F**k Elon Musk and the rocket he rode in on... Twitter lockdown to an app with no future of accessibility

Though I think this site needs to be a bit less PG in general, I understand what you mean. I've followed a band, not just the talented singer for years, and though now they have drama to the tenth degree, I can't give up my name on there which is Irish_storm. I haven't looked at the Mstadon thing because there's so much and part of me can't be bothered yet. but rest assured should she and her fellow bandmates jump ship, I'll happily follow along.

First off, for those of you wishing to delete your Twitter accounts--and a whole lot of other accounts for that matter--go to http://www.justdelete.me . I honestly don't recall where I heard about that website, but it seemed to work okay for me when I deleted my Facebook account. But anyway, I certainly understand where both of you are coming from. I've checked out Mastodon and am still trying to wrap my head around it all. But to keep this on topic, if I can figure out how to follow AppleVis on there I will certainly do so. I still haven't gotten Tweesecake to work, but hopefully somebody knows something and can assist me. All of this is of course dependent on me time, which admittedly has been very sporadic lately.

Tweetscape, chirp, all of it is gone. I hope someone buys Twitter soon and kicks Musk in the musk oxx nuts. lmao not sorry. Seriously though, I'll still tweet from time to time to keep it active, though i've been more silent then I'd like especially now so I hope that the band somehow gives their loyal fans not just the psychofants a heads up if they bail. Obviously this is anyone's decision.

Personally, I don't use Twitter enough to justify getting rid of it completely, and since I manage other accounts aside from my personal one, I'm perfectly fine with using the default Twitter application. I understand your frustration, but I think people tend to forget that the native app isn't really all that bad. And, clients such as TWBlue and Tweesecake, which I know the former is Windows-based, still work fine from what I tested a few minutes ago.
Until Twitter is completely inaccessible, I don't see a need for making such a big deal out of this. There's multiple solutions, the native app, the website, etc. I feel that the blind community, in general, sees news like this and immediately jumps to conclusions about how everything is suddenly inaccessible and unusable, which is not necessarily the case. I do think, though, that Twitter should have given us more warning about this change, that way we could plan accordingly for what our next steps should've been. Especially for those who don't just manage personal accounts.
This is just my two cents, you can take it with a grain of salt. But I'm sticking to this.

@dennislong82@lounge.town
I want to change the @lounge.town part of my mastodon user name can I do that? If so how? I'm looking forward to mona app that the spring dev is developing. He gives those that have or purchase spring early access. We all need to ask him to change this. the email is
thespringapp@gmail.com

I think a lot of people are really overreacting because of main stream users. Just because your favorite client might’ve gone away doesn’t mean they broken accessibility for all clients. I’m still using Spring with no issues. It’s not a complete twitter client, but that’s OK. He does everything I want, and that’s what matters to me.

I’m just waiting for the next predictable comment. We’re only a small community and we should be thankful for what we’ve got. I’m not emotional about twitter frankly I think it might be a good thing if it went away. It’s become such a bin fire of manufactured outrage with the sole purpose of keeping everyone scrolling and tapping in order to sell a few more society rotting gambling ads. I can completely understand the fear and anger that people feel at all their accessible solutions being taken away with no warning and no replacement simply because Elon thinks he’s going to make something more profitable by tearing it down and charging $8 for the remains. I just wish I didn’t see the detractors so predictably invalidating completely valid concerns. It’s always the same way. Sorry if this has upset anyone but sometimes its worth upsetting people to hold a mirror up.

I did not know about this lack of accessibility team in Twitter but this is the last confirmation I needed to get out from there.
First of all it's more and more difficult to maintain a tidy home feed, as in many cases hate speech or auto-promotions come along even without you to ask for them; you follow a journalist you consider serious, and depending on the topic they deal with, hate speech from a side or the other of the world comes. It's sufficient a followed or follower of yours quotes or replies to a tweet, and you have all rubbish around.
Yes there are lists, circles, silence, whatever but how long does it take? You do it for a while, then you get tired.
Don't say other things about Musk and whatever, because I wouldn't like to generate flames. There are enough of those around

Adding one more explanation on what I said:
I have never used third-party clients for Twitter, except once on Mac I used yorufukurou or whatever it was spelled but on Windows and mobile I've always used native app/website with no big trouble.
My main reason for leaving this platform is about how I feel uncomfortable by how feed is organized, how hard is to keep it tidy with ONLY things you're really interested to; the lack of an accessibility team is only the end, the final reason. Musk is what he is, I find no reason to add another uncomfortable speech about him, so, I just close the door - I'm still free to do it
Mastodon? Honestly I haven't understood how it works yet; as far as I know it's more concentrated on themes, so, as my blog is very specific to some topics, before joining that platform I would like to understand it more. Going into the wrong niche, may make a project fail.

