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This meta page is intended for discussion about the accessibility of Wikimedia wikis. The concept encompasses not only Making Wikipedia more accessible to the blind, but to any user that is not browsing Wikimedia wikis using their eyes, or is not using a graphical browser on a desktop computer. Please note that this page is not intended for the purpose of recommending policy, editing guidelines, or other suggestions to contributors; it is for discussion of:

  • The ways in which accessibility of Wikimedia wikis might be improved
  • What recommendations should be made for Wikimedia wikis in order to improve accessibility (e.g. policies and guidelines on the English Wikipedia)
  • How the existing content of Wikimedia wikis might be refactored in order to improve accessibility
  • How the software behind Wikimedia wikis could be modified to improve accessibility

Wikimedia wikis are already quite accessible, when compared with many other sites. But there are still a few things we can do, especially in the area of recommendations about how to write articles and create pages, that will make wikis even more accessible, and available to even more people.

Discussions

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Main article: mw:Accessibility and usability cleanup

Some highlights include:

People and organizations actively working on accessibility

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See the list on mediawiki.org.

Issues

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Several components of Wikipedia may need extra attention in order to make them accessible:

  • Templates at top of page : Watch (listen) what happens when a screen reader hits one of these. It ain't pretty. Many infoboxes are very hard to navigate in practice.
  • Images - there has been extensive discussion (though as yet no real agreement) about what is the appropriate alt text to use for images. Other aspects may be relevant as well.
  • Colors - Color may not be seen, or may not be seen in the same way, by all users.
  • Tables - Tables are primarily a visual means of representing information, and as such, authors often format them to look good visually, at the expense (or simple neglect) of good rendering in text-only or spoken form. Tables are meant for data, and should not be used for layout effects.
  • Hypertext links - The phrase which is used for hypertext links is often of importance. Usually, authors are recommended to stay away from things like "click here", since it makes no sense when taken out of context. Good link phrases are important.
  • Appropriate markup - HTML markup is often used to specify visual presentation characteristics (such as color, font styles, and layout), but the real purpose of HTML markup is to give semantic and structural meaning to the text.
  • WCAG checkpoints - Cannot make MediaWiki meet WCAG checkpoints
  • (Others?)

Accessibility helps everyone

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Web accessibility is also subject of legislation and attending standards such as Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services, EN 301 549

Often when we talk about accessibility, we're talking about making sites accessible to the blind. Since the web is a predominantly visual medium, it is often assumed that the only group we must accommodate in accessibility design is the visually impaired. However, there are other groups of people who should also be considered. Particular issues might include:

  • Color-blindness - Various estimates indicate that around 8-10% of males (and a very small percentage of females) are red-green colorblind, or have other forms of colorblindness. The use of color in website design can affect the experience these users have. Wikimedia should use carefully-chosen colors to avoid problems in this area. Any important information which is conveyed using color should also be conveyed in another form, for users who cannot see the colors.
  • Impaired vision - Most people in the world will, at some point in their lives, require reading glasses and many elderly develop partial blindness or have some level of loss of vision in the form of blurriness, narrowed vision etc. People may require specific lenses, a loupe and additional light to read. Having sufficient contrast between text and background and having the option to change the size of the website can be very important for these users.
  • No mouse - The web is often navigated by users with a mouse or other pointing device. Some users of the web cannot accurately control a mouse for whatever reason, or who prefer not to use a mouse. Links must be tabbed through or otherwise selected without the aid of a random-access device like a mouse. We should take care to ensure that Wikimedia is easily navigable by such users.
  • Text-only renderings - Many users, either through preference or necessity, browse the web with a text-only interface. We should ensure that Wikimedia looks good to them too.
  • Speech renderings - Closely related to text-only renderings, speech renderings of websites are often strictly sequential. Sites designed predominantly with visual appearance in mind may not be so great when read through a speech browser. There may be problems of sequential navigation, alternate text, and enabling users to skip over sections they aren't interested in. Wikimedia should make sense when presented in speech renderings. An integrated text-to-speech solution in the MediaWiki software, such as Wikispeech, enables more people to take advantage of speech renderings.
  • Illiteracy- Illiterate users, or users with reading difficulties, may prefer visual or spoken alternatives to text. This can affect those speaking English as a foreign or second language, children, lower education levels, and even professionals crossing fields. Vocabulary matters, avoid jargon or obscure terms. Logical structure, navigation and procedures can help more people participate. This may be a difficult group to accommodate, given that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia requiring a significant degree of literacy, but it is something to keep in mind.

Accessibility has a number of other advantages, too; if done well, accessibility design benefits everyone in that it often makes a site easier to use and navigate, gives it the capability for display on a wider variety of platforms and devices (such as mobile devices), and may provide the site with a clearer visual design and layout. It also allows search spiders to better index the site, as they are essentially blind.

Examples

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Many articles on Wikipedia use tables. There is some debate about when a table is appropriate, and how complex it should be. Sometimes, the content presented by a table may be made simpler using a list format. For an example of how some complex tables might be better formatted, see Wikipedia accessibility/Table example. See w:Wikipedia:How to use tables for additional discussion on where tables are appropriate, and how to keep them simple.

Proposed items to do

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This section is to list proposed items to do for the purpose of improving accessibility. Feel free to add your own proposals or discuss existing ones.

Color for the color blind or visually impaired

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See also

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