After one sprint of accessibility fixes, suddenly every bug is "caused by accessibility."
Authentic conversations so far...
This is an archive of the email messages I sent to my daily mailing list since March 12th, 2024. Enjoy!
It's exhausting always raising accessibility in every meeting and then see them go in a backlog to die.
Recap: 10 things you should focus on
Dec 18th, 2025
A recap of the 10 things you should focus on for web accessibility.
Accessibility testing: What gets left behind
Dec 17th, 2025
Good testing cultures are comfortable with untested territory. Not everything needs testing.
Accessibility is a constraint
Dec 16th, 2025
What looks like a limitation is actually clarity.
You can't prioritise accessibility
Dec 15th, 2025
Accessibility shouldn't be in the prioritisation conversation at all.
Access Denied #76: Strategic resource allocation
Dec 14th, 2025
In Issue 76 of Access Denied, Gary prioritises accessibility and thinks it's a strategic move.
Cutting corners
Dec 13th, 2025
Prioritisation isn't about cutting corners or doing less.
Real talk: Selective clairvoyance
Dec 12th, 2025
Product teams can predict features months in advance but somehow never see accessibility coming.
Make accessibility sustainable
Dec 11th, 2025
Sustainability is what helps what you do today stick around when you're not there tomorrow.
Accessibility testing: Making deliberate choices
Dec 10th, 2025
Be deliberate in your choices of what to test for accessibility, because you can't test everything.
Warning labels on breaking changes
Dec 9th, 2025
Developers get changelogs and support on a breaking change. Users get to just live with the update.
Breaking change
Dec 8th, 2