Hey all, just wanting recommendations for any other MMORPGs out there? I currently play World of Warcraft exclusively, but I like it because I can choose racist other than just… Human.
Any other suggestions? I like the idea of Guild Wars but I’m not sure of its level of accessibility.

For context, I have no site and I rely heavily on mods and add-ons to make the game work

I’ve had something on my mind ever since an online vision loss support group last month. We were discussing public transport, and a man was saying that his city used to have free bus passes for blind people. He was saying that this is totally unnecessary and that blind people don’t need to be treated any differently, so he told his city to get rid of those passes, and eventually, they did. Now, blind people have to pay full price. He seemed kind of proud of that. I din’t say anything at the time, but it kind of drove me nuts. There are so few blind people, and fewer still are getting out into the world alone. The unemployment rate for blind people can be as high as 90 percent in some places, so some people might have no way to get around if the bus passes aren’t reduced price or free. And doesn’t that guy want people to be able to get out and get jobs? It’s as if he thought of his experience as a rich guy who went blind after a full career as the only experience of blindness people can have. Why didn’t he just pay for his own pass, and be quiet about it? We don’t all have the same needs as other blind people. Another example is a big city in Australia where the buses don’t stop for blind people even if they put their cane out on the curb. From what I hear, the local guide dog organisation told the metro office not to train their drivers to stop! Why? Because, apparently, they want blind people to have to write out the route number on a sign and hold it up, and the bus will only stop if you hold up the sign. They are assuming that blind person will always have their routes planned out well in advance to create and braille signs for themselves. As if no blind person ever does spontaneous travel, or changes their mind on what route to take! I think we all need to consider that our own blind experience doesn’t speak for everyone. I myself am not immune to generalizing. I recently heard someone saying that they told their council to send all council fliers and pamphlets as emails to them. instead of in snail mail My first thought was that they can just read it with an app on their phone if it comes by mail but not everyone can do that. Some people have trouble with smartphones for a variety of reasons, including peripheral neuropathy in their fingers. I also got a bit of a chuckle when I heard that nFB is a bit dogmatic on making people use straight canes. I have a friend who uses one, but their spatial awareness is very impaired, so they almost always hit someone on the head with it when they get in and out of cars. They’ve nearly struck me in the eye with it when we went to sit down, and another friend says she’ll never drive this person anywhere again because they keep hitting her in the head, no matter how often she reminds them. We should never pretend we know what’s best for another blind person. I also don’t like when people discourage blind people from learning braille. I waited way too long to learn because people discouraged me, but now I love it and it helps me keep my job. I know that, even if we don’t intend it, sighted people can sometimes take our experiences as a representation of all blind people, so I think we sometimes need to remind others that we each are just one person with our own unique needs for how we want to live our lives. Some people can live their best life with a white cane. Some people can only reach their full potential with a guide dog. Some of us will live our best life with family near by. Some of us need the independence that a city can bring. Nothing is one size fits all.jti

I am thinking of going to the Colorado center for the blind. I have to figure it out soon. I know that wherever I go, I do want to do training under sleep shades. Can anyone give me advice or their experience with the Colorado Center? Anything that I need to know about? I would like to know the good, bad, and ugly. Thank you!

I primarily use my Mac in English, but I also have a lot of text in Brazilian Portuguese to read. The Mac’s accessibility system has always done a good job of distinguishing between English and Brazilian Portuguese, automatically switching the voice used to read the screen.

However, since I reformatted my computer, the secondary voice (Portuguese) defaults to European Portuguese (from Portugal) instead of Brazilian Portuguese.

Everything works correctly in VoiceOver; the issue only occurs with "Spoken Content" (specifically "Speak Items Under the Pointer" and "Speak Selection").

Could anyone help me resolve this so that the secondary voice is the Brazilian Portuguese one?

