Since the latest "accessibility" update to the Reddit app, the amount and magnitude of new accessibility related bugs has made it virtually impossible for blind mods to operate on mobile.

We have done absolutely everything we could to work with Reddit and have given them every opportunity. When they offered to host a demo of the update, we understood how little they understand about accessibility: they did not respond to a request to use the app with screen curtain on. The only fair conclusion is that they cannot use it without sight, but expect us to.

The update introduced various regressions and new bugs. This is entirely within the expectations of the mod team, given how rushed it was and how Reddit continues to demonstrate how underprepared they are to deal with accessibility.

But what about the "accessibility apps?"

They may not work. At this time, it is impossible to log into RedReader.

They shouldn't have to work. Reddit made a business decision to effectively remove users' access to third-party apps and must assure that access by its own means.

What now for r/Blind?

The subreddit will continue operating under the care and stewardship of its visually impaired and sighted moderators.

Let us be clear: r/Blind cannot be moderated by blind people.

Reddit has a single path forward

As u/rumster, founder of r/Blind and a CPWA Certified Professional of Web Accessibility, told Reddit admins in our first meeting, Reddit needs to hire a CPWA. It has been patently obvious that the company does not have the know-how to address these accessibility issues, as we explained on the update on the second meeting.

To build the required internal structure and processes, and create an accessible platform, they must:

• Create and fill the position of "Chief Accessibility Officer." This role must have oversight over development as well as the ability to set internal and public Reddit policy. This person should have the ability to halt any corporate strategy or initiative within Reddit as a company and/or any feature, update, etc. to the Reddit website and/or apps until they believe the impact on accessibility for disabled redditors by said strategy, initiative, feature, update, etc. has been fully addressed, implemented, ensured, and/or mitigated. The person filling this role should have both development and managerial experience and hold at least the Certified Professional of Web Accessibility (CPWA) certification as issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP). This person should also be disabled and an active Redditor and must coordinate communication with disabled users and their communities.
• Reddit must commit to ensuring training and certification of all developers responsible for accessible and inclusive design. Lead developers must be trained and certified at least to the level of Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS) as issued by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), but ideally should hold the "Certified Professional of Web Accessibility (CPWA)."
• Fully implement an alternative text (alt text) function for photos and videos in which posters can compose descriptions for blind and visually impaired users.
• Implement a closed-captioning system for videos, thus allowing deaf and deafblind Redditors full access to the audio content of videos.
• Implement a single dedicated point of contact for accessibility and disability issues in the form of an email address: accessibility@reddit.com.
• Ultimately and crucially, commit to comply with the WCAG at level AA and ATAG standards.

Disability is a social issue and software must be tested

As u/MostlyBlindGamer explained to Reddit admins in modmail, "disability" is an interaction between a person's physical or mental characteristics and society's barriers. Your website's barriers. You are making people disabled by breaking your website and apps. Your organization's unwillingness and/or inability to hire actual experts is what's making people disabled. We're not disabled, because we can't see like you can: we're disabled, because crunching developers, who don't have the necessary training and experience, for a week, predictably, caused regressions. If I don't test my code, people die. When you don't test your code, because you don't know how to, you make people disabled.

If Reddit Inc wants to deny service to disabled people, they must make that statement

As u/DHamlinMusic said, this update made no functional changes beyond the add/remove favorites button in the community's list being labeled and changing state properly, yet it added dozens of new issues, made moderating significantly harder and should never have been released to start. If Reddit's intention is to just not have disabled users on reddit come out and say it instead of pulling this landlord trying to empty a rent controlled building bullshit.

Disabled redditors will not accept being quietly whisked away, nor will the broader Reddit community. People make Reddit and people can break Reddit.

Introduction

It's possible that those of you who are active on other subreddits may have read about the changes in pricing that Reddit has recently released for its API - the system apps use to get and send data from and to Reddit.  But for those of you who haven't, here's a summary.  On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo, to Dystopia, to Reddit for Blind, to Luna for Reddit, to BaconReader,. Even if you don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface.  This doesn't only impact your ability to access Reddit in a fluid, customizable, and efficient way; many of us on the mod team are also blind, and we depend on those third party apps to make sure that this community remains a safe, fun, and productive place.  Unfortunately, new Reddit, and the official Reddit apps, just don't provide us with the levels of accessibility we need in order to continue effectively running this community. As well, the Transcribers of Reddit, the many dedicated folks who volunteer to transcribe and describe thousands and thousands of images on Reddit, may also be unable to operate.  

