5 ms·

I do a lot of web development, and a lot of that is stuff designed for desktops. I do my best to make sure it works as well as can be expected on mobile devices

by MrJohz 3y ago

I do a lot of web development, and a lot of that is stuff designed for desktops. I do my best to make sure it works as well as can be expected on mobile devices as well, but I completely agree that it does make things more complicated, and that often you do need a different design, or at least a very flexible design. But this is not a complicated web application, this is a web document. If they had just added the right meta tags, it would have probably been enough. I'd be surprised if you really even need media queries for a page like this, just judicious use of `rem` and `%`. It's also very easy to test - just make your browser window thinner. Or open devtools on the side, and drag it around a bit. Or there's even a button in most browsers' devtools where it'll show the page in different common mobile and desktop sizes. I think lighthouse usually defaults to mobile too. (Not that lighthouse is necessarily all that valuable of a metric, but it's there, it's a couple of clicks away.) The point the website is making is that accessibility is important. Light text on a light background might be aesthetically pleasing, but it's difficult to read for many people, and as developers and designers, we have a duty to make our work accessible. I fully agree. But mobile users - and especially mobile-only users - are also an important demographic, and deserve accessibility considerations as well. Especially when those accessibility considerations would take at most half an hour of work.

zsz 3y ago
It's not a matter of "deserve" and "right to." What use is having a site, that places an artificial hurdle for no acceptable reason? What use is having visitors rage-close the tab they opened for one's website, in contempt and disgust? Websites, for the most part, aren't composed and administered by government agencies, to provide beneficial information or services paid for by taxes (and it is instructive that federal agencies have been section 508 (of the Rehabilitation Act) compliant for decades, precisely because they are taxpayer funded and therefore have an obligation to make information and services accessible). So why shoot themselves in the foot, from the get-go? It's not my right that you make your site readable to me. But if you want me to be a repeat visitor, then why make it a difficult and frustrating experience for me? Any person who produces such a site has misplaced priorities.

by MrJohz 3y ago

zsz 3y ago

It's not a matter of "deserve" and "right to." What use is having a site, that places an artificial hurdle for no acceptable reason? What use is having visitors rage-close the tab they opened for one's website, in contempt and disgust? Websites, for the most part, aren't composed and administered by government agencies, to provide beneficial information or services paid for by taxes (and it is instructive that federal agencies have been section 508 (of the Rehabilitation Act) compliant for decades, precisely because they are taxpayer funded and therefore have an obligation to make information and services accessible). So why shoot themselves in the foot, from the get-go? It's not my right that you make your site readable to me. But if you want me to be a repeat visitor, then why make it a difficult and frustrating experience for me? Any person who produces such a site has misplaced priorities.