I can honestly say my affinity for crafting blog posts and cultivating digital communities is constantly fueled by following others doing the same thing. You’re an avid blog reader, too, I suspect – and that’s why I know you’ll find this situation particularly relevant. Have you ever come across a blog with a comment system that is inaccessible? Maybe a text box doesn’t respond as expected or the system for logging in gives you fits. Chances are – you’ve just been introduced to Disqus.
Some of the most prominent blogs and websites are using Disqus, a discussion engine working to bridge the gap between blog communities and other social networks, and due to some inaccessible components, its developers have unintentionally shut blind individuals out of the conversation. The service allows commenters the ability to use their social profiles, such as Facebook and Twitter, to comment on posts. Disqus will also leverage the discussion across Facebook and Twitter – making the conversation visible across the entire social spectrum. It really allows communication to be, once again, focused back on the original thought – or your blog post.
I want to take a moment and clue you in to a few examples of the platform running on a blog, the components that aren’t accessible with my screen reader and a few ways you can reach out and advocate to the developers. Disqus is not going away any time soon and, in fact, to their credit, none of its competitors can come close to the functionality this system offers – especially for site owners and moderators.
It’s always a good idea to note that I’m running Mac OSX with Voiceover. I’m using 10.7.2, which is in beta, and have noticed the problem since before migrating to Lion. I’ve installed DISQUS on my personal blog, which you can see an example of a post with comments here, and refuse to implement it on this site until it is made accessible to all screen readers. You may have also noticed Disqus if you are a fan of Mashable – as this site has implemented the comment platform, as well.
Reading comments works alright – except when Voiceover decides to skip over text and I’m forced to navigate up the page again to see what I’ve missed. There are some controls, such as “Sign Out”, which are visible in the comment section when logged in, and Voiceover doesn’t “see” those controls. The biggest issue I’ve noticed, and one that bars us from discussion, is that the edit field for typing your comment is presented in a way that Voiceover cannot give auditory feedback as you type. Most importantly, you wouldn’t even know the comment field is there unless you tabbed to it, as Voiceover doesn’t recognize there’s an edit field present. Tricky situation, indeed. Try it yourself:
- Head over and view this post and navigate to the comments section.
- Find a form control that says “Post As”, and press Shift+Tab to scroll backward through available controls.
- You’ll hit a field that’s announced as “Group”. Start typing text. A few words will do.
- Press the Tab key again to take you to “Post As”, and once again hit Shift+Tab. You’ll hear the text you entered.
- Other points of interest – if you want to actually see what leaving a comment looks like, the login (or identity selection box) appears as a pop-in window, which is visible at the bottom of the window in Safari. You’ll see options to login as a guest, with Disqus, Facebook and Twitter, as well as Google and Yahoo!.
This process is clunky at best – and, by many standards, is not accessible. I’m not certain the control they’re using to handle text entry, but it seems to respond poorly with Voiceover. The system felt flimsy with JAWS for Windows, too. My workaround is often to type my comment in a separate document and then paste it into the edit field. But we shouldn’t have to do this, right?
I’m concerned that our ability to interact with content is at risk here. I’m also professionally invested, as I spend my days as a community manager and content marketing consultant. I want to implement the Disqus platform across our spectrum of clients, and this community, as well – but know I’m shutting out a segment of my audience by using a system that isn’t fully accessible.
What Can You Do to Help?:
I’ve been dialoguing a little with the folks at Disqus for a month now and, despite my patience and empathetic tone, they don’t seem to provide anything outside of a “boiler plate” response with a plan of action to resolve this. With the system’s prominence and sustainability, I believe this is cause for a community-wide advocacy outreach. Disqus needs to know that this this is important – and to many individuals. Here are a few ways you can support this effort:
- Send Disqus Staff an Email: I’ve had a few exchanges with a developer at Disqus and, though I know this team knows our concerns exist, it’s always important to have a collective voice and show them just how many users are truly affected. Shoot an email to the support team at help@disqus.com. The best approach is to link this article and mention you are a screen reader user being shut out of online discussion by their inaccessible system.
- Tweet Your Concern to the Disqus Team: It’s the same idea – we want the good folks at Disqus to know we’re a community that believes in discussion. You can send a tweet to @Disqus. Make sure to link back to mention this post and its title.
- Share This Post with Your Friends: The more the merrier, right? Our community is expansive and I’d be a fool to think they’re all connected to this discussion. Make sure to do what you can to spread the word.
Have you encountered the Disqus system in your WWW travels? Tell us a bit about the screen reader and browser you’re using – particularly if your mileage varies. How do you feel about the notion of being “shut out of discussion”? Give us some feedback in the comments section – which IS accessible.
I agree with the stance your taking on this.
I’m completely blind, and I use Jaws for Windows and was really frustrated when I discovered that I could no longer comment on some blogs I follow because of Disqus. It’s frustrating enough that sites are becoming more and more graphic based – and therefore not all that easy to navigate – without having something like this that completely excludes me from participating in discussions. I have to use other ways of sending comments to friends if I want to respond to their posts, which is a lot of hastle. I can do that, but I shouldn’t have to… The people who created Disqus should consider those of us using screen readers!