Note: I have already downloaded the Brazilian Portuguese voice, it is selected as the secondary voice, and my Mac’s secondary region is set to Brazil, so I don't know where else to check

Looking for resources on learning to develop using voiceover on macOS. I’m already a developer, so it’s mainly learning how to use screen reader tools, quirks in voiceover, things that make your life easier, any limitations you experience, etc…

There is a blind developers sub but it seems dead. I tried to find resources on YouTube but didnt come across anything I like other than some vscode interview where they talk about how it’s accessible. I’m looking for a tutorial style video that I can listen and act upon to learn how to code in vscode, switch tot he sidebar, toolbar, terminal, etc… Anything that I can do to make my workflow easier so I’m not VO + right arrowing everywhere in vscode. I’ve heard of TDSR and installled it, but no idea what to do now. Is it easier to use the built in vscode terminal when you’re using a screen reader? Do y’all avoid UI based tools like postman and the AWS site and just rely on cli tools since it’s text based?

I’d really appreciate any advice or resources where I can learn this stuff.

Thanks

Hi, I've got a few basic projects that I want to try to do. I'm not very experienced and woodworking but I've gotten some of the tools and some basic knowledge that is probably needed. I just got a talking tape measure and that thing is really helpful. It's allowed me to do some things I would have never been able to do before. Does anyone have any recommendations or suggestions of certain tools that I should get or any other methods, tips, tricks I should be aware of that are helpful?

I should add I do have some limited usable vision, but I can't see pencil markings. Maybe a sharpie I could see. I just have a circular saw at the moment, but I seen people use it along a rail of some sort to cut straight

I did a quick Google and didn't find anything. Where are the TalkBack users posting about questions and tips? I need the AppleVis for Android!

Hey everyone! I'm hoping to hear from other blind and visually impaired people about their experiences with employment.

I have significant vision loss in both eyes and am legally blind. My vision loss came on relatively suddenly, and I'm still trying to figure out what my future looks like, especially when it comes to working.

I'm trying to figure out how to get back into the workforce, but one of my biggest challenges is understanding what working with this level of vision loss actually looks like in the real world. My vision isn't always consistent, either. Some days are better than others, and lighting, distance, and how close I am to something can make a huge difference in what I'm able to see.

I'm looking into assistive technology and accessibility tools, but I want to hear from people who are actually out there working. I know everyone's situation is different, and I'm interested in hearing from people with all levels of vision loss, from low vision to total blindness.

A few things I'd love to know:

• What do you do for work? What's your job title, and what does your job actually involve?
• How did you get into that line of work? Did you stay in your previous career, change careers, or learn an entirely new skill?
• What does a typical workday look like? What kinds of tasks do you perform, and which ones are the most challenging?
• How do you manage in a physical workplace? Things like navigating the building, finding things, identifying items, reading labels, handling paperwork, or working with equipment.
• What assistive technology do you use on the job? Magnification, screen readers, OCR, AI tools, special equipment, or anything else?
• How much usable vision do you have? I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who still have some sight but struggle to see details, read things at a distance, or deal with different lighting conditions.
• What happens on bad vision days? If your vision fluctuates or you have days when you can barely see, how do you manage your responsibilities at work?
• Have you run into employers who were willing to accommodate you? What accommodations actually helped, and what did employers struggle to understand?
• What advice would you give someone trying to return to work after significant vision loss? Are there particular types of jobs or skills worth looking into?

I'm not just looking for a list of jobs that blind people can theoretically do. I want to understand what those jobs look like in practice, how you get through the workday, what you need help with, and what you've learned along the way.

I'm still trying to figure out what's realistically possible for me, so I'd really appreciate hearing your honest experiences, including the challenges and frustrations. Thanks to everyone willing to share!

Hey everyone,
I’m currently doing some O&M prep and realized my current cane setup needs a little tweaking since i have had it since 2018, and its gotten real old, the current cane I use a 4-section, 46-inch pink Ambutech HiLite cane, but I've been finding it a bit too short for my stride and pacing.
I just ordered my new one from a site called MaxiAids, same Ambutech HiLite model, but in orange, and it will be a 5-section, and bumped up to 50 inches.

