Léonie Watson

Accessibility engineer, Director of TetraLogical, Chair of the W3C Board of Directors, W3C WebApps co-Chair, writer and speaker, screen reader user, tequila drinker and crime fiction junkie.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lwatson
Company: https://tetralogical.com
Me: https://tink.uk

Public Key

npub1tsgqzg9rvxrxewgp4zpa9us0f3wmlqmgkxq5hzqk5ul4lc8rqkjqqe0qlp

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs9cyqpyz3krpnvhyq63q7j7g85chdlsd5trq2t3qt2w06lur3stfqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsmpqvgc

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1tsgqzg9rvxrxewgp4zpa9us0f3wmlqmgkxq5hzqk5ul4lc8rqkjqqe0qlp

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Last Notes

2026-06-25 19:11:39 UTC

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it is good to hear about positive experiences. Mine not so much, ever since I had to convince the cabin crew of one Ryanair flight that I was quite capable of flying on my own providing the passenger assistance I booked was provided.

2026-06-25 17:18:03 UTC

RE: https://flipboard.com/@bbcnews/top-stories-hc55lmo2z/-/a-GRYtgzI6TyiKc7Vaa3lEnw%3Aa%3A3199692-%2F0
And I will have not the slightest bit of reluctance flying with absolutely any other airline... (And no, I do not have children).
#note1788…sg02

2026-06-08 18:42:55 UTC

Looking forward to kicking off The Web You Want with a little good humoured provocation in my keynote 😇
It's on Wednesday and tickets are #free so come and join @npub1r4x…awyf, @npub1rav…uh8a, @npub1a8j…2la2, @npub1jpy…yfwv, @npub1uy4…kptm, @npub13gc…pmsw, @npub1tc9…jjtx, and myself:
https://the-web-you-want.org/
#TheWebYouWant

2026-05-16 20:49:59 UTC

For reasons I cannot fathom, #Spain makes me think of a silver jellybean.
#Eurovision

2025-09-06 17:14:07 UTC

The UK will test its emergency alerts system at around 3PM on Sunday 7 September.
If you have a phone that you need to keep hidden to protect yourself, here's how to opt out of the emergency alerts:
https://www.gov.uk/alerts/opting-out
#UK #alert #safety

2025-08-24 15:58:33 UTC

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Interesting. Just looking at it now. Is there a way to use it from the browser/address bar do you happen to know?

2025-08-24 15:36:42 UTC

Is it me, or is DuckDuckGo increasingly returning nothing but YouTube/Tick Tocks in its search results these days?

2025-08-23 11:32:37 UTC

Can anyone recommend an accessible email provider in the EU, with custom domain capability, contacts, and document storage with file access via the OS? TIA
#accessible #BigTechAlternative

2025-08-20 07:43:40 UTC

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Oh! So it is! I'm back in - with thanks to Jennison Asuncion, who reached out and alerted the team at Linkedin that deals with this kind of thing - and also to you for your help! 😊

2025-08-19 15:24:53 UTC

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Thank you so much! That's very kind of you. Sadly though, you're right, you can't find me, tag me, or anything. I've even disappeared from earlier posts that mentioned me apparently.
@npub18c4…jde8

2025-08-19 11:20:12 UTC

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Thank you! This is so true. I do know someone who works there but I'll hold-off making it their problem for a while yet.

2025-08-19 11:19:26 UTC

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I did with sighted help from someone who could give me useful instructions as I was doing it, and who could also take the photo of my ID properly lined-up, corners showing etc. Sadly though, Linkedin still don't believe I'm me, so now I have to do it all again.

2025-08-19 08:12:24 UTC

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Ah! I did wonder when I read your message but figured you must have found a new gig. Thanks for clarifying! The sighted assistance seems to have done the trick at any rate.

2025-08-19 07:36:53 UTC

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Thanks Sara. I appreciate the offer. Immediate plan is to borrow some sighted help to see if I can get through the verification, but if you have any contact with whomever is responsible for the face recog feature (or commissioning it), you could let them know it's problematic 😊

2025-08-19 07:07:28 UTC

Slow hand clap for #Linkedin who've locked me out of my account until I can prove who I am, except I can't because their third party face recog provider is unusable if you can't look directly at the camera - and all because I changed my password and disabled a bunch more of the personal data leaching settings I found when I went looking.

