Accessibility

The standard we aim for

The Registry aims to meet WCAG 2.2 at level AA, the standard for web accessibility published by the W3C. Its successor, WCAG 3, is still a draft; we’ll follow it when it’s final.

What we’ve done

• The map has a list. The list button under the map controls shows every goose the filters show, by neighborhood, with a count for each. A neighborhood’s “Show its geese” lists just that one.
• Every pin is a button with a name, such as “Harriet, PGH-0001, Brighton Heights”. Groups say how many geese they hold, and a goose that has flown the coop has a dashed pin as well as a gray one.
• Nothing needs a drag. Photos can be put in order with arrow buttons, framed with Move and Center buttons, and a goose’s pin moved with arrow buttons or a tap.
• The keyboard works everywhere: a Skip to content link on every page, menus with the arrow keys, dialogs that keep and return focus, and choice chips that work like radio buttons.
• Forms say what’s wrong and where. A form that can’t be sent takes you to the first thing to fix, and each field’s hint and error are read out with it.
• Nothing rests on color alone. Selected filters and tabs carry a check, and errors have an icon and words.
• No timers to beat. A slip with Undo stays until you’ve used it or torn it off.
• Text and layout bend. Pages work at 320 pixels wide and at 400% zoom, and the site keeps still when your device asks for reduced motion.

How we check

Before each release we run automated checks (axe-core, against WCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 at levels A and AA) on every page and on the map’s states: a goose open, the list, the key, search and the filters. We go through each task with the keyboard alone, and check every page at phone widths down to 320 pixels.

We haven’t yet had the site reviewed by an outside auditor, and we’re adding regular testing with screen readers (VoiceOver and NVDA). Automated checks catch a good share of problems but not all of them, so we’d rather hear from you than assume.

Known limits

• The map itself is a picture. Street and place names on it are part of the image. Use the list, search, or a goose’s record, which gives its neighborhood in words.
• Photos are taken by neighbors. Each is described by the goose’s name and outfit, which can’t capture every detail of what it’s wearing.
• The filer card is drawn to look like a plastic ID. Its small print is real text and reads out, but it’s small on a phone; everything on it is also on your profile.

Tell us

If anything on the Registry is hard to use, write to registrar@gooseregistry.com with the page and what got in the way. The Registrar reads every letter, and we’ll fix what we can and tell you what we’ve done.