Accessibility Team Meeting Notes: September 24, 2021

These are the weekly notes for the AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) Team meeting that happens on Fridays. You can read the full transcript on our Slack channel and find the meeting’s agenda here.

Updates from Working Groups

Only Working Groups that provided updates are shown below.

Design

@shawnandrews, who has been attending Accessibility Team’s weekly meetings in the past few months, has been nominated Design Team RepTeam Rep A Team Rep is a person who represents the Make WordPress team to the rest of the project, make sure issues are raised and addressed as needed, and coordinates cross-team efforts..

General

During the bug-scrub before the meeting, the Team finished to go through all tickets in the Awaiting Review queue which hadn’t been addressed before: a few of them still need decisions, but at least all of them were reviewed.

The 5.9 release schedule has been published a few weeks ago. Following are the dates of greatest interest for the Team.

  • October 12th: Go / No-go meeting about Full Site Editing scope for 5.9
  • November 9th: Feature freeze (only bug-fixing from this point on)
  • November 16th: BetaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 1 (only bug-fixing for bugs introduced during the 5.9 release cycle)

At the time of the meeting, there were 14 enhancements and 20 bugs milestoned for 5.9: the team will start to focus on them beginning with the next bug-scrub.

GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/

Following discussion on ticket #54075 about disabling the preview of legacy widgets in the blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. editor, @critterverse created a GitHub issue to allow for turning on and off the preview via the Preferences section of the Option menu. As always, all feedback is highly appreciated.

Also, notifications are now shown in the Accessibility SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel again when a new Gutenberg version is released and when the Needs Accessibility Feedback label is added to an issue or to a pull request.

Media

@joedolson reported that the Media Team has been also continuing to work through awaiting review items and shortlisted a few of them that will be possibily addressed in 5.9.

A few tickets are about very old issues, which may not be relevant anymore (a possible example is #23562, opened in 2013 and in need of testing from people using voice control tools). The first step is to re-test these tickets: a list will be added as a comment to these meeting notes.

Themes

During bug-scrub, the Team reviewed a couple of tickets about the Twenty Twenty-One theme: feedback on one of them was asked to one of the original developers.

Open floor

Given the concurrent WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. US happening on Friday, October 1st, the bug-scrub and the meeting are cancelled.

#meeting-notes

Accessibility Team Meeting Agenda: September 24, 2021

This is the proposed agenda for the weekly AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) Team meeting on Friday, September 24, 2021, 16:00 UTC.

  • Updates from working groups
    • Design
    • Documentation
    • General
    • GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/
    • Media
    • MetaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress.
    • Themes
  • Open floor

If you want to have a topic added to the agenda, please mention it in the comments of this post.

The Accessibility Team bug-scrub will be held on Friday, September 24, 2021, 15:00 UTC.

This meeting is held in the #accessibility channel in the Making WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. (requires registration).

#agenda

Accessibility Team Meeting Notes: September 17, 2021

These are the weekly notes for the AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) Team meeting that happens on Fridays. You can read the full transcript on our Slack channel and find the meeting’s agenda here.

Improvements to the GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ contrast checker

Following a suggestion made in a comment to the meeting agenda, the team discussed possible improvements to the BlockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. Editor notification shown when the contrast between a text and its background is too low. The full discussion can be found in the SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel, following are the main takeaways.

  • Marking the combination with low contrast as an explicit accessibility concern will help people understand the reason why they should take action.
  • On the other side, it’s also possible that content creators not interested in meeting the needs of people with disabilities would just ignore the issue altogether, instead of considering it.
  • Adding a link to a trusted resource might be a nice way to educate users about color contrast. This is already in place in other parts of the WordPress interface: in the media library, for example, there’s a link to the Alt decision tree right below the Alternative text input field.

The Team agreed to continue discussion about the topic by opening a related issue in the Gutenberg repository.

Updates from the working groups

Given the lack of time, the point is postponed to next weekly meeting.

Open floor

Nothing for open floor this week.

#meeting-notes

Accessibility Team Meeting Agenda: September 17, 2021

This is the proposed agenda for the weekly AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) Team meeting on Friday, September 17, 2021, 16:00 UTC.