I'm no where near as active on twitter as I used to be, and at least for now, Quinter is still working and meeting my admittedly limited twitter needs. I only pay attention to direct messages and mentions for the most part, so when on my phone, the native twitter app is perfectly adequate. As for this whole mastodon thing, I don't see myself jumping onto that band wagon. It honestly sounds like it's way too complicated, and I'm not active enough on social media for it to matter.

I do agree, though, that things like this are getting out of hand. I don't feel it with social media, but I definitely feel it with regards to gaming. Everything seemingly requires Steam these days, and even though I've tried on several occasions, I just can't wrap my head around the steam platform. Obviously, people can get it to work, so it must be accessible to some extent, but I've never had any luck, so I feel as though those of us who aren't quite as adventurous tech-wise as we used to be are being excluded from gaming. Oh well. That's probably a topic best left for another post entirely.

Bottom line: It's a real shame that things like Twitterific no longer work, but at least so far, my needs are still being met by the software I have that does work, so I just don't have the time or mental energy to get all that worked up about it.

as subject says, I'd suggest for twitter users to interact with @twittera11y account - I found it into "accessibility" link on the footer of the Twitter's homepage.
Don't know if those people have been fired or whatever, latest of their status updates comes from November 2022 but despite I don't change my idea, I prefer to give ALL information available. Behaving as the blind frustrated who complain of everything is not the right approach to the world

now then, Bingo's not a twitter and tweeter of any renown. he joined in his early days of seeking political office and well remembers an exchange with someone who told him they were going to vote for the British national Party in the 2011 referendum on proposed reforms to the voting system (in which one could either vote no, or yes). But Twitter just seemed too much of a chore when there was good wine to be drunk, cricket to watch and the Sunday papers to read. So, from this relatively detached point of view, here's a question for all you twits out there: what exactly is wrong with the native IOS Twitter app? Bingo's always found it more than sufficient for his occasional interactions with the hotheads, ne'er-do-wells and cosnspiracy theorists thereon. #demoniseEntireCommunities

Turning next to the man himself, oliver, Bingo found the reference to dogs' dog shit (albeit minus the apostrophe) intriguing: what other type is there? If only one were a more active twit perhaps one wouldn't need to ask.

If someone is discouraged or shamed for getting upset at upsetting things then what tools do they have left in a world that is increasingly not interested in disabled people? What’s the term? First they came for the … and I said nothing because I wasn’t a … Someone has to stand up and be counted otherwise marginalisation will become normalised even more. While some things are getting easier for blind people, many aren’t and some are getting very much harder. Being excluded shouldn’t be normalised anymore. Having to use a second class app for accessibility when first class apps existed is upsetting for many. FFS Plenty of sighted people act like it’s the end of the world if a font changes or design language is refreshed. We attack our own too easily IMO.

I recall, as a child, watching monkeys in a California zoo pealing one strip of their bananas at a time and eating them sideways like corn on a cob, so maybe we apes have it all wrong. I don't even understand why Twitter is so important to people. What am I missing? You post some kind of short statement, then thousands, maybe millions of people make hateful comments about both it and you and each other.
On Facebook, I've clamped down my privacy settings and limited my friends list to less than twenty people, and don't even share some of my posts with half those people. What are you getting out of Twitter? I just can't get my mind around the sideways banana...

I've just skimmed the previous responses and I don't read any as outright discouragement or shame for bringing this up! if it's me you're putting in that bracket then I'm afraid there was no sarcasm or irony there: I genuinely do not know what is wrong with the native Twitter app. I ain't ruling out that something is wrong with it - I just don't know what it is. I certainly don't want to shame or discourage anyone - surely the twits get their fill of that on Twitter itself? I have heard of such a thing as annual be nice to people on Twitter day but I doubt it's honoured.

Font changes are a big deal for sighted people, incidentally. I've just asked the wife.

Re bananas, Monkeys eat them sideways because that breaks more of the fibres which releases more sugar so we probably are eating them all wrong but I also remember being told recently its better to open them from the bottom which means we’ve got bananas as wrong as they can be lol. I I wasn’t responding to Bingo BTW but font changes are far less a barrier to entry than apps that either aren’t accessible at all or are as in twitter’s case, inconsistent and frustrating with some features completely inaccessible like a full list of replies or most recently the like button changing to bookmark without a label and no apparent way to like without going back to timeline and swiping down. Sighted people just wouldn’t accept large areas of an app being unusable and we know it. It wouldn’t happen obviously because it wouldn’t be released in that state but thats the point. I agree it’s such a toxic nasty place that capitalises peoples anger in return for engagement time which seems such a crap deal to me. The user gets almost nothing positive out of it most of the time.

