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inclusive-design / AChecker

Automated interactive Web content accessibility checker.
https://achecker.ca
GNU General Public License v2.0
69 stars 61 forks source link

Thank you #110

Open andrewmcwatters opened 3 years ago

andrewmcwatters commented 3 years ago

Is your feature request related to a problem?

I'm always satisfied when I use AChecker.

Describe the solution you'd like

I want AChecker's GitHub repo to stay up and archived if possible.

Describe alternative solutions you've considered

I have used other web accessibility checkers, and AChecker is a part of my toolkit.

Additional context or notes

Thank you to all the contributors for creating great software, and making an impact on all of us internationally.

RecursiveProgrammer commented 3 years ago

I would be interested what the reasoning is behind shuttering the project: Is it a lack of interest to keep it updated, the repo owner is moving to other pastures, a matter that web pages can be so convoluted that an accessibility checker is an amorphous dream as it will always through some kind of false-flag error, it cannot keep up with the freely available plug-ins, or something else? (I prefer having a toolkit that I control over the plug-ins, so this repo wins. I am not sure if there is a competing project that does the same?)

colinbdclark commented 3 years ago

Hi @andrewmcwatters, thanks for your kind note, it's nice to hear how useful AChecker has been for you. The Github repository for AChecker will stay up and available, don't worry!

colinbdclark commented 3 years ago

Hi @RecursiveProgrammer, those are all good questions. I think the answer is a combination of a few of things thing you mention. First, we feel that the state of accessibility checkers, and of WCAG awareness more broadly, has changed significantly in the years since AChecker was first developed. These days, there are a lot of very useful checking tools out there that can do as much or more than AChecker can—particularly when you've got content that is highly dynamic. AChecker can only scan static server-generated markup, and may be unable to check a lot of the features of modern web applications. As a grant-funded non-profit organization, we've also found it challenging to continue to host AChecker for free and to keep it maintained with very limited resources.

As for other similar tools, it sounds like WebAIM's WAVE might do what you want. There's also a comprehensive list of checking tools compiled at the W3C.