Thursday, May 21, 2020, marks the ninth annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access/inclusion and people with different disabilities.
Mozilla is committed to ensuring that all of our offerings are accessible and inclusive. Global Accessibility Awareness Day is a great opportunity to recognize and celebrate that.
At Mozilla, accessibility is a fundamental part of our mission, helping to empower people, regardless of their abilities.
Our mission is to ensure the Internet is a global public resource, open and accessible to all. An Internet that truly puts people first, where individuals can shape their own experience and are empowered , safe and independent .
And, from our Manifesto principles:
The internet is a global public resource that must remain open and accessible .
We are committed to an internet that includes all the peoples of the earth — where a person’s demographic characteristics do not determine their online access, opportunities, or quality of experience.
We are committed to an internet that catalyzes collaboration among diverse communities working together for the common good.
Over the last year, Mozilla has made significant progress in our efforts to ensure that all of our products and services are not only accessible, but a delight to use for people with disabilities.
- We shipped full toolbar keyboard navigation for Firefox desktop which makes it possible for screen reader users and users who primarily use the keyboard to access all of Firefox’s most important features.
- We delivered default page zoom and high contrast mode backplate, improving web page readability for people with low vision.
- We shipped accessibility audits and a color deficiency simulator in the Firefox Dev Tools giving web developers more tools to make more accessible sites.
- All new Firefox front end features, from a completely redesigned Awesome bar to Lockwise integration to picture-in-picture support, were accessible on day one of their release.
- We made significant foundational progress onscreen reader support on Mac, the only platform for which Firefox lacked support.
- We modernized and significantly improved support for Android accessibility services in Firefox Preview (our upcoming new mobile browser), including both Talkback and Switch Access.
- We put in place a Firefox wide triage process for accessibility issues no matter where in the products they fall.
- We publicly documented the Firefox Accessibility Roadmap and progress against major initiatives like screen reader support for Mac.
- We moved much of our discussion to Matrix, allowing greater community participation and visibility.
And there’s more to come. We’re working to make the Firefox family of products and services a delightful experience for people with disabilities and we’re going to need your help. Stay tuned for upcoming posts on what we’re doing to be more inclusive and how you can participate.
I see:
How is that more accessible than IRC? Like, I get that everyone just needs to read chat logs via a web browser, but did I somehow miss the announcement that a web chat app is more accessible than a text-based protocol from the last century? I’m not saying it isn’t, just that I haven’t seen anyone make that case.
And I don’t use either! I’m just saying: I so tired of marketing-speak. It’s hard to get to the truth, so a popup that says (rather ambiguously) “Sign up or Sign in”, that is neither participation nor visibility.