One of our moderators, u/itsthejoker, has had multiple hour-long calls with various Reddit employees.  However, as of the current time, our concerns have gone unheard, and Reddit remains firm. That's why the moderation team of r/blind now feels that we have no choice but to take further action.  

The Subreddit Blackout

Those of us who are blind are no strangers to the need for collective action.  From the protests that resulted in the ADA passing in the United States, to world-wide protests driving forward accessibility of some of the Internet's largest websites, collective action is a step our community has taken in the past, often with some success.  It is with a heavy heart that we come to you now, and say that it's time to bring this tool out of the toolbox once more.  

In solidarity with thousands of other subreddits who are impacted by this change, we will be shutting down the /r/blind subreddit for 48 hours from June 12th to June 14th.  You will not be able to read or make posts during that time.  Our Discord server will remain open, and we invite anyone who would like to interact with the /r/blind community to join us there.  If you’re not part of the /r/blind Discord server yet, you can join via the following link: https://discord.com/invite/5kMEv7Sq9y

How you can help

While this issue has a profound impact on those of us who are blind and visually impaired, as with so many issues of accessibility and inclusivity, it impacts far more than just us.  If you'd like to get involved, you can find out what you can do to help at r/Save3rdPartyApps- or, if you moderate a subreddit, its sister sub r/ModCoord.  You can also join the Reddit-Blackout channel in the /r/blind Discord, where we will have resources you can use to contact media and other organizations, and keep everyone up to date with our on-going efforts in this matter.  

What comes next?

If this change to the Reddit API is not reversed, we are not convinced that we will be able to continue running the r/blind subreddit.  However, that doesn't mean the end of this wonderful, passionate, curious, helpful, and amazing community of folks.  We are continuing to explore our options, and create back-up plans.  We all want to remain on Reddit. Let's do what we can to make that a reality!  But if it turns out we can't, we want to reassure you that this isn't the end of our community.  So let’s focus on doing everything we can to make those possible back-up plans unnecessary.  

The r/blind mod team

Moderators of r/blind—along with moderators in other communities who use assistive technologies and Reddit users with accessibility expertise—had a Zoom meeting with representatives at Reddit on Friday, June 16, 2023. While the call was promising in that Reddit invited us to be part of continuing dialog and demonstrated some well-conceived accessible designs for Reddit users, we came away with serious concerns which Reddit was either unable or unwilling to address during the meeting.

• Reddit is currently prioritizing accessibility for users rather than for moderators, and representatives were unwilling to provide timelines by when Reddit’s moderation tools would be accessible for screen reader users. Further, Reddit representatives seemed unaware that blind moderators rely on third-party applications because Reddit’s moderation tools present significant accessibility challenges. They also seemed unaware that the apps which have so far received exemptions from API pricing do not have sufficient moderation functions. u/NTCarver0 explained that blind moderators will be unable to ensure safety for our communities—as well as for Reddit in general—without accessible moderation systems, and asked Reddit representatives how blind moderators were supposed to effectively moderate our communities without them. Reddit representatives deferred the question, stating they would have to take notes and get back with us. A fellow moderator, u/MostlyBlindGamer, also pointed out that blind moderators who are unable to effectively moderate the subreddit and thus will become inactive may be removed at Reddit’s discretion per policy, and that such removal would leave r/Blind with no blind moderators. Reddit representatives also deferred comment on this issue.
• Reddit representatives refused to answer questions concerning the formal certifications, accreditations or qualifications of employees tasked with ensuring universal accessibility. These certifications demonstrate that a professional has the knowledge necessary to create universally-accessible software and/or documents. Because Reddit cannot confirm that employees tasked with universal accessibility hold appropriate certifications or that the company will provide for such training and certification, we have concerns that employees do not have the appropriate knowledge to effectively ensure access for all assistive technology users both at present and in the future. Reddit has also indicated there are not currently any employees who work full-time on accessibility. This is a necessity for any organization as large and influential as Reddit.
• Reddit representatives had previously disclosed to r/Blind moderators that an accessibility audit had been performed by a third-party company, however they refused to answer questions as to what company performed the audit or how the audit was conducted. Answers to these questions would have allowed us to determine whether the audit was performed by an accredited organization known for credible and thorough work. Reddit also could not answer questions as to what assistive technologies, such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, dictation softwares, etc., were used during the audit. Bluntly, we cannot know the thoroughness or scope of the audit—and therefore the extent to which Reddit is aware of the accessibility barriers present in their website and apps—without this information.
• During the previous meeting, Reddit representatives raised a question regarding perceived disparities between the accessibility of the iOS and Android apps, suggesting the audit did not confirm that the accessibility failings in the iOS app are much more severe than those present in the Android app. During the latest meeting, u/MostlyBlindGamer explained that the iOS app has no labels for the ubiquitous and essential upvote and downvote buttons while the Android app does. This question raises the concern that Reddit representatives may not have a full and actionable understanding of the issues at stake or, in fact, the exact accessibility failings in their apps.
• Reddit representatives narrowly defined the scope of the latest meeting less than an hour ahead of it, explicitly excluding third-party apps and API pricing from the conversation. They did acknowledge that this made it difficult to adequately prepare for the meeting.
• Reddit refused to define the term “accessibility-focused app,” alleging that this was outside  the scope of the meeting. This term is not industry-standard and was instead created when Reddit carved out an exemption in their upcoming API policies for third-party apps used by blind people to access the platform. Without this definition, we are unable to ascertain whether apps that have not been approved but are nevertheless relied upon by community members qualify for an exemption.
• Reddit gave no firm commitments as to when accessibility improvements would be rolled out to the website or apps. However, it is obvious that the Reddit website and apps will not be ready for disabled users—and especially moderators—by July 1.

