Post #3290826

2026-06-08 21:45 UTC

@sparkles@ck.catwithaclari.net @fireborn@dragonscave.space "whether screen readers are the right direction" -> Screen readers are an assistive technology people use. If they need it or find it most comfortable, then they should have it. We do not get to say if their choice of AT is a right direction or not. UIs should be accessible to users with assistive technologies. Creating an alternative UI adds a new UI workflow that may or may not get updated in parallel with the other, tells users needing AT that they should be funneled to "the other space" instead of using the same pages and spaces everyone else does, and offers no guarantees of actually being more accessible anyway. Thinking on it, I am not sure how something "more similar to a console environment" would help visually impaired users if screen readers are also not the right direction. How would they perceive the console environment?

Replies (2)

@fireborn@dragonscave.space 2026-06-08 21:47

@TheEntity@social.treehouse.systems @sparkles@ck.catwithaclari.net I assumed they meant text-mode interfaces, something like what the old BrailleNote series devices did.

Open ##3290827
@sparkles@ck.catwithaclari.net 2026-06-09 07:26

@TheEntity@social.treehouse.systems @fireborn@dragonscave.space narrating an 2D screen into a 1D textual interface will never be a bijection due to the input space having higher dimensions than the output space, thus cause a loss of information. i have been constantly thinking about screen readers causing too much sensory overload, narrating the entire set of elements on a screen. we have actually achieved to do voice only ui/ux with call centers. similar to that i have been thinking of menus constantly narrating the list of options which is more close to a console environment

Open ##3290832