Accessibility Testing Pearltrees
I decided, when 
azurelunatic pointed it out to me, to accessibility-test Pearltrees on the current screen reader. The results are under the cuts below.
Computer: Windows Vista 64-bit.
Screen reader: NVDA 2011.1.1
First Browser Tested: Mozilla Firefox 5
The first inconvenience I noticed was that the whole site seems to be inside a flash movie, or a java script window of some sort. This in itself is not a major problem since the buttons are clearly labeled and in a means in which I could tell what they were.
However, the real problems started right away.
Firstly, I decided to simply connect the site to my Twitter account, seeing as it would be impractical to create an account on a site which might or might not be accessible.
The Twitter half of the Twitter connection went well as usual. I allowed the application and Firefox redirected me back to the Pearltrees page I had been on. Now all my account information was filled in via my Twitter profile.
However, there was supposed to be a button, according to the page description, which I must click on in order to finish twitter synchronization. I, however, could not find this mysterious button. Also, there was no way for me to tell which fields in the registration were required, seeing as the screen reader picked up no asterisks. It said, somewhere in the page instructions, which I should add seem to me to be scattered throughout the various edit boxes and buttons on the registration page, "*required fields" I am not sure if this means that the required fields are marked with asterisks, or if they are a different colour. There is currently not a sighted person in the vicinity I can ask.
So, seeing as Twitter connection seemed to be a no-go, and I dispise Facebook and don't like connecting things to Google, I decided to attempt creation of an actual bona fide Pearltrees account.
As stated before, the layout of the account creation page might be a bit odd for some users. The layout, or perhaps the way it is presented to a screen reader seems very counterintuitive. It seems, once again that the registration instructions and information on what pearltrees are is scattered throughout the various edit boxes and buttons. Also, I could not find a place to accept the terms or a join button.
I finally did find the button, but I had to have sighted assistance, IE someone telling me I could tab past the button to show you the terms of service. The Ok button is not properly labeled. Also, from the person who was giving me sighted assistance, the homepage doesn't respect the browser's zoom settings. This could be a large issue for people who are low-vision, instead of being totally blind as I am.
Now, once logged into the site, the tutorial on how to get started is accessible enough. I could read it.
However, it is impossible for someone who does not use a mouse to drag and drop things, or to drag to move. Click to open might be doable, but half the buttons on the profile page have no labels. All I get with a screen reader is "button" "Button" The edit tools button is labeled, but that is about it.
Also, flash stops all key combinations, and I cannot even leave the pearltrees homepage without having to completely close that Firefox page.
Another problem I noticed is that the option to install the Pearltrees extention seems to have disappeared so I cannot install it to test it.
Overall, there seems to be a lot of changes needed to make this site accessible. However, if it were made accessible, it could be a really, really useful tool and also a joy to use.
If more information is needed, drop me a message at dragon_quest_777 (@) yahoo . com
azurelunatic pointed it out to me, to accessibility-test Pearltrees on the current screen reader. The results are under the cuts below.
Computer: Windows Vista 64-bit.
Screen reader: NVDA 2011.1.1
First Browser Tested: Mozilla Firefox 5
The first inconvenience I noticed was that the whole site seems to be inside a flash movie, or a java script window of some sort. This in itself is not a major problem since the buttons are clearly labeled and in a means in which I could tell what they were.
However, the real problems started right away.
Firstly, I decided to simply connect the site to my Twitter account, seeing as it would be impractical to create an account on a site which might or might not be accessible.
The Twitter half of the Twitter connection went well as usual. I allowed the application and Firefox redirected me back to the Pearltrees page I had been on. Now all my account information was filled in via my Twitter profile.
However, there was supposed to be a button, according to the page description, which I must click on in order to finish twitter synchronization. I, however, could not find this mysterious button. Also, there was no way for me to tell which fields in the registration were required, seeing as the screen reader picked up no asterisks. It said, somewhere in the page instructions, which I should add seem to me to be scattered throughout the various edit boxes and buttons on the registration page, "*required fields" I am not sure if this means that the required fields are marked with asterisks, or if they are a different colour. There is currently not a sighted person in the vicinity I can ask.
So, seeing as Twitter connection seemed to be a no-go, and I dispise Facebook and don't like connecting things to Google, I decided to attempt creation of an actual bona fide Pearltrees account.
As stated before, the layout of the account creation page might be a bit odd for some users. The layout, or perhaps the way it is presented to a screen reader seems very counterintuitive. It seems, once again that the registration instructions and information on what pearltrees are is scattered throughout the various edit boxes and buttons. Also, I could not find a place to accept the terms or a join button.
I finally did find the button, but I had to have sighted assistance, IE someone telling me I could tab past the button to show you the terms of service. The Ok button is not properly labeled. Also, from the person who was giving me sighted assistance, the homepage doesn't respect the browser's zoom settings. This could be a large issue for people who are low-vision, instead of being totally blind as I am.
Now, once logged into the site, the tutorial on how to get started is accessible enough. I could read it.
However, it is impossible for someone who does not use a mouse to drag and drop things, or to drag to move. Click to open might be doable, but half the buttons on the profile page have no labels. All I get with a screen reader is "button" "Button" The edit tools button is labeled, but that is about it.
Also, flash stops all key combinations, and I cannot even leave the pearltrees homepage without having to completely close that Firefox page.
Another problem I noticed is that the option to install the Pearltrees extention seems to have disappeared so I cannot install it to test it.
Overall, there seems to be a lot of changes needed to make this site accessible. However, if it were made accessible, it could be a really, really useful tool and also a joy to use.
If more information is needed, drop me a message at dragon_quest_777 (@) yahoo . com