For those of you who have made a jump in cane length (especially going up a few inches), how long did it take you to adjust to the extra reach? Did you notice a big difference in reaction time or how you sweep? Would love to hear any tips for getting used to a longer cane!

Hey everyone,
I am currently working on my O&M skills and prepping my paperwork to apply with Guide Dogs of America (GDA). I've been thinking a lot about the transition down the road and had a quick question for handlers.
Once someone eventually gets matched with a guide dog, is it common to still keep and use a white cane? For example, do handlers ever carry a folding cane in their backpack for situations where the dog needs a day off, or when navigating very specific terrain where you want that direct tactile feedback?
Also, for anyone who went through GDA specifically, what was your experience like with keeping up your cane skills or bringing a spare cane along after receiving your dog?
Any insights or experiences from your own transitions would be super appreciated!

Seems like there are a lot of choices between rubber, cork, wood, and leather. Which are your favorites and what has your experience been with each?

I currently have rubber and it works fine but my hands do get a little sweaty.

So its been exactly a month since my new guide dog Storm started, we flew through the program in 9 days (second best in the state apparently) and he is wonderful he guides with the precision of a shaolin monk or a ballerina where as my retired girl Kellie subscribed to the bulldozer method of guiding in which she would only navigate around if the object or people refused to move for her. She was until the IVDD got to much for her a rock solid part of my daily routines and outside the house life for 7 years. Anyways I was out at the pub having a beer and steak and I reached down for a pat and instinctively called Kellie’s name and then I had to make an excuse from the ground and go cry in the ladies room. Is that normal? I mean I love my Storm to bits but he isn’t Kellie and that finally made me want to cry.

I have a quick Excel question. Have any of you used it on the iPhone? How accessible was it for you? Also, is it easier to use Excel or Google sheets? Currently, I’m trying to figure it out for a part-time role that I have. I have a MacBook, but I can’t use it there because I would need a Microsoft 365 license and don’t have one. I’m also unable to pay for one. My other option is to use it and learn the software quill for which I’ll make time for in the next couple of weeks.

I noticed that just within the last day or two tiktok changed the way that comments appear in the comment section. For long comments there is a " more" button at the end of the visible text that you have to tap to open the rest of the comment. I can't seem to figure out how to access that button using TalkBack, I'm on a pixel 8 phone. I also find it really annoying having that button, as I will listen to the first half of a comment and then if I touch that button then I will have to re-listen to the whole comment. I think Facebook is kind of the same. Has anyone else noticed this, and is there a way to easily navigate it?

NV Access is very excited to launch: "Accessibility Testing with NVDA"

This new package includes:

- 'Accessibility Testing with NVDA' training module,

- Printable reference sheets

- Resources for further reading

- A WCAG reference guide

- A badge you can display on your website or in your email.

A comprehensive resource for anyone involved in accessibility testing. Available now from: https://www.nvaccess.org/product/accessibility-testing-with-nvda/

I (33F) got RP, and I need advice on how to safely cut through my neighbor’s dark yard before the sun is up.

For context, I have about 7 degrees of central vision, and no night vision. My phone flashlight is too weak to help me. I am also worried to be waving anything like that around someone else’s yard in the dark… she may think I’m a home invasion happening. Morning is the best time for me to run because of work, school, and baby.

I’m obviously going to communicate with my neighbor, but I want to have a plan before I talk to her. Any recommendations on strong flashlights, etc.?

If you would like me, and couldn’t afford the competition for a number of years, with their expensive yearly upgrades, instead of running on one of their older versions try NVDA. It is a bit of a learning curve, but after using it for a while, trust me, you will not go back. After configuring all your preferences, I say definitely runs noticeably faster than the paid screen readers. Best thing is it’s open sourced, people are constantly making great add-ons for it, it’s sponsored by the big tech companys and totally free. There are also ways to add eloquence voice if that’s what you want as well. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Hi everyone, I'm not blind, but I wanted to ask a question.

