Adrian Roselli presented on the topic of "Selfish Accessibility". He argued that building accessible websites benefits all users now and in the future, as disabilities are common and can affect anyone over time. He suggested taking basic accessibility tests like using only the keyboard, turning off images/CSS, and checking color contrast. The presentation covered accessibility statistics, ways accessibility impacts everyone personally, and basic checks to improve accessibility. The overall message was that building accessibility into websites now serves one's own future needs and helps others.

1. Selfish Accessibility
Presented by Adrian Roselli for Buffalo Unconference

2. About Adrian Roselli
• Co-written four books.
• Technical editor
for two books.
• Written over fifty
articles, most recently
for .net Magazine and
Web Standards Sherpa.
Great bedtime reading!

3. About Adrian Roselli
• Member of W3C HTML Working Group, W3C
Accessibility Task Force, five W3C Community
Groups.
• Building for the web since 1994.
• Founder, owner at Algonquin Studios
(AlgonquinStudios.com).
• Learn more at AdrianRoselli.com.
• Avoid on Twitter @aardrian.
I warned you.

4. What is a11y?
• A numeronym for “accessibility”:
• The first and last letter (accessibility),
• The number of characters omitted (a11y).
• Prominent on Twitter (character restrictions):
• #a11y
• Examples:
• l10n → localization
• i18n → internationalization
Ain’t language funsies?

5. Accessibility Gets No Respect
In fairness, Sherwin Williams needs to come up with a lot of color names...
“Cyberspace” (gray)
“Online” (blue)
“Lime Rickey” (green)

6. Accessibility Gets No Respect
…however I think the team could have done better than this.

7. What We’ll Cover
• Boring Statistics
• Be Selfish
• Basic Tests
• Questions (ongoing!)
Work with me, people.

8. Boring Statistics
1 of 5 sections.

9. Any Disability
• In the United States:
• 10.4% aged 21-64 years old,
• 25% aged 65-74 years old,
• 50% aged 75+.
• Includes:
• Visual
• Hearing
• Mobility
• Cognitive
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/
http://www.disabilitystatistics.org/reports/2012/English/HTML/report2012.cfm?fips=2000000&html_year=2012

10. Vision Impairments
• 285 million worldwide:
• 39 million are blind,
• 246 million have low vision,
• 82% of people living with blindness are aged 50
and above.
• 1.8% of Americans aged 21-64.
• 4.0% of Americans aged 65-74.
• 9.8% of Americans aged 75+.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/
http://www.disabilitystatistics.org/reports/2012/English/HTML/report2012.cfm?fips=2000000&html_year=2012

11. Hearing Impairments
• 360 million people worldwide have disabling
hearing loss.
• 17% (36 million) of American adults report
some degree of hearing loss:
• 18% aged 45-64 years old,
• 30% aged 65-74 years old,
• 47% aged 75+ years old.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs300/en/
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/Pages/quick.aspx

12. Mobility Impairments
• In the United States:
• 5.5% aged 21-64 years old.
• 15.6% aged 65-74 years old.
• 32.9% aged 75+.
http://www.disabilitystatistics.org/reports/2012/English/HTML/report2012.cfm?fips=2000000&html_year=2012

13. Cognitive Impairments
• Dyslexia,
• Dyscalculia,
• Memory issues,
• Distractions (ADD, ADHD),
• In the United States:
• 4.3% aged 21-64 years old.
• 5.4% aged 65-74 years old.
• 14.4% aged 75+.
http://www.disabilitystatistics.org/reports/2012/English/HTML/report2012.cfm?fips=2000000&html_year=2012&subButton=Get+HTML

14. Be Selfish
2 of 5 sections.

15. WebAIM’s Hierarchy for Motivating
Accessibility Change
http://webaim.org/blog/motivating-accessibility-change/

16. My Hierarchy for Motivating
Accessibility Change
Is better, no?

17. Getting Older
• Affects (nearly) everyone,
• Carries risks and side effects,
• Is not for the young.
I’m still experimenting with it.

18. Rising Damp on Flickr.

19. Darren Baldwin on Flickr.

20. Accidents
• Broken limbs,
• Eye injuries,
• Hearing injuries,
• Head trauma.
All of these have happened to me, multiple times.

