4 ms·

There was also the suggestion near the end to cut the number of words for older readers, which is just ridiculous.

gnicholas 4y ago
I work in the world of dyslexia and assistive technology. I find it unfortunate that people (including folks who work on WCAG) emphasize using simple words and short sentences as the primary ways to accommodate dyslexic readers. These strategies are helpful in making text easier to understand, but they also undermine the nuance of communication. Before doing this, designers should think about how text is laid out so that it can be made maximally accessible in its original form.
- wolverine876 4y ago
  > I find it unfortunate that people (including folks who work on WCAG) emphasize using simple words and short sentences as the primary ways to accommodate dyslexic readers. These strategies are helpful in making text easier to understand, but they also undermine the nuance of communication. I think that's a great point. Simplifying meaning for dyslexic and older readers seems condescending and just awful, depriving them of access to the world and degrading them. However, rather than simplify meaning, we can simplify its representation, the text: Better writing produces simpler text and that takes effort. Mark Twain (might have) said, "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead." George Orwell's rules echo many experts: [1] * Never use a Metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. * Never use a long word where a short one will do * If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out * Never use the Passive where you can use the active. * Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a Jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. * Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous Again, thought and effort are required. I've always thought it good writing but hadn't considered accessibility. Write better, more succinctly, and help readers in more ways than one - and yourself too. [1] Politics and the English Language (1946) [though I didn't see the original quote] Better writing - which requires more labor -

I work in the world of dyslexia and assistive technology. I find it unfortunate that people (including folks who work on WCAG) emphasize using simple words and short sentences as the primary ways to accommodate dyslexic readers. These strategies are helpful in making text easier to understand, but they also undermine the nuance of communication. Before doing this, designers should think about how text is laid out so that it can be made maximally accessible in its original form.

wolverine876 4y ago
> I find it unfortunate that people (including folks who work on WCAG) emphasize using simple words and short sentences as the primary ways to accommodate dyslexic readers. These strategies are helpful in making text easier to understand, but they also undermine the nuance of communication. I think that's a great point. Simplifying meaning for dyslexic and older readers seems condescending and just awful, depriving them of access to the world and degrading them. However, rather than simplify meaning, we can simplify its representation, the text: Better writing produces simpler text and that takes effort. Mark Twain (might have) said, "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead." George Orwell's rules echo many experts: [1] * Never use a Metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. * Never use a long word where a short one will do * If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out * Never use the Passive where you can use the active. * Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a Jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. * Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous Again, thought and effort are required. I've always thought it good writing but hadn't considered accessibility. Write better, more succinctly, and help readers in more ways than one - and yourself too. [1] Politics and the English Language (1946) [though I didn't see the original quote] Better writing - which requires more labor -