I've seen lots of videos of service/guide dogs resting and the comments always talk about how they must be tired from having to serve all the time. If you happen to have a guide dog, do you think this is true or is this just a projection of human emotion? Thanks!

Hey!

I have been having non-stop issues with my iPhone 18 Pro that I purchased recently, and I was thinking that it's probably about time to potentially jump ship to Android, but I had a few questions, as the last time I switched over to Android was before I lost my vision.

I'm aware that most folks recommend Pixel due to the integration with Android being made by Google, and their own devices getting updates first, but I wanted to ask, what about brands like OnePlus? From what I know, they tend to mostly stick to the plain Android experience for the most part, albeit with a few tweaks for responsiveness and such, but does this come at the cost of accessibility?

From my small glance into the space, it seems like the main issue is both update rollout, as well as OEM apps which aren't accessible. So you might encounter an app on SamSung which has terrible accessibility, and you might be behind on an Android OS update that Pixel users got ages ago, all the while not dealing with the accessibility problems with first-party apps that Samsung users would face. Is this the case with OnePlus as well?

Also, for those of you who had to convert from iOS to Android, how did you handle the switch? Right now I use an iCloud email, I have AirPods Pro 3, I have a MacBook Air M5, an Apple TV, so I'm pretty deep into the ecosystem. Honestly, if I had to switch, I would probably sell most of this stuff, and get the Android equivalents. But swapping everything from one email to another sounds like a total nightmare. Is it as bad as I'm thinking it's going to be?

Sorry about the wall of questions, just thought I would ask, and figure this is the best place to ask as well.

Hi! I will probably do an Erasmus exchange next year, and I am looking for testimonies about going on Erasmus as a blind person. Here are my choices (I need to select only 3): Limerick, Maynooth, Exeter, Leeds, Birmingham and Edinburgh. I am looking for testimonies about these cities in particular, but any testimony is more than welcome, even if it's not in my target countries.
Here are my questions, of course you can skip some of them if you can't answer! And if you prefer to answer by DM, feel free to message me, you can also send voice messages if that's easier.
How did you navigate around the city? I personally have a guide dog, so I think he will be able to guide me, but I still need somebody to show me some things. Did you ask a specialised association to help you? The university will probably ask somebody to help me with the basics, but is that enough?
Could you get help with other daily life tasks, such as paperwork or even computer problems? I often have problems with my braille device, and not everybody knows how to fix it, so I want to be sure I will be able to get help if I have problems.
How did you handle everyday tasks such as shopping? Where I live (in France), it really doesn't bother me to go into a shop and ask the seller to help me, but I don't know if that's just a French thing or if it would be okay to do it in another country too.
I know that there is a special scholarship for disabled people, but when I asked my teacher, they didn't know exactly how much it was. I suppose it has changed since your trip, but do you remember how much it was, just so I have an idea? I am trying to find other sources, but none of them agree.
In terms of housing, did you have specific accommodations in your apartment? In France, I know that some blind students can ask for an accessible apartment with more space. It's not my case because I didn't have my dog when I started uni, but I might consider this option if I don't want him to live in a tiny room. Do you also remember the price of the flat? Was it on campus or somewhere else?
Could the university provide the same accommodations for your exams? I think I won't have problems with common things like extra time, but I often need an isolated room with a secretary to help me in case my computer has a problem, and I don't know if every university offers that.
How long before your departure did you start contacting your university?
Was there anything you wish you had asked before leaving?
Thanks for your help.

Since I’ve lost my usable vision, I’ve been fortunate to get a guide dog and have mobility instructors to work with. I realize that no one can give me all the info that the visual world has to offer, but sometimes I wonder how I can get all the useful information I need from mobility instructors to help me from going astray later when I try my walking routes alone with my dog.