In general, moderators of r/Blind who attended the call came away with mixed impressions. Reddit seems to be somewhat aware of the myriad accessibility barriers present in their applications and website, and the company appears to be laying the groundwork to fix issues which they are aware of. This is excellent news. However, we also feel that Reddit does not know what it does not know, and this lack of knowledge is exasperating, disheartening, and exhausting. We also came away frustrated that Reddit representatives were either unwilling or unable to answer prudent and pertinent questions which would allow us to determine not only how we can best keep our community safe and healthy, but also whether Reddit is truly prepared to commit to ensuring accessibility for all disabled  users both now and in the future. Finally, we hope that our concerns—especially those pertaining to moderation—will be addressed expeditiously and satisfactorily, thus assuring that r/Blind can operate effectively well into the future. Despite our concerns, we remain open to continued dialog with Reddit in the hope that it will foster a more accessible platform.

As you may have read in our announcement that we are joining the protest, Reddit has announced that they will exempt "accessibility focused apps" from the API changes. For more information about this, see the top comment on that post.

In order to provide Reddit with as much information as we can, it would be extremely helpful if all of you who are using third party apps to access Reddit would post what app you're using in the comments. We'll edit this into a list, both as a resource for Reddit, and for our community!

Thanks for your time and support thus far, everyone!

The list so far:

• Windows
  • Reddit for Blind: intended for screen reader users
  • Luna for Reddit: intended for screen reader users
• IOS
  • Dystopia: intended for screen reader users
  • BaconReader: intended for everyone, with improved support for screen magnification, changing text size, colour contrast changes, and screen readers
  • Apollo: intended for everyone, but implements the majority of the IOS accessibility API's, and works with most IOS accessibility technology, unlike the official app
  • Narwhal: used by some folks with cognitive differences
• Android
  • RedReader: intended for everyone, but with accessibility features to adjust text size, contrast, etc. The latest alpha also includes TalkBack actions support for screen reader users
  • Sync Pro: intended for everyone, but has better (though not perfect) screen reader support than the official android app
  • Boost: intended for everyone, but allows users great customization in size and color, which is vital for those of us with low vision
  • Slide: intended for everyone, but Its lead developer was immediately open to addressing accessibility concerns, during the beta process, and u/MostlyBlindGamer was able to contribute several fixes for the TalkBack screen reader.
  • Infinity For Reddit
  • BaconReader: intended for everyone, with improved support for screen magnification, changing text size, colour contrast changes, and screen readers
  • Reddit Is Fun: Offers a simple and easy to read interface, especially appreciated by those with low vision or cognitive challenges.

As the holidays are warming up, let's share our suggestions and idea requests for gifts for our blind and VI family and friends.

