Free software and accessibility
by
Georgia Young
Contributions
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Published on
Jan 13, 2017 02:54 PM
Accessibility is the inclusive practice of removing barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to software programs by people with disabilities or impairments, or those using assistive, adaptive, or rehabilitative technologies.
This includes adding features and building tools, including screen readers, keyboard shortcuts, and more, to increase access to software programs.
Accessibility features are key to making free software work for more people and to helping people escape particularly heinous kinds of proprietary software abuse, where companies who produce proprietary assistive technology hold immense amounts of power over people's lives because of the lack of other options.
Ways to help
- The GNU Project discusses accessibility at length and recommends that developers learn to use the accessibility features of the integrated development environment or toolkit they use to build their user interface.
- Web developers should follow the W3C accessibility guidelines -- there is also a concurrent guide to applying the guidelines to non-web technologies.
- Check out the LibrePlanet Accessibility group if you want to discuss accessibility needs in free software.
We will be updating this page in the future with more specific project suggestions in this area. Please email any suggestions to hpp-feedback@gnu.org.
This is just one item on the Free Software Foundation's High Priority Projects list.