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The problem is that at a real company, this is very difficult because you have to argue with your product/design team and explain why you don't want to implemen
by danielvaughn 3y ago
The problem is that at a real company, this is very difficult because you have to argue with your product/design team and explain why you don't want to implement [x] feature because it's "too complex". Inevitably they'll point to some competitor website that has the same feature, which makes you look like you're just lazy. It's possible to succeed in those arguments, but it's hard.
It's one thing to convince them not to do some weird scrolljacking, but even something like a dropdown or a popover adds a ton of complexity for responsive sites.
- withinboredom 3y agoIf your company cares one iota about accessibility, you can usually get those features off the table instantly just by arguing that point. "Yeah, well it's pretty clear that competitor doesn't care about blind people" is a pretty easy argument. I invite you to learn to use a screen reader and try using your app (whatever it happens to be). It's seriously pretty terrible for some of these websites with all the fancy crap.
- hagg3n 3y agoI envy you cause the teams and companies that I've worked with basically say fuck em to that argument. I have lost jobs and annoyed people trying to argue for greater care with accessibility. It's somewhat depressing.
- esdott 3y agoThis is exactly what happens. Especially if your voice is in the minority Or you’re the only one. You’re seen as a trouble maker. We all know what happens to trouble makers when margins are on the line.
- withinboredom 3y agoI just stab them in the eyes and then say "now you'll care about blind people," then calmly walk away. Works every time. /s In all seriousness, I ask something similar to the above: "Would you feel the same way if you got in an accident that left you blind for the rest of your life?" Sometimes this moves a few people to your side. I don't want to be the only one, but I do care about accessibility. I care a lot, for personal reasons. But like you said, you don't want to be the minority trying to support minorities.
- avmich 3y agoI think there are some laws which require a certain degree of accessibility for at least government websites. And if your big company deals with government, they'd better think about that.
- depressedpanda 3y agoAnother comment suggested you try to appeal to empathy. It might work, it might not. If it doesn't you can instead appeal to the bottom line. Tell 'em that they might get targeted by an accessibility troll: https://www.wrightlawgroup.com/blog/attack-of-the-ada-trolls https://www.wrightlawgroup.com/blog/attack-of-the-ada-trolls As far as trolls go, I consider these fairly benign, as their behavior actually promotes something good; we got hit with such a lawsuit, and all of a sudden a11y became a big thing as our CEO didn't want to give a dime to those 'greedy assholes'.