I'm boycotting twitter. I hope we all vote with our devices and go to twitter no more.

Honestly, Bruce, you'll feel better for it. all those negative people thinking negative thoughts and propegating conspiracy theories about this, that and the other, with the occasional footballer or actor telling us what to think about tax cuts or foreign policy. Come and join those of us who enjoy good wine, cricket and reading the Sunday papers. I believe I have advocated that trio thrice on this site today.

I rarely, if at all, am on twitter, however on the few times i login, it works for what I need it to in the native client. Granted the accessibility could improve yes, but its doable. Then again... without a accessibility team... who knows how long that'll last. Mostly though, i'm feeling really bad for the devs, companies etc, who got screwed over do to this decision, it sucks. I guess we'll see what happens, but frankly I don't spend enough time on twitter to care about this one way or the other.

Thanks! smile. I quit facebook a couple/three years ago, and I haven't missed it a bit.

Going to go slightly off topic for a sec, there is a difference between likes and bookmarks.

Bookmarks are for you only, while likes are the old favourite system.

I think you can see what others have liked, but you can't see what they bookmark.
Now, there's also twitter circles, which I think you can only add up to 20 people at a time, not sure how they work compared to lists, not that I use either of those features.

Circles were never part of 3rd party apps, certainly not part of TW Blue, now they never will be.

Set you up some lists, add people to your lists you trust, and just stay with that. No ads, no fuss!

Now, I am on Mastodon also. I do not know which address will be the main one I use so feel free to follow both of these.
Wiljames@iaccessibility.social
Wiljames@tweesecake.social

I have a few thoughts on this.
Firstly regarding the official Twitter client.
The reason I dislike the client so much is because it is becoming more and more add an algorithm based which is not what I want from a client and it's going to get even worse. Even sighted twitter users are complaining most bitterly about this.
Frankly I'm not surprised that the human turd known as Elon Musk took Accessibility away but the frustration I'm feeling is palpable because it is difficult enough to find developers willing to put that time in because they think it's too hard or they just don't know enough or in rare cases still, just don't care.
Yes the client is relatively accessible but, if you do a lot of tweeting on the Mac as I do, you are right out of luck.
There is just nothing. Even though spring have said they are working on workarounds and updates have been pushed out, it is still hit and miss.
At the end of the day for me it comes down to lack of choice.
If you want to follow your favourite football teams or any sporting teams you like, musicians, even excellent sources on the war in Ukraine, Twitter is still really important in this regard so the fact that it's now becoming harder to use to me is quite distressing.
Obviously I'm going to try and stick around for as long as I can but if I can't use it in the way that I like to use this, it's going to be impossible.

just to let people know, the twitter app is working on the mac at least for now.
Accessibility wise it is manageable.
I think it is the iOS version because I am running an M1 machine but they could have released a matte version, I have been out of the loop for awhile so I'm not sure. I am quite relieved however

Harry, of course sighted people are complaining bitterly about the Twitter app. complaining and bitterness are two areas in which twits appear to excel. Human turd is quite mild-mannered for a twit, i'd venture to suggest. Indeed, I'm surprised your namesake hasn't taken to Twitter to bemoan the treachery of the media for reporting what he actually said in those awful, sanctimonious and tendencious memoirs of his. spare indeed! I wish he'd spared us. Or has he taken to twitter? I imagine she has even if he hasn't.

It isn't a great look, I will allow, that a company like Twitter is getting rid of its accessibility team. They really are the spare, it would seem. That is, unless they want to imbed accessibility into all departments in which case I suppose it's arguable that they don't need an accessibility team.

I still can't believe that he fired the accessibility team. I was a heavy Twitter user. I'm about 10% Twitter and 90% Mastodon now.

Switching Mastodon servers is something I've already done. It was pretty straightforward. The only thing I didn't realize at the time is that you can export your list of who you're following and then import that into your new account on your new server. I just followed people again manually.

