Accessible Patterns

 There are over 500 patterns on rav with the low vision accessible pattern search tag. Many of them are my loom knit patterns, but about two thirds are from designers who recently worked to create accessible versions of their patterns. 

The problem is that rav is now inaccessible to the very people who need to find these patterns. Parts of the new site work with screen readers, but others do not. Beyond that, the new site continues to cause harm to people who use it. The epilepsy foundation has issued a caution warning for the site.

These are the steps I am taking. I am able to use the "classic" for limited times, so I have begun to download and gather over 10 years of information I had stored on rav. 

I am moving my pattern sales to etsy.com. If you try to buy a pattern from this site you may find a broken link. If that happens, please go to my etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ReneeVanHoyDesigns

It is a long process to move the patterns and adjust all of the links, so please bear with me. Many of my patterns are also available through CinDwood Looms. 

I am hoping to create an Accessible Patterns Index off of rav. In the beginning, it may very simple, but at least there will be a way to find these patterns without having to use rav. 

Accessibility part one

 In June, the crafting platform rav introduced a new format. This format immediately caused many (hundreds, thousands?) rav users to experience severe eye strain, eye pain, migraine headaches, regular headaches, vertigo and seizures. After a few days of discussion, rav put the "classic" view in as an alternative, providing you could tolerate the new site and make the selection. The "classic" also caused problems, not as severe, but significant eye strain and headaches are common. Worse yet, screen readers did not work with the new rav. They had never been great with old rav, but they were worse with new rav.

Nearly two months later and rav denies the pain and suffering it has caused, threatens to remove "classic", shuts down all discussions on the topic on the main discussion boards, and shows that rav does not care about accessibility at all. They say rav is more accessible than ever.

I have always written accessible patterns for people who are blind or have print challenges. I do this because I need to see the patterns in this way. About a year and a half ago I began working with a group on rav called Accessible Patterns. Rav had created a search tag called Low Vision Accessible, but had failed to define the search parameters. I worked with rav based on the discussions in the group, and created a minimum standard for the search. 

Rav failed to put the standard into place until nearly a year after they agreed to it, during which time I followed each pattern using the search tag, contacted the designers and made sure the tag was used correctly and information about what made the pattern accessible was in the pattern notes.

Rav had also agreed to implement a screen reader search tag, but never added it. They would not agree to add search tags for press braille, digital braille and digital audio books, which would have allowed me to add the books from BARD, The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Challenged into the pattern database. 

When rav showed it did not care about accessibility, I was not surprised. They had been showing this was how they felt long before the new rav. 

More to come.