2025-08-02 15:14:57 UTC

It's #HTML day, so why not bookmark these screen reader HTML support tables for future reference:
https://github.com/TetraLogical/screen-reader-HTML-support

2025-07-31 12:46:02 UTC

How is it that within 10 minutes of the Online Safety Act, Ofcom is investigating 34 porn sites, yet in 30 years of disability legislation in the UK there hasn't been a single instance of case law for websites or apps because the EHRC has signally failed to support people with disabilities even when there is a strong case to be made? 😩
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y2xx6z6eko

2025-07-25 16:44:31 UTC

Does anyone know of a place to find Mastodon accounts for newspapers, media outlets, and also tech related journals/publications? TIA.

2025-07-25 07:49:41 UTC

The accessibility link is a lie: my adventures in weaponizing corporate virtue signalling, by [email protected]
https://sightlessscribbles.com/posts/20250724/
#accessibility #a11y

2025-06-08 16:46:21 UTC

Making sticky pork belly slices; cooked in ginger ale, then clarted in a reduction made with maple syrup, lime juice, ketchup, ginger, chilli and garlic.

2025-06-04 14:07:13 UTC

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The only (albeit infintessimally tiny) good thing about Brexit, is that my passport will match my outfits next time I get it renewed 🤣

2025-05-24 12:15:36 UTC

You might not know that migratory birds like Swifts and Starlings are in trouble in the UK because modern houses have nowhere for them to nest.
The solution is to include a single £35 "swift brick" in every new build (a hollow brick that creates a nesting spot).
The Labour Gov is blocking the proposal to mandate this, and I've just signed this petition to encourage them not to:
https://act.38degrees.org.uk/act/swifts-petition
Note: the donation at the end is optional.

2025-05-22 18:48:18 UTC

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Depending on which setting/capacity I'm being asked in, my response will vary, but my inner monologue usually goes something like "Look me in the eye and tell me I'm not important." 👿

2025-05-15 15:10:37 UTC

The Privacy Principles are now an @npub1tl7…6j09 Statement:
https://www.w3.org/TR/2025/STMT-privacy-principles-20250515/
#privacy

2025-04-18 09:50:46 UTC

Take Action: Defend the Internet Archive
https://blog.archive.org/2025/04/17/take-action-defend-the-internet-archive/
"At a time when digital information is disappearing, being rewritten, or erased entirely, the tools to preserve history must be defended—not dismantled."
I've signed the petition.

2025-03-31 12:00:46 UTC

We're looking for someone to join the @npub1zhy…hstt team as an accessibility Specialist.
If you're resident in the UK, you can apply on Linkedin:
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4197046475/
Or directly:
https://misc.tetralogical.com/careers/2025-03-accessibility-specialist/
#accessibility #a11y #assessments #audits #jobs #jobsearch

2025-03-06 08:38:19 UTC

Can anyone put me in touch with a lawyer who really understands the European Accessibility Act (EAA)? I have a question I could use an opinion on - and happy to pay for the time. Thanks.

2025-02-27 15:22:56 UTC

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That sounds interesting. Can you say more or point to more info?

2025-01-29 05:48:10 UTC

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One of the difficulties with referencing the APG is that it's "ARIA first", so (without meaning to) it encourages developers to think that ARIA is the first solution to all accessibility things at the code level.

2025-01-04 18:52:20 UTC

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) orders #AccessiBe to pay a $1m fine, for false advertising and failing to disclose that it compensated people for providing reviews of its #AI #accessibility overlay:
https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/03/ftc-orders-ai-accessibility-startup-accessibe-to-pay-1m-for-misleading-advertising/

2024-12-31 13:34:05 UTC

Right 2025, listen up!
If you think we're going to put up with another 2024, you can think again.
We want more kindness and less hostility; more thoughtfulness and fewer bros; fewer disagreements and more conversations; more curiosity and fewer assumptions; and if you can't manage that, we'll damned well have to do it for ourselves.
On reflection, who's with me?

2024-12-27 14:17:35 UTC

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it feels like it, yes. Still much else I'd like them to be able to do, but I've been wandering all over the house looking at things and asking them what I'm looking at. All the usual caveats about reliability, but so far they're proving more useful than not.