21. Rev Stan on Flickr.

22. Let Ideas Compete on Flickr.

23. Fluffy Steve on Flickr.

24. Paul Townsend on Flickr.

25. But I’m Invincible!
• Multi-tasking,
• Sunlight,
• Eating at your desk,
• No headphones handy,
• Content is not in your native language.
The sun is trying to kill me.

26. https://twitter.com/aardrian/statuses/388733408576159744

27. Mariëlle on Flickr.

28. barockschloss on Flickr.

29. Seb on Flickr.

30. A.Davy on Flickr.

31. Steve Rhodes on Flickr.

32. SuperFantastic on Flickr.

33. World Bank Photo Collection on Flickr.

34. Lars Kristian Flem on Flickr.

35. Tech Support
• Think of your family!
• Think of your time spent helping them!
• Think of the wasted holidays!
This is why we hate the holidays.

36. Robert Simmons on Flickr.

37. The Message
• Supporting accessibility now helps to serve
future you.
Do or do not.

38. The Message
• Supporting accessibility now helps to serve
future you.
• Supporting accessibility now helps injured
you, encumbered you.
There is no try.

39. The Message
• Supporting accessibility now helps to serve
future you.
• Supporting accessibility now helps injured
you, encumbered you.
• Getting younger developers to buy in helps
future you – if you teach them well.
Always pass on what you have learned.

40. Checklist
• Accessibility is not a checklist.
http://accessibility.net.nz/blog/the-problems-with-ramps-blended-into-stairs/

41. Stairamp
Dean Bouchard on Flickrhttp://accessibility.net.nz/blog/the-problems-with-ramps-blended-into-stairs/

42. Checklist
• Accessibility is not a checklist.
• Accessibility is an ongoing process.
https://twitter.com/vavroom/status/571092086365261824

43. Maintenance
Nicolas Steenhouthttps://twitter.com/vavroom/status/571092086365261824
“Wheelchair ramp at
pharmacy not only
hasn’t been cleared of
snow but has 2 potted
trees to ensure nobody
can pass.”

44. Basic Tests
4 of 5 sections.

45. Click on Field Labels
• When you click label text next to a text box,
does the cursor appear in the field?
• When you click label text next to a radio /
checkbox, does it get toggled?
• When you click label text next to a select
menu, does it get focus?
http://www.karlgroves.com/2013/09/05/the-6-simplest-web-accessibility-tests-anyone-can-do/

47. Unplug Your Mouse
• Turn off your trackpad, stick, trackball, etc.
• Can you interact with all controls (links,
menus, forms) with only the keyboard?
• Can you tell which item has focus?
• Does the tab order match your expectation?
http://www.karlgroves.com/2013/09/05/the-6-simplest-web-accessibility-tests-anyone-can-do/

49. Turn off Images
• Can you still make sense of the page?
• Is content missing?
• Can you still use the site?
• Is your alt text useful?
http://www.karlgroves.com/2013/09/05/the-6-simplest-web-accessibility-tests-anyone-can-do/

52. Turn on High Contrast Mode
• Windows only.
• Left ALT + left SHIFT + PRINT SCREEN
• Background images and colors are replaced.
• Text colors are replaced.
• Does this make your site unusable?
http://www.karlgroves.com/2013/09/05/the-6-simplest-web-accessibility-tests-anyone-can-do/
http://blog.adrianroselli.com/2012/08/css-background-images-high-contrast-mode.html

55. Turn off CSS
• Does important content or functionality
disappear?
• Do error messages or other items that rely on
visual cues make sense?
• Is content still in a reasonable order?
• Do any styles (colors, text effects, etc.)
remain?
http://www.karlgroves.com/2013/09/05/the-6-simplest-web-accessibility-tests-anyone-can-do/

57. Test for Colorblindness/Contrast
• Is there enough contrast?
• Are hyperlinks, menus, etc. still visible?
• Tools:
• Chrome Color Contrast Analyzer
• Lea Verou’s Contrast Ratio
• WebAIM Color Contrast Checker
• CheckMyColours.com
http://www.inpixelitrust.fr/blog/en/tips-create-accessible-color-palette/
http://alistapart.com/blog/post/easy-color-contrast-testing