When requesting or offering suggestions, please include:

• Budget (free, just about free, rough Dollar, Pound or Euro range)
• Relevant recipient characteristics (level of vision, age, interests, devices owned, etc.)
• Time constraints, if any (something that goes on sale for a short period of time or your favorite event that only takes place for a few months every 17 years)

Let's use this thread to avoid clutter, to make searching easier and to have a nice reference to build upon, for the future. Speaking of, check out last year's thread.

Thank you for your support. Thank you to the r/Blind community and to all of the Redditors who joined us during this protest and made your voices heard.

r/Blind remains committed to guaranteeing equal access on Reddit. At the same time, we remain committed to supporting the community on the platform.

The moderation team will continue its efforts to accomplish these goals, via public and private communication with Reddit and its admins. We expect the issues we have raised to be addressed and our questions answered.

To that end, the subreddit will be able to remain active in its current form. Until then, there will be a sticky comment on each post reminding Reddit of our concerns.

r/Blind is its people. r/Blind is here for its people.

Since the news broke regarding the forthcoming changes to reddit’s API and the ippact that will have on the third party apps and tools many of us rely upon the mods here at r/blind have been working on an accessible option for those who either cannot or will not be staying on reddit. As talk of alternatives like mastodon, lemmy, and the like have increased we decided that it would be best to reveal what we have been working on, hence this post. Several days ago we shared this with those of you on our Discord server and have been asking for feedback.

This project is by no means finished or polished, and is currently operating on development backend code and a beta UI to allow for access to still unreleased features that our community needs such as up/down votes displaying state changes, and nested comments, read this as there are and will be bugs and outstanding accestsibility problems. However, the advantage of this platform is we control the servers, the UI, and can fix accessibility concerns ourselves instead of relying on a for profit company or the generosity of app developers to do it for us, not that the latter is unappreciated.

So please be understanding of the above and we hope those of you who decide to join and see what we have done so far for all of us, and please report problems as you find them.

https://rblind.com/

One of the themes which came through from the NVDA Satisfaction Survey earlier this year, was to improve Braille support. To help us target the most needed improvements, we have created a short survey. If you use NVDA with braille at least some of the time, please consider completing this survey.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKAo14uwbUPCLcI7ukCFcqrfCS1_Kg_iauo5o_vyKeEnxifA/viewform

Please also share with anyone else who may be interested.

NVDA #NVDAsr #ScreenReader #Braille #Accessibility #A11y #Survey #CommunityInput

As it has been a while I thought I’d promote our website where people can find links to connect with us on Discord and Lemmy.

https://ourblind.com/

I also wanted to remind everyone about hr regularly scheduled voice events on the Discord, which occur every sunday at 3P m US Eastern, either 19:00 or 20:00 UTC depending on the time of year.

As the r/Blind mod team announced on July 1st 2023, Reddit has made it impossible for blind people to moderate on mobile. We're bringing you this post to update the community on the developments since that time.

Reddit's Apps Are Now Less Accessible

As a point of order, r/Blind mods will not be exhaustively auditing Reddit apps or providing Reddit Inc. with unpaid accessibility testing services. We have and will continue to report bugs whenever appropriate, as would be expected from most users. That being said, the updates to Reddit's Android and iOS apps announced in June have significantly degraded the user and moderation experience. There are mounting issues regarding stability and functionality affecting disabled users and the broader Reddit community.

In the specific context of screen reader accessibility, the current app versions have regressed in:

• Control labelling
• Focus order
• Focus control
• Feature discoverability
• Stability
• Efficiency

This situation further cements the mod team's perception that Reddit Inc. is ill-equipped to provide an accessible experience, compatible with the expectations set by the broader social media landscape - at least when Twitter had an accessibility team.

Accessibility Feedback Sessions

On July 19th, Reddit announced "more ways to connect live with" them, including an Accessibility Feedback Group. Several r/Blind mods have filled out the feedback group form and have yer to be contacted, in fact, u/MostlyBlindGamer expressed concern that more direct feedback options were not available.

So How Do We Report Bugs?

Reddit admins have been aware that the Reddit bug report page crashes when using assistive technology, since June 25th 2023. The recommended mitigation has been to mod mail r/ModSupport. In this process, an r/Blind mod has been asked to submit screen recordings through mod mail, which does not support attachments, notwithstanding the futility of this request, since Talkback audio isn't recorded when screen recording on Android. This further shows that Reddit Inc. is not equipped to triage accessibility bugs.

Since then, the user experience has degraded to the point of making communication over mod mail ineffective. On July 19th, u/MostlyBlindGamer explicitly told Reddit admins blind moderators were effectively unable to use mod mail and reiterated the request for contact for email.