2024-12-27 13:57:49 UTC

I'm wearing glasses for the first time in 25 years. Back then I could see, now I can't, but for the first time in 0.25 Century I can look at something unfamiliar and have a reasonable chance of identifying it - without taking my phone out of my pocket.
#AI #Meta #RayBans #safety #independence

2024-12-23 12:35:48 UTC

Almost, but not quite, entirely unlike... my contribution to the 2024 HTMHell advent calendar:
https://htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/2024/7/
#AI #accessibility #NeutrimaticDrinksDispenser

2024-12-03 20:40:36 UTC

If you use your voice to navigate websites, the @npub1tl7…6j09 Accessibility Conformance Testing (ACT) Rules Community Group and Task Force would like your help to test 27 different controls:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSetBabmHgRYXFHxbUjPu3eVoHwwquy7FFI6wIRx0uOWLSPgQg/viewform
It'll help them understand which patterns work (and which don't) for #WCAG 2.5.3 Label in Name

2024-12-01 12:22:45 UTC

It's 1 December and the #HTMHell calendar is back with another 24 posts on #security, #accessibility, #performance, and #UX, courtesy of @mmatuzo and friends:
https://htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/

2024-11-23 18:01:11 UTC

Meet Steve, a photographer who is deaf and has low vision:
https://tetralogical.com/blog/2024/10/29/meet-steve-a-photographer-who-is-deaf-and-low-vision/
@[email protected] worked with #Bristol photographer Jonathan Bowcott to produce a series of images that challenge disability stereotypes, then we chatted with the people who volunteered to help us with our mission.

2024-11-22 12:33:42 UTC

Posted the #recipe for the slow cooker French onion soup with cheese toasts (and optional butter toasted apples) I made the other day:
https://tink.uk/slow-cooker-french-onion-soup-with-cheese-toasts/

2024-11-19 22:14:24 UTC

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Thanks for more suggestions 😊
There isn't a type module in package.jason. The more I've investigated, the more I realise that everything is so horribly out of date, that it's way beyond my fu to figure out, so I think I need to call in the professionals.
Do you know of any 11ty capable freelancers I could hire to help me unscramble it by any chance - or a good way to find someone reliable?

2024-11-19 13:07:08 UTC

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Not yet. It seems I installed a version of Node that no longer supports `require`. Now trying to figure out if it's better to downgrade Node (using Terminal on Wn11) or update the JS.

2024-11-18 17:33:53 UTC

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Thanks for asking 💜
I honestly don't know if you can help, but just in case the TLDR is that my website runs on Eleventy. It's all in GitHub. I've flattened my laptop since I last had Eleventy running, so now I'm trying to figure out how to get it all back up and running so I can update it. On Windows 11/Terminal.
If you know of a complete muppet's guide to this sort of thing, I'd be glad of it 😊

2024-11-18 12:47:32 UTC

So, my attempt to upgrade #Eleventy for the first time in *cough*, *mumble*, erm, quite some time, is not going at all well. 😢

2024-11-09 18:50:28 UTC

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Me too. Very much.

2024-11-09 15:58:58 UTC

I've used #Firefox as my primary browser for as long as I can remember.
I stuck with it when its performance was comparatively dreadful, and when its performance with my screen reader was worse, because I agreed with Mozilla's ethos.
Now #Mozilla has laid off another 30% of its people, and is no longer concentrating efforts on advocacy and/or its global programmes, it's getting harder to convince myself that their time isn't up.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/05/mozilla-foundation-lays-off-30-staff-drops-advocacy-division/

2024-11-04 16:25:09 UTC

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You'll be at #FFConf? Hurrah! Come and say hello?

2024-10-29 09:34:50 UTC

A person I know who is in the early stages of a career in accessibility is hoping to find a screen reader user with web development experience to mentor them for a while. They're a screen reader user themselves and they want to level-up their knowledge of HTML/CSS/JavaScript/ARIA in order to offer better recommendations when testing for accessibility. If this is you, or if you know someone it might be, drop me a DM? Thanks.

2024-10-25 19:00:55 UTC

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It did play a bit of havoc with my screen reader though - I suspect because as the content gradually loaded it forced the DOM to rebuild which in turn forced the accessibility tree to be rebuilt.

2024-10-25 18:44:30 UTC

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It did, yes. Some content about slow content loading and 20 characters/second average reading rate and some other stuff.

2024-10-20 08:17:57 UTC

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For every talk to embrace accessibility. Not nescessarily as the main topic, but as a constant presence - in design techniques, code examples, use cases, techniques and solutions, ideas and innovations shared.

2024-10-18 19:44:17 UTC

Happy to have rediscovered my W3C.social Masto account 😊