For example, an instructor helped me work out a route through a park. The path goes up-a slight hill, then turns left and joins a sidewalk along a road. What no one told me is that there is a fork in the path, and another parallel path running next to the one I need. This parallel path spills out seamlessly into the street.

I did the route with my dog several times with no trouble, but one day, he decided to veer off ever so slightly at the fork in the paths that I didn’t know existed. Unbeknownst to me, we were then on the parallel path and we ended up in the street and got honked at by a car, which totally freaked me out. I had to retrace everything with my cane later to find out what had happened. I just wish my instructors were more aware of how the dog can possibly go wrong and warn me about potential hazards and decoy landmarks or decoy paths. If I’d known to ask about a fork in the path, I would have. Now, I’m being more careful to ask people what some potential problems the dog might have in the area. For some reason though, people aren’t that good at noticing things that the dog could mess up on.

This next example was less risky, but still annoying. Where I live, we have controlled crossings in some places with those chirping buttons that help you know when to cross. Unfortunately, they are set up haphazardly with some of them pointing parallel to the intended direction of travel, and some perpendicular and some diagonal. You cannot trust the orientation of the buttons on the poles to show you which way you are crossing. You have to be familiar with the area.

I was trying to cross an intersection that had a crossing button at the bike lane on the left and one for the pedestrian lane on the right.
My dog took me to a crossing button, but it didn’t seem like we were on the pedestrian lane based on how the ramp felt under my feet. Usually , that would mean that I was in the bike lane, and we needed to take two steps right to get out of the bike lane and over to the pedestrian lane. A woman came up and asked if I needed help. I asked if I was in the bike lane. She said, “yes.” So I tried to take a couple steps to my right, and she says, “No, you have to go left.” I was so confused, and long story short, I figured out that I was wrong. There weren’t just two crossing poles with buttons. There were actually three. The leftmost one was the bike lane heading in my direction of travel, the middle one was the pedestrian lane heading in my direction of travel, and the rightmost one, which I had no idea existed, was a bike lane button heading perpendicular to my direction of travel. It’s not that big of a deal, but when I was learning the route with my dog, it would have been helpful to know that there were 3 poles with buttons that he might potentially target so I would have understood his mistake. I’ve had similar issues when, say, I am targeting something like a particular wall in a train station, and the dog finds a wall that seems like the correct target, but it’s actually a huge standalone billboard near the wall. The instructor is like, “Oh, he got it wrong. He found the billboard.” And I’m like “the billboard”? I didn’t even know there was one.

I know it’s tricky for instructors since if they give us too much info on the first walk, we can get overwhelmed or simply forget, but sometimes, I think it would be more helpful if they could give me just a bit more relevant info. On the other hand, I know that part of learning is just getting out there and making mistakes. I’ve been wondering, though, can anyone else relate to this? Have you found a way to elicit information that you need? Sometimes I annoy my family by asking things to frequently that are irrelevant, but I just donn’t know what to ask.

Hey guys, I know there's a blind gamer sub but felt like it was better to post here. I'm legally blind and can only play a few games, basically just Skyrim and Terraria. And I play neither of those well. I just have played them since before I lost most of my sight so a lot of it I just know what's going on.

The other day, my friend told me about this game called Dressmaker. It's viral right now, its a cute indie game where you make dresses in like a regency-era town. I played it with her, where she narrated all the voices, helped me do stuff, and overall was a visual guide. I bought it and realized... I can't play the game independently. I was just so excited I didn't stop to think about how she curated my entire experience with it, telling me what colors and patterns things are, reading things out, pointing me to things when I got lost visually.

I'm still keeping the game in case we can call and she can walk me through it, but it just feels kinda sucky. I guess I'll go back to Skyrim lol. Serana is always there for me 🥀I have been meaning to try out the screen reader mod for Skyrim, since that'll cut back on the time I spend on Seeing AI haha.