  • Updates from working groups
    • Design
    • Documentation
    • General
    • GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/
    • Media
    • MetaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress.
    • Themes
  • Open floor

If you want to have a topic added to the agenda, please mention it in the comments of this post.

The Accessibility Team bug-scrub will be held on Friday, September 17, 2021, 15:00 UTC.

This meeting is held in the #accessibility channel in the Making WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. (requires registration).

#agenda

Accessibility Team Meeting Notes: September 10, 2021

These are the weekly notes for the AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) Team meeting that happens on Fridays. You can read the full transcript on our Slack channel and find the meeting’s agenda here.

Updates from working groups

Only working groups that provided updates are shown below.

General

There’s been quite a few tickets that popped in to the Awaiting Review queue. Only made it through some of them today, will continue in next week’s bug scrub.

GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/

  • A new FSE outreach request that’s less of a “call for testing” and more about collecting information and identifying issues with theme switching.
  • There’s some work being done in this PR about a potential method of simplifying controls in the blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. inspector panel, it could use some feedback and testing. ToolsPanel: Refine component behaviour

Open floor

Nothing for Open floor this week.

#meeting-notes

Accessibility Team Meeting Agenda: September 10, 2021

This is the proposed agenda for the weekly AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) Team meeting on Friday, September 10, 2021, 16:00 UTC.

  • Updates from working groups
    • Design
    • Documentation
    • General
    • GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/
    • Media
    • MetaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress.
    • Themes
  • Open floor

If you want to have a topic added to the agenda, please mention it in the comments of this post.

The Accessibility Team bug-scrub will be held on Friday, September 10, 2021, 15:00 UTC.

This meeting is held in the #accessibility channel in the Making WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. (requires registration).

#agenda

Accessibility Team Meeting Notes: September 3, 2021

These are the weekly notes for the AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) Team meeting that happens on Fridays. You can read the full transcript on our Slack channel and find the meeting’s agenda here.

Updates from working groups

Only working groups that provided updates are shown below.

Documentation

The Test team wanted to know if there were any documented processes by the Accessibility team on how to properly test for accessibility issues/regressions. The idea here is to document the most common environments/setups used for testing by the Accessibility team. This way everyone will know how to check for accessibility issues. If anyone would like to assist in refining our documentation, please speak with @azhiyadev.

General

There hasn’t been much going on in General with preparations for WordPress 5.8.1. One ticket that did get fixed for this release is #53641: Can not configure image widget (and others) in widget accessability mode.

GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/

Media

A change is coming in WordPress 5.8.1 which will adjust the number of media items that load after Load More button is selected. Other than that, just a few small odds and ends.

Themes

There is only one new theme awaiting review for the Accessibility Ready tag.

Open floor

Nothing for Open floor this week.

#meeting-notes

Accessibility Team Meeting Agenda: September 3, 2021

This is the proposed agenda for the weekly AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) Team meeting on Friday, September 3, 2021, 16:00 UTC.

  • Updates from working groups
    • Design
    • Documentation
    • General
    • GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/
    • Media
    • MetaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress.
    • Themes
  • Open floor

If you want to have a topic added to the agenda, please mention it in the comments of this post.

The Accessibility Team bug-scrub will be held on Friday, September 3, 2021, 15:00 UTC.

This meeting is held in the #accessibility channel in the Making WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. (requires registration).

#agenda

Accessibility Team Meeting Notes: August 20, 2021

These are the weekly notes for the AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) Team meeting that happens on Fridays. You can read the full transcript on our Slack channel and find the meeting’s agenda here.

Updates from working groups

Only working groups that provided updates are shown below.

GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/

  • Issue on a lighter navigation block experience. Flagging this because it’s meant to explore a better user experience for the basic menus.
  • PR on Adding a Dropdown block for use in Navigation. This felt like a good PR to review for the team since it’s a fairly big change to the Navigation blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. itself.
  • The latest call for testing for the FSE Outreach Program on Handling a Higher Education Header. It would be lovely to get more accessibility feedback on this experience and test!

Open floor

The Accessibility team bug scrub and meeting will not happen next week. Enjoy the week off and we’ll return on September 3.

#meeting-notes

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