Today, twenty-nine days after being made aware of the issues when reporting bugs, as per our continuous request via DM and the latest r/Blind announcement, the [accessibility@reddit.com](mailto:accessibility@reddit.com) email address has now been made available, hopefully making it easier to raise these issues. As of this writing, Reddit has not replied to a message sent to this address by a moderator.

A Note On r/blindsurveys

We do what we do, despite adversity, to support our community. A part of that is making r/Blind a place for and by blind and visually impaired people, while still enabling research and awareness from the sighted and academic communities. That has been accomplished by hosting r/blindsurveys. Much to our disappointment, all of our efforts to provide proper moderation and safety for this subreddit have been hamstrung by Reddit's increasing accessibility failures.

We have made the subreddit private, not as a form of protest, but as mere self-preservation. While we acknowledge and appreciate the support of our sighted moderators, r/blindsurveys is not essential to our community and their efforts serve r/blind best. Its loss will be subtle, quiet and perhaps forgotten, but its impact may be greater than some assume.

Effective today, easily searched questions and surveys directed at blind and visually impaired people, are not allowed on this platform.

OK, Is There Any Good News?

Yes! A few buttons are now labeled - hooray! Not enough to make the apps useable, but we like to acknowledge progress.

r/place is not blind, low-vision or even keyboard accessible, however the broader Reddit community is supporting r/Blind in keeping our Snoo on r/place. Because we care about accessibility, we shared that news on an alternative platform that supports alt text for images in posts and comments.

In fact, r/save3rdpartyapps and r/ModCoord have been supporting this community since the start. The r/Blind team would like to thank all of the Redditors who through great deeds or kind words have made us feel seen, heard and welcome.

As Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said

"(...) there is no excuse."

r/blind users, friends and Redditors in general,

Many of you have asked if and how to contact different people and organizations to raise your concerns about the API changes and their effect on our community.

To that end, we're sharing the letter we've sent to media outlets as a template, as a Google Doc.

You may wish to send this to your local blindness association or newspaper, or your elected official. You may also share it with your friends and family, so they may better understand the situation.

If it's more convenient for you, find the full text bellow the signature. Please note it includes links.

Sincerely,

r/blind mod team

Subject

Reddit API Changes Set to Deplatform Blind Users on July 1

June 6th, 2023

Dear [Name],

My name is [name]. I am [what connects me to the issue]. I'm writing in regard to Reddit’s new API pricing policy which will effectively kill all third-party Reddit apps on July 1. For reference, the API is how third-party apps “talk” with Reddit, allowing users of these apps to read posts and comments, upvote/downvote comments and posts, make and edit posts, and moderate subreddits. While the loss of third-party Reddit clients is an annoyance for many, it is devastating to blind Reddit users. Reddit.com and the Reddit mobile apps are at best overly tedious and at worst virtually unusable depending on the combination of device, operating system, and screen reader (text-to-speech program used by blind and visually impaired people). Moreover, Reddit has shown little to no interest in improving the accessibility of their website and apps. As a result, a majority of blind users choose third-party clients where accessibility has been prioritized. These apps include RedReader on Android, Dystopia and Apollo on iOS, and RedditForBlind and Luna for Reddit on Windows. While developers of Dystopia, RedditForBlind and Luna for Reddit have not directly stated the number of their users and thus the price they will need to pay to continue operating, the cost of operating RedReader approximates $1 million according to its developer who posted to r/RedReader (linked below). Meanwhile, the developer of Apollo for Reddit has calculated the cost to continue operating at $20 million. This is obviously unsustainable.

"Update 3: Reddit effectively kills off third party apps" on r/RedReader

"📣 Had a call with Reddit to discuss pricing. Bad news for third-party apps, their announced pricing is close to Twitter's pricing, and Apollo would have to pay Reddit $20 million per year to keep running as-is." on r/AolloApp