Just needed a little vent sorry

I believe I've asked this question before here, but what kind of easy inexpensive hobbies do you guys like doing? Also, I have wanted to try knitting for the longest time, but just have neglected to pick it up and get started. I feel like I would like it, I did sowing as a requirement back in independent living camp, best requirement I’ve ever done and I actually begged my teacher to let me do every chance I got cause I just loved it that much.

For context, I use a braille measuring spoon set that has a leveler. I was measuring natural creamy peanut butter with the tablespoon measurement. when I used the leveler, I moved it across the spoon but made a small mess on the jar. the leveler is long, so when I run it across the spoon, I can't tell whether or not I'm touching the jar too.

Granted, I could use my finger for level, but I don't want to get peanut butter anywhere. I know this is just a small issue, and I'm probably overthinking everything, but it's these small mishaps that can make cooking tricky.

I'm an enthusiast PC builder with no usable vision, and I have noticed a very serious problem with ASRock boards after using two of them. I have a third on the way for a PC I'll be selling, so I'll keep you up to date with the results of that board if I can remember to.

The issue at hand: ASRock boards have a firmware flaw that interferes with screen reader softwares' OCR results, the mouse pointer, and even the way websites display. In short, the board does something to keep OCR from having focus in the window which you try to use it, making it virtually useless. Instead, it seems to linger around the desktop, and if you click something with OCR you will be kicked either to the news widgets or the desktop instead of what you were actually aiming for.

As for how websites display, it's a little weirder. A good example of this is the Student Clearinghouse website which I had to use another device for since I can't get the window to focus. I'm aware that you have to change the page zoom sometimes, but even that didn't work. The login button just wouldn't show up, but I don't know the exact logic behind it.

Furthermore, I have noticed that when scrolling in the file explorer or similar lists, using page down and page up to scroll faster results in much, much smaller steps. Instead of scrolling twenty-five or fifty items at a time, the ASRock boards will only scroll three or five.

Finally, I have noticed that certain text fields require much more scrolling to get the entire contents. For example, the NVDA add-on store description box shows ten to fifteen words on other board manufacturers, while on the ASRock board it only shows three or so.

The boards I have already tested are a B850M Pro RS Wi-fi and a Z890I Nova Wi-fi motherboard. The board on the way is a B850I Lightning Wi-fi. Other boards tested are the Gigabyte B650I Aorus Ultra, the Asus ROG Strix B850I, and an MSI B550 ATX motherboard which I sadly can't remember the model number for. None of the other boards had these issues.

I have tested with integrated graphics and no dummy HDMI, integrated with the dummy, dedicated without the dummy, and dedicated with the dummy. Results are consistent in that the presence of a GPU or not have not changed the results at all on ASRock boards and that it worked fine on other boards.

CPUs tested were a Ryzen 5 7600X, a Ryzen 7 7700X, and an Intel Core Ultra 7 265K. The new system will have a Ryzen 5 9600X. All of these CPUs do have integrated graphics.

GPUs tested were an NVIDIA RTX3060, an AMD RX6750XT, and an NVIDIA RTX5060TI, plus the Radeon graphics that come with the AMD processors and the Intel graphics that come with the 265K.

Different BIOS versions were tested too. Updating the BIOS on all of the boards changed absolutely nothing.

One final point I'll make: ASRock's software is a complete dumpster fire from an accessibility point. Where Asus's Armory Crate is pretty accessible and Gigabyte's software suite is somewhat accessible, ASRock's software shows absolutely nothing on screen and is virtually impossible to make accessible due to how the software was created.

The sad part is that I really like my current Z890I Nova Wi-fi board for the rich features, quiet VRM fan, and good price. Unfortunately, I believe I will be moving away from this board to the MSI MPG Z890I to avoid these issues. It really is a shame.

Ask me anything! I hope this helps someone out there :)