Accessibility
Accessibility is why Near Ear works the way it does, not a checklist at the end. Here is where things stand, honestly.
What works
- Every published stop has a transcript written or checked by a person. Publishing is blocked without one, at the database itself.
- The stop page is one small document that works before, or entirely without, JavaScript. The audio element is native first; the nicer player is an extra.
- Everything is keyboard operable. The map always has a plain list beside it, every image needs a description before it can publish, and focus is always visible.
- Colour contrast is checked automatically on every change, in light and dark modes. Text size has a three step control on every content page, and the layout holds at 400 percent zoom.
- Reduced motion is respected everywhere, audio never autoplays, and the player announces its state to screen readers.
Known gaps
- The interactive map itself is a canvas and is best treated as a picture. The list beside it is the reliable way in, and we keep it that way on purpose.
- Audio saved for offline plays back in Chromium browsers. Safari is stricter about ranged audio requests, so offline playback there can fail; the transcript still works.
- The demo town uses placeholder synthetic narrations, marked as such. Real stops are real voices, always.
If you hit a barrier
Tell us and we will fix it or say honestly why we cannot yet. The report form reaches a person.