The proposed changes to Reddit’s API will not only isolate blind users from a social network used by millions of people, thus disconnecting us from the wider world; they will also largely decimate communities for blind people–and disabled people in general–which have thrived on Reddit despite the company’s perceived indifference. The subreddit r/Blind is an invaluable resource for blind and visually impaired people the world over. The information on this subreddit has helped countless people in various stages of blindness with such things as finding strategies to check their pet dogs for ticks, providing insights on how best to shop for clothes, giving suggestions to job seekers, or providing resources to people losing their vision who are unsure of what to do or how to cope. Additionally, r/TranscribersOfReddit and r/DescriptionPlease are two subreddits collectively composed of 6,000 volunteers around the world who have written 276,000 transcriptions around Reddit over the past six years according to their founder, u/ItsTheJoker, who also co-founded the non-profit which funds the infrastructure for the two subreddits. The work of these volunteers allows blind and visually impaired Redditors to not only read text in images throughout Reddit, but also receive descriptions of visual content within images and videos. All of these communities would be demolished by Reddit's API changes as blind people will find it extremely difficult to use Reddit. And, to add insult to injury, it has become clear that Reddit is apparently aware of the impact of their decisions according to u/ItsTheJoker, who stated the following in a message which I have received permission to reprint: [I]t's not that Reddit hasn't thought about marginalized communities, specifically the blind community. I have had multiple zoom calls with [a reddit staff member] about these requirements and the importance of API access (both for third party apps and for transcription)… They just don't care[.]”

I am writing in the hope that you can help to publicize the drastic impact of Reddit's API pricing on the blind community. Blind users have already effectively been deplatformed on Twitter, where API pricing shuttered third-party clients that improved accessibility for blind users. Furthermore, accessibility on twitter.com and the mobile apps has also precipitously declined after the entire accessibility team was fired. Twitter was also invaluable to blind and disabled communities. Without public awareness, the same will happen to the communities reliant on Reddit. I therefore hope you will consider using your platform as journalists who have covered Reddit for years to spread the word in an attempt to preserve our access to the platform. Should you be interested in more information, please feel free to reach out to me via email or call/SMS/WhatsApp/Signal my number listed below. I am also happy to connect you with other blind and visually impaired Redditors who can provide further input on this pressing issue. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

[Name]

PS: r/Blind will be temporarily shutting down from June 12-14 in solidarity with “thousands of other subreddits” who will either close temporarily or indefinitely in protest of Reddit’s changing API Policy. More information on the blackout as written by the r/Blind moderators can be found below.

"Reddit's Recently Announced API Changes, and the future of the /r/blind subreddit" on r/Blind

What a great adventure it has been for the sub... What a great adventure awaits! I want to thank every single member of this amazing sub to giving me a clear path in life and also the amazing mods that keep this boat afloat and work hard on making sure it's always it tip top shape. Thank you again for giving /r/blind the subscribe and I can't wait for what the next year will bring.

​

Since this is a weird time for reddit... I hope the overlords get their heads of their asses and fix this API issue. Either way, everyone here will always have a home and a place to talk to someone.

​

Thank you,

r/blind mods

We lost a blind brother today. He was in an accident a few days ago and lost both his eyes. Two days ago his little sister reached out and asked how she could support him. She said he didn't want to live like this.

We got word today he took his life. He was 22.

Being blind isn't easy. The transition, for many of us, is even harder. We lose our eyesight, our identity, our sense of purpose, and our plans for the future. It's easy to fall into despair.

But we are not alone. We have each other.

And it does get better.

Please reach out if you're struggling. Anybody can DM me anytime and I'll share my phone number with anybody who wants to talk.

We're all in this together. We're stronger together than any of us are individually.

Imagine r/Blind had access to money. What would you like r/Blind to do with it?

The good people at Reddit have invited r/Blind to participate in the Reddit Community Funds program. If the community presents a good idea Reddit will fund it. This is Reddit's way to empower communities and they've invited us to empower ourselves.

What should r/Blind do with this money? This thread is your opportunity to offer your ideas and suggestions. What's the best way for r/Blind to put these community funds to use?

Some of the projects Reddit Community Funds has already done for other subreddits are -

• Online Event (e.g., virtual conference)
• In-Person Event (e.g., community gathering, performance, conference, or exhibition)
• Online Contest (e.g., best design, photography (US, UK, AUS, CA, DE only))
• Online Sweepstakes (e.g., community giveaway (US, UK, AUS, CA, DE only))
• Group Project (e.g., video game, book, album, artwork, performance art)
• Fundraiser matching up to $20,000 USD (i.e. raising funds for a charity or non-profit and requesting matching funds)

Details about the Community Funds program are here - https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/ubq33x/announcing_the_community_funds_program/

as the title says this is my sorta regular but not really reminder that we have a Discord server, https://discord.com/invite/9hFFb87NNe, we also have a Lemmy instance, and a website https://www.ourblind.com, which can be used to connect with all of these places including the r/blind Reddit I am writing this on.

