Simblr accessibility tips
I was browsing through the #s4cc tag the other day. I saw this one post which had the download link labelled as "dl (ea)". I spent a good amount of time wondering what "ea" stands for. My first thought was "Electronic Arts" which made me go "huh", second thought was "I need to click this to figure it out". Turns out it means "early access" lol
Quick disclaimer: I also still fall into a trap of not using plain langauge when creating Tumblr posts or adding links. But, recently I started to work a lot with digital accessibility. I thought I'd make a list of tips as a reminder of things to consider, for myself and for others.
Avoid unusual abbreviations. Not everyone knows what "bgc", "dl" or "ea" stands for. Here's a bad example of abbreviations in my own old post. Use "base game compatible", "download", "early access" instead.
Use meaningful link text. Don't make people wonder where a link would take them. When using a screen reader, navigating to a link with a label "dl" outside of post context can be confusing.
Avoid using Unicode characters. Using stylized Unicode characters may look cool, but here's what Unicode sounds like when using a screen reader.
Tumblr autoplays all GIFs. It's good to add a "gif warning" tag to your post if you use GIFs. Another option is to omit GIFs altogether. Motion can be a source of distraction to some, and very harmful to others. Read more about digital accessibility and motion
Tumblr gives an option to add alt text to images. Alt text is a summary of graphic content. Keep your alt text short and descriptive.
Try to use plain language. Also, pay attention to how you format text. Read more about clear language on Readability Guidelines
There's so much more to talk about when it comes to digital accessibility. I tried to keep this short and keep this list Simblr-related. I hope that you will find these tips and resources useful!
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