Re:For blind internet users, the fix can be worse than the f...
by rfiat on Thursday July 28, 2022 @09:36AM
(#32264097)
What you're describing is named the "curb cut effect" [0].
> The curb cut effect is the phenomenon of disability-friendly features being used and appreciated by a larger group than the people they were designed for. For example, many hearing people use closed captioning.
I actually randomly get reminded of this now and then, when I:
- open a door with an elbow instead of greasy or occupied hands
- tab through a UI or use alt key shortcuts to quickly perform repetitive tasks not worth automating
- take carts, bicycles, and other heavy objects up accessible ramps, kerb ramps, or mandatory lifts
- read alt tags of images that fail to load or that the file host has lost
- search in or read the captions/subtitles of media that doesn't get to the point
- read captions when I can't play audio
- machine-translate autogenerated captions from unknown languages
Not to mention all that gets taken for granted that wouldn't exist had it not been required.
Edit:
Found a submission about just this while searching for your past rants:) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30062178
In the disability spectrum chart linked there, the figure with a sword and round shield illustrating the 'Heavy Accent => Speech x Situational' case is brilliant; going far backwards in time guarantees linguistic distance from any viewer.