I understand how everyone feels about Elon Musk, but that doesn't mean we all have to stop using Twitter. I am not having any issues with the Twitter app on iOS or the website which I use on Windows. In my opinion, the Twitter app works very well with Voiceover even on iOS 16.2. The rotor actions such as: Reply, Share tweet, Copy text, Like, etc. are still there. I am running the latest version of Windows 10 on my computer and I am not having any issues using the website with the latest version of JAWS and NVDA. Maybe one day Elon Musk will make Twitter an open source platform so that anyone who becomes a developer can add features that were removed such as: Tweet Source Labels.

It did for me. How many times do you have be disgusted by the actions of an owner to stop using that owner's product? The answer is different for each person but I reached my limit. VoiceOver works great even on iOS 16.2 because Twitter had a great accessibility team.

It's possible to be thankful for what we've got, as you put it, and still want more. If I'd been thankful for what I had, I never would have gone to university, never found a way to make music, never gone out to be independent, never sought out vocational training, never found a partner.

I like what Twitter offers me. I like that I have made real, meaningful relationships. I like that it lets me promote my music. I like that it lets me find other creative people. I am also very upset that it has been taken over by a man who has proven time and time and time again that he doesn't care about others. These things are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to want more without being an ass. It is not wrong to ask that we receive equal access to our able-bodied peers. Rich coming from me who has historically been critical of many things, but I've learned to take a more nuanced approach. This issue is more than simple accessibility. The a11y team weren't the only ones who were fired. It was several teams. All of these people who worked on Twitter have now been scattered to the winds. Companies that developed clients to access Twitter have had their livelihoods destroyed literally overnight. This has affected thousands of people. The disabled community, including the blind and low-vision community, have been swept up in the mess. This isn't even touching on his behavior as a person. That's beyond the scope of this post. I think he's a terrible human being, and I'll leave it at that.

My point is this: we can praise what works, criticize what doesn't, demand equal access, and hold all of these views simultaneously without swaying too far to any extreme. The world isn't black and white. I would hope that those who find themselves on the spectrum of blindness can understand that.

I feel especially bad for people whose livelihoods are affected by Twitter and how it's being run. A critical mass of people I follow/interact with either moved to or cross post to Mastodon. I'd been feeling uneasy for a while and for me it was time to cut the cord (mostly).

Basically the Subject says it all, but let me get into more detail:

If you want to start with Mastodon, you have to choose a instance. I for example just used one that is local to the city I live in. Regardless of your instance, you can follow everyone on Mastodon, just like it was on Twitter.

You however have more than one timeline by default.

* The home timeline: Here everything is like in the defualt twitter timeline.
* the local timeline: Here you can see everything that is going on at your instance.
* the federated timeline: Everything that happens on Mastodon in one Timeline.

Only the first one is populated by the people you follow only.

That should give you enough knowledge, to start using Mastodon. I personally rarely use social media nowadays but found that Mastodon can be a great place. Give it a try if you are annoyed by twitters recent or not so recent changes.

Have a great one!

I feel like mastadon is interesting in it's own right. Not just as an alternative to twitter, but as it's own thing. I kind of feel like everyone switching to mastadon just because they don't use twitter is weird.

I've been using the native Twitter app on my devices for about six years. For what I need or use it for is fine. I haven't had very many accessibility issues.
To me, I think a lot of people are over-reacting. I'm going to stay with Twitter as long as I can. I have a Mastodon account, just haven't figured out how to use it yet. Everyone has their own personal preference. The only problem I have with Twitter is when people only tweet mages that VoiceOver can't read. Or, when _there are tons of hashtags or emojis.

I don't use the Twitter app as I use the website and currently apart from some symbols, I do not have any issues.
Anyone who is slagging off Twitter simply because they don't like ElonMusk, please get a life and get out of ours!
GeorgeSorros lefties never debate because they know they never win! The Truth! They can't handle the truth!
No debate equals no integrity and therefore no respect!

A friendly reminder that AppleVis is a platform for discussing all things related to Apple and assistive technology, and not a forum for airing personal political views. While it's understandable that current events may spark conversations, there are countless other online spaces where you can engage in political discussions. Let's keep AppleVis focused on its intended purpose.

Thank you and I agree, so if anyone would like a chat, find me on Twitter.

The only real problem that I have with Twitter on my iPhone is that whenever I try to scroll through all the tweets on my timeline from my profile, it never quite shows me all of them. It usually gets stuck at 80, or 90%. On other people's timeline, even if it gets stuck at first, it seems to work eventually, but I can't seem to replicate the same for my own account. Scrolling with three fingers doesn't work, refreshing the page, or even using the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen is a dead end. It doesn't work on the app, or the website. If anyone knows a workaround, I would greatly appreciate it.