To the Twitter Team,
We are writing to you from Turkey on behalf of EEEH Magazine. (EEEH is a magazine in which blind people are involved in almost all stages of publication, and has the goal of equal, accessible and barrier-free life.)
We are following closely and using the opportunities offered by Twitter regarding "accessibility", and we thank you for aiming for all users to take part in Twitter on equal conditions.
We observe that you care about the “equal access” rights of all segments in general, and people with disabilities in particular, Based on the general “Twitter Rules” and the options you provide regarding accessibility. In this context, we have an idea/request that we want to share with you!
We know that there are alternative writing areas for blind people who use screen readers to access photos shared on Twitter. We organize campaigns in our country that aim to inform and raise awareness about this issue. However, we observe that it does not spread at the expected level or even is not understood. We think that one of the important reasons for this situation is that the explanations made in the alternative writing area are only noticed by screen reader users, and so, for the vast majority there is no difference between "accessible Tweet" and "inaccessible Tweet".
Our request/suggestion is to have a symbol in accessiblely shared Tweets. We believe that if each Tweet shared by using the alternative writing area can be assigned a symbol that means "This post is accessible", this practice will become widespread and even be standardized very quickly. So much so that we think that this practice will become a competitive issue for many accounts from political parties to football teams that take place on Twitter.
Also, accessible and inaccessible accounts will be seen clearly by everyone, regardless of the one-by-one control of the blind people using screen readers. Thus, there will be a visible and clear incentive for the right to equal access. The posts with the symbol “This Tweet is accessible” will get much more interaction and gain respect. The opportunity of "alternative text" will become known to a large number of people, Even those who are just wondering what this symbol means and how to get it.
We think Twitter can lead in the field by taking such a step that supports accessibility. We hope that the “right to equal access” will be reflected in other fields as a fundamental right, following this initiative that encourages those with disabilities to take place in social media under equal conditions.
We are waiting for your steps to ignite the first spark to establish a 100% accessible social media together with users.