys coming with the picture Feel so clean like a money machine, oh yeah (oh yeah) Feel so clean, like a money machine Feel so clean, like a money machine Feel so clean, like a money machine Feel so clean, like a money machine Tell me what's the deal, I've been trying to go to bed I've been up for days, I've been tryna get ahead Said it all before, and I'll say it once again I'm better off alone Tell me what's the deal, I've been trying to go to bed I've been up for days, I've been tryna get ahead Said it all before, and I'll say it once again I'm better off alone With the big boys coming with the big stuff I feel so clean like a money machine, oh yeah Big boys coming with the big trucks Feel so clean like a money machine, oh yeah Big boys coming with the big trucks Feel so clean like a money machine, oh yeah Big boys coming with the picture Feel so clean like a money machine, oh yeah (oh yeah) Feel so clean, like a money machine Feel so clean, like a money machine Feel so clean, like a money machine Feel so clean, like a money machine
One reply on “accessibility darkness”
Over-lays are akin to Tik Tok—
It’s an attempt to enhance presentation, but everyone knows it’s merely a virtual reality that most A11y Subject Matter Experts conclude falls short of enhancing user experience.