https://www.reddit.com/r/Blind/comments/158pao5/reddit_continues_to_deliver_the_opposite_of_what/
created by AutoModerator on 24/07/2023 at 22:28 UTC
228 upvotes, 9 top-level comments (showing 9)
As the r/Blind mod team announced on July 1st 2023, Reddit has made it impossible for blind people to moderate on mobile[1]. We're bringing you this post to update the community on the developments since that time.
As a point of order, r/Blind mods will not be exhaustively auditing Reddit apps or providing Reddit Inc. with unpaid accessibility testing services. We have and will continue to report bugs whenever appropriate, as would be expected from most users. That being said, the updates to Reddit's Android and iOS apps announced in June[2] have significantly degraded the user and moderation experience. There are mounting issues regarding stability and functionality affecting disabled users and the broader Reddit community[3].
2: https://www.reddit.com/r/modnews/comments/14n9426/
3: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModSupport/comments/158l2le/modmail_just_broke_completely/
In the specific context of screen reader accessibility, the current app versions have regressed in:
This situation further cements the mod team's perception that Reddit Inc. is ill-equipped to provide an accessible experience, compatible with the expectations set by the broader social media landscape - at least when Twitter had an accessibility team[4].
4: https://www.wired.com/story/twitter-layoffs-accessibility/
On July 19th, Reddit announced "more ways to connect live with" them[5], including an Accessibility Feedback Group. Several r/Blind mods have filled out the feedback group form and have yer to be contacted, in fact, u/MostlyBlindGamer expressed concern that more direct feedback options were not available[6].
6: https://www.reddit.com/r/modnews/comments/1541p7x/comment/jsmg3j1/
Reddit admins have been aware that the Reddit bug report page[7] crashes when using assistive technology, since June 25th 2023. The recommended mitigation has been to mod mail r/ModSupport. In this process, an r/Blind mod has been asked to submit screen recordings through mod mail, which does not support attachments, notwithstanding the futility of this request, since Talkback audio isn't recorded when screen recording on Android. This further shows that Reddit Inc. is not equipped to triage accessibility bugs.
7: https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=360000644872
Since then, the user experience has degraded to the point of making communication over mod mail ineffective. On July 19th, u/MostlyBlindGamer explicitly told Reddit admins blind moderators were effectively unable to use mod mail and reiterated the request for contact for email.
Today, twenty-nine days after being made aware of the issues when reporting bugs, as per our continuous request via DM and the latest r/Blind announcement[8], the accessibility@reddit.com[9] email address has now been made available, hopefully making it easier to raise these issues. As of this writing, Reddit has not replied to a message sent to this address by a moderator.
9: mailto:accessibility@reddit.com
We do what we do, despite adversity, to support our community. A part of that is making r/Blind a place for and by blind and visually impaired people, while still enabling research and awareness from the sighted and academic communities. That has been accomplished by hosting r/blindsurveys. Much to our disappointment, all of our efforts to provide proper moderation and safety for this subreddit have been hamstrung by Reddit's increasing accessibility failures.
We have made the subreddit private, not as a form of protest, but as mere self-preservation. While we acknowledge and appreciate the support of our sighted moderators, r/blindsurveys is not essential to our community and their efforts serve r/blind best. Its loss will be subtle, quiet and perhaps forgotten, but its impact may be greater than some assume.
Effective today, easily searched questions and surveys directed at blind and visually impaired people, are not allowed on this platform.
Yes! A few buttons are now labeled - hooray! Not enough to make the apps useable, but we like to acknowledge progress.
r/place is not blind, low-vision or even keyboard accessible, however the broader Reddit community is supporting r/Blind in keeping our Snoo on r/place[10]. Because we care about accessibility, we shared that news on an alternative platform that supports alt text for images in posts and comments.
10: https://www.reddit.com/r/Blind/comments/156pn6b/rplace_is_not_accessible_but_the_community_is/
In fact, r/save3rdpartyapps and r/ModCoord have been supporting this community since the start. The r/Blind team would like to thank all of the Redditors who through great deeds or kind words have made us feel seen, heard and welcome.
Comment by rumster at 25/07/2023 at 02:29 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Take the survey so we can provide the results. https://72pcs53kctq.typeform.com/a11ysurvey[1] or at http://webaccessibilitysurvey.com/[2] if you want a quick link to remember
1: https://72pcs53kctq.typeform.com/a11ysurvey
2: http://webaccessibilitysurvey.com/
The survey was tested by fable.
We're aware of some issues with it. It will get upgraded version in the future.
JAWS/CHROME NVDA/FIREFOX
We will provide the report to the admins in the next 60/90 days. This data has already helped others important to the a11y community.
Personal note: r/blind has been a home for many people across the planet. It made me a better person, it made people better, and I hope at the end of all this reddit gets better. We're here to help guide them. I hope they take this forward and move to make reddit a better home for every single soul on here.
Comment by MostlyBlindGamer at 24/07/2023 at 22:29 UTC
30 upvotes, 1 direct replies
u/spez, we're still waiting for that call...
Comment by AutoModerator at 24/07/2023 at 22:28 UTC
9 upvotes, 0 direct replies
1: /message/compose/?to=/r/Blind
Comment by W4t3rf1r3 at 05/08/2023 at 20:12 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I hope I'm not overstepping to suggest this as a sighted person, but is there a possibility of a class action lawsuit over this?
Comment by _skout_ at 25/07/2023 at 15:08 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
He'll never see those tags. It's not likely that he would interact with his website at all. If it appears that he is, assume it is an assistant or automated.
They have shown their hand! If there were any intention of addressing or improving, Reddit would already been cooperative, proactive, and effective. They haven't been, aren't, and never will be.
This is not pessimism, simply truth of reality.
Comment by zersiax at 25/07/2023 at 09:56 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Just a small point I noticed but depending on the phone, you can get screenreadder audio to show up in android screen recordings by switching the audio source to your microphone rather than system audio. Odd, I know, and this may not always work if microphones on a phone are oddly placed or so but I did get some pretty passable screen recordings doing this for an app audit the other week. Just a tip for if people do wawnt to send in bug screencasts or similar somehow
Comment by honestduane at 25/07/2023 at 15:53 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
So everything I warned you about has come to pass?
Comment by boxer_dogs_dance at 25/07/2023 at 19:34 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
It's not reddit and doesn't want to be reddit, but in an r/redditalternatives discussion I saw someone vouch for Tildes.net as a screenreader friendly site. I'm not blind or low vision but I personally enjoy Tildes. I like its culture of strong moderation against abusive language and want to mention that invitations are currently being distributed freely on r/Tildes.
Comment by [deleted] at 04/08/2023 at 14:47 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
iossupport@reddit.com is also an email address that Reddit encouraged feedback on their iOS app specifically. :)