Creating a web for everyone

Earlier this year, I attended a tech conference in Pittsburgh, PA called “Abstractions”. It was there I was first introduced to the term “a11y”, a shortened name for “accessibility”. In the context of computing, a11y refers to the equal ability to use computers and computer based technology regardless of disabilities. While it may read as “ally”, it is actually a form of abbreviation known as a numeronym. The word is shortened by taking the first and last letters of a word, and inserting the amount of characters in between them. By breaking a 13 letter word into only 4, the numeronym lends itself much more nicely to social media sites that take advantage of hashtags, such as Twitter.

From December 4th to December 8th, 701 tweets contained some usage of #a11y. Most incorporating the hashtag were promoting blogs or videos on the subject of accessibility, something that could be seen as a progressive move for promoting awareness about the issue of accessibility on the Web. However, not everyone has positive sentiments on the use of #a11y. Jonathan Mosen, cooperator of Mosen Consulting, a consulting agency for the combination of blindness and technology, has quite strong thoughts on the issue. His main complaint with the hashtag is it obscures the meaning behind it.

Without fail, every time I’ve tweeted a link to a blog post, or have entered into a Twitter discussion about [#a11y], I receive tweets that say things like, “oh, so that’s what it means! I kept seeing this hashtag and had no clue what people were on about”. There is a deeply sad irony in the idea that people who are all about inclusion use a cryptic Twitter hashtag that excludes all but the elite who have been clued into what it’s supposed to mean. While there isn’t universal understanding by any means, far far more people know the word accessibility than know #a11y.

He is not the first to recommend the alternative of stopping the use of “#a11y” in favor of “#accessibility”, and simply accepting the longer length the word takes. To his and other’s possible dismay, it seems a11y is here to stay, a fact I am fine with. Some may consider it gatekeeping, but I am of the belief that any motion of mentioning accessibility does nothing but benefits the Web and those who use it.