Paul Speller

Digital accessibility nerd, people person. Spent a very long time in local gov't. Fan of London, culture, desserts, public transport, bright colours, verbosity

[AbilityNet @AbilityNet]

.@Meta Threads, fastest-growing network FAILS accessibility test.

AbilityNet's audit found major issues affecting millions. Images, headings, buttons, and more! Let's push for inclusivity! Read the results: https://t.co/zuM7dp8mjE

#AccessibilityMatters #ThreadsForAll #Threads

[A11y @XA11y]

We’ve been talking about it.
You’ve been asking for it.
We’ve been working on it.
Today, we launched it: the image description reminder!

It’s live to 10% of global Twitter across Android, iOS, and Web. 🧵 (1 of 6)

[Scope @scope]

Content is everywhere. Words, pictures, videos, links. But can everyone access them easily? 🤔

@ScopeBigHack has some fantastic tips for creating #AccessibleContent! Read this thread for a few of their suggestions.

🧵 1/7

[Paul Speller @paulspellr]

I suspect one of the most significant improvements all social networks could make for accessibility would be to automatically OCR text in images and put it into the alt text, even if with a disclaimer intro "Automatically detected text:" or similar. Do any do this?

[Paul Speller @paulspellr]

How did @Facebook's developers get to the point where they're coding a clever system to apply automatic alt text to images, yet still think "May be an image of text" is acceptable alt text, rather than hooking it into some OCR and actually giving visually impaired users the text?

[Shit User Story @ShitUserStory]

As a...
– Screen reader user
I want...
– emoji-laden tweets and messages
so that...
– 😎😜🤓😏🤔🤪👏🏻👍🏻🙌🏻👌🏻🤞🏻

[Shit User Story @ShitUserStory]

As a...
– user
I want...
– a PDF file
so that...
– I can view content with in a portable, compatible format with layout integrity, until this new “HTML” technology becomes widely adopted

[UNISON Bexley branch @BexleyUNISON]

Our Branch Secretary Paul and Women's Officer Louise spent Sunday 'at' the UNISON Local Government online conference #UnisonLGC21 – the first such conference since 2019! And today Paul's 'at' the first day of #USDC21, the main UNISON conference, representing all our members

[Paul Speller @paulspellr]

Busy watching today's big fixture

[UNISON Bexley branch @BexleyUNISON]

It's your last day to apply to work for us as our new caseworker! Please retweet if you think you may have followers looking for a great union job in SE London/NW Kent

[UNISON Bexley branch @BexleyUNISON]

Don't forget we have a job opportunity open for applications at the moment – come and work for us, supporting our union members all around Bexley borough!

[UNISON Bexley branch @BexleyUNISON]

Would you like to work for UNISON Bexley branch? We are hiring a new Branch Caseworker Organiser! Closing date 6 April. Find out more on our website: https://t.co/seg8nK8JWI

[Legacy Russell @LegacyRussell]

have you ever tried to copy and paste text from a PDF it’s like scraping plastic off a frying pan

[Open House Festival @openhouselondon]

IT'S THE SHOWDOWN YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR — the London Boroughs Logo World Cup! Over the next week we'll be sifting the chic from the weak in a democratic battle to crown the best borough logo in London.

[Transport for All @TransportForAll]

Have you come across a transport-related website that is inaccessible, confusing, or difficult to use?

For example:
- Transport section of Local Authority website
- Public or community transport providers
- Concessionary travel

Share your examples here: https://t.co/OftZrFWJXV

[Aisling Gallagher (join a union) @twoshadesofhope]

I'm looking for an access consultant with a speciality in websites for a quote for some work. Is that you or someone you know? Please let me know & I can send more details! (shares appreciated)

[Paul Speller @paulspellr]

But yeah, Harriet has now left the building… metaphorically, although here's a picture of her literally having just left the building the day before Lockdown 2, too. I'm sure the skies will be this clear, blue and dry in Salford too 😁 👋

[Paul Speller @paulspellr]

It's been a brilliant seven years as colleagues but today is Harriet's last day at work (from home) before she heads north for new adventures in Greater Manchester! I know @LBofBexley, @BexleyUNISON and @GreaterErith will really miss her – and so will I! 👏💜💚👋

[Paul Speller @paulspellr]

While Harriet wore a last-day sequinned cape, I brought old-school routine nostalgia via Teams backgrounds: first thing this morning she watched me put on a tie 'on a Southeastern train', at lunchtime we chatted 'in the atrium' and, after work, 'on the bus' (top deck/front, obvs)

[Kent C. Dodds 🏹 @kentcdodds]

You 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 it's 𝒸𝓊𝓉ℯ to 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 your tweets and usernames 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖜𝖆𝖞. But have you 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 to what it 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 with assistive technologies like 𝓥𝓸𝓲𝓬𝓮𝓞𝓿𝓮𝓻?