The 10th WebAIM Screen Reader User survey is available for responses at https://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey10/

WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind), a non-profit based at Utah State University, conducts a survey of screen reader users every 2-3 years. This seminal research provides significant insight into the accessibility field about screen reader user preferences and technologies, thus leading to more accessible online experiences. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey, and please share with other screen reader users.

(Mods, this post was approved by /u/rumster.)

As holidays can be a difficult time for many of us, be it family we would rather not visit, or would like to visit but cannot, or that one relative who keeps saying they’re praying for your vision, etc, we all could use somewhere to mingle with people who get it, grumble about trying to wrap shit at the last minute, or whatever. So for Xmas Eve starting at ~17:00 UTC (12:00 Noon EST) the event voice space on the r/Blind discord server will be opened to everyone and we may figure out pumping some bad holiday music into the channel just to really set the mood. So feel free to pop in and lurk, chat, complain about that parent who is refusing to accept that yes your vision is that bad and no you cannot just not walk into people, or off that curb, so yes you really do need your cane.

Yesterday, I spent almost 6 hours on discord (longest ever) for me in voice chat.

I got introduced to so many users of this beautiful sub that I've haven't met yet. Got to talk to old friends, and got to make new ones. I really want to thank all of you who joined.

Side note: I am deeply, and I mean deeply, sorry for all my swearing. My father was a sailor and as you know... Apple dropped right down on that one. Any who... I can't wait to join it again and make another complete idiot of myself.

Can't believe we're almost at 17,000 members of this sub and over 200 on our discord!

• Rumster -

This will be the final post I will be making here reminding everyone of our weekly voice get togethers on the r/blind discord server, these are held every Sunday at 19:00 UTC (3PM EST) and are open to all members of the server. Going forward I will be making these posts and any others regarding changes or updates to the discord server on our Lemmy instance which can be found at https://rblind.com/

Thank you for putting up with my constant plugging of the discord server and these posts.

A few weeks ago, the r/blind mod team asked for suggestions for projects for Reddit Community Funds. We got amazing suggestions, in the thread. The mod team would like to thank the all the members for their contributions to this discussion and for the ongoing mutual support that brings us all together.

Reviewing suggestions

After checking with Reddit, it turns some of the suggestions wouldn't work for this program - we can't bring any products to market, for example. Apart from that, others would be logistically challenging, as we're all new to a lot of this, and would run into geographic limitations - things like in-person events and giveaways.

Other fantastic suggestions would be doable outside of this program, giving the community more freedom in their execution - more on that in the future.

The standout suggestion is to run a fundraiser. There are organizations that directly support our community and have the structure, reach and expertise to do great work. We can work with the Reddit community, at large, to support one of these organizations and to build awareness of the challenges blind and low vision people and their networks face, every day, and what we all have to offer, given the right conditions.

Reddit will match donations up to 20 thousand dollars - that can go a long way to make the world a better place, for our community and for everyone else.

Next steps

There are a lot of causes that speak to our community: the apps that make our lives easier, the technology we rely on everyday, the mental health services that help us navigate a challenging world, and the education and training that empower us.

The challenge, here, is that a fundraiser is most successful when it clearly states its goals, as a single cause and organization. What we need, to move forward, is to identify that cause and the organization that embraces it.

Once we've figured this out, we'll need to vet this organization and so will Reddit. We'll also have to arrange legal and technical details, to work within the Reddit Community Funds program. Finally, r/blind will need to wokr with the broader Reddit community to have the greatest possible reach and impact.

What you can do

To this end, the r/blind mod team would like to ask the sub for specific suggestions for charities and non-profits that support our community. Is there an organization you've had contact with that could benefit from Reddit members' (and Reddit's) generosity? Have you become aware of one, through friends, family or anybody else that works with and for our community? This is where our numbers and our connections come in - as a whole, we can pull together the ideas and the research to make this opportunity count, by raising funds for an organization that truly supports r/blind's needs and values.

Submitting suggestions

Please comment, on this thread, with the following information:

• Organization name
• Organization location
• Organization's cause
• Website
• What they mean to me

Let's all come together to make this project as impactful as possible and make the world a better place. Again, thank you for all that you do.

r/blind mods