58. Protanopia

59. Deuteranopia

60. Tritanopia

61. Look for Captions & Transcripts
• Do video/audio clips have text alternatives?
• Are links to closed-captions or transcripts built
into the player or separate text links?
• Is there an audio description available?
• Tools:
• Media Access Australia YouTube captioning tutorial,
Vimeo captioning tutorial,
• Tiffany Brown’s WebVTT tutorial,
• DIY Resources for Closed Captioning and Transcription
from 3 Play Media.
http://webaim.org/techniques/captions/

62. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCqN_cCLnnk

63. Hyperlinks!
• Is there any “click here,” “more,” “link to…”?
http://www.sitepoint.com/15-rules-making-accessible-links/

64. Hyperlinks!
• Is there any “click here,” “more,” “link to…”?
• Are you using all-caps, URLs, emoticons?
http://www.sitepoint.com/15-rules-making-accessible-links/

65. Hyperlinks!
• Is there any “click here,” “more,” “link to…”?
• Are you using all-caps, URLs, emoticons?
• Do you warn before opening new windows?
http://www.sitepoint.com/15-rules-making-accessible-links/

66. Hyperlinks!
• Is there any “click here,” “more,” “link to…”?
• Are you using all-caps, URLs, emoticons?
• Do you warn before opening new windows?
• Do links to downloads provide helpful info?
http://www.sitepoint.com/15-rules-making-accessible-links/

67. Hyperlinks!
• Is there any “click here,” “more,” “link to…”?
• Are you using all-caps, URLs, emoticons?
• Do you warn before opening new windows?
• Do links to downloads provide helpful info?
• Are you using pagination links?
http://www.sitepoint.com/15-rules-making-accessible-links/

68. Hyperlinks!
• Is there any “click here,” “more,” “link to…”?
• Are you using all-caps, URLs, emoticons?
• Do you warn before opening new windows?
• Do links to downloads provide helpful info?
• Are you using pagination links?
• Are your links underlined (or otherwise obvious)?
http://www.sitepoint.com/15-rules-making-accessible-links/

69. Hyperlinks!
• Is there any “click here,” “more,” “link to…”?
• Are you using all-caps, URLs, emoticons?
• Do you warn before opening new windows?
• Do links to downloads provide helpful info?
• Are you using pagination links?
• Are your links underlined (or otherwise obvious)?
• Is there alt text for image links?
http://www.sitepoint.com/15-rules-making-accessible-links/

70. Hyperlinks!
• Is there any “click here,” “more,” “link to…”?
• Are you using all-caps, URLs, emoticons?
• Do you warn before opening new windows?
• Do links to downloads provide helpful info?
• Are you using pagination links?
• Are your links underlined (or otherwise obvious)?
• Is there alt text for image links?
• Is the link text consistent?
http://www.sitepoint.com/15-rules-making-accessible-links/

71. http://blog.adrianroselli.com/2014/03/i-dont-care-what-google-did-just-keep.html

72. Questions
This isn’t a section, you should have been asking all along.

73. Resources
• Web Accessibility and Older People:
Meeting the Needs of Ageing Web Users
http://www.w3.org/WAI/older-users/Overview.php
• Easy Checks - A First Review of Web Accessibility
http://www.w3.org/WAI/eval/preliminary
• How People with Disabilities Use the Web:
Overview
http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/people-use-
web/Overview.html
In addition to the gems I’ve sprinkled throughout.

74. Resources
• 2.11 ARIA Role, State, and Property Quick
Reference
http://www.w3.org/TR/aria-in-html/#aria-role-
state-and-property-quick-reference
• 2.12 Definitions of States and Properties (all
aria-* attributes)
http://www.w3.org/TR/aria-in-html/#definitions-of-
states-and-properties-all-aria--attributes
In addition to the gems I’ve sprinkled throughout.

75. Resources
• a11yTips
http://dboudreau.tumblr.com/
• Designing For The Elderly: Ways Older People Use
Digital Technology Differently
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/02/05/designing-
digital-technology-for-the-elderly/
• How to Write User Stories for Web Accessibility
http://www.interactiveaccessibility.com/blog/how-write-
user-stories-accessibility-requirements
• Book Excerpt: A Web for Everyone
http://uxmag.com/articles/book-excerpt-a-web-for-everyone
In addition to the gems I’ve sprinkled throughout.

76. Selfish Accessibility
Presented by Adrian Roselli for Buffalo Unconference
My thanks and apologies.
Slides from this talk will be available at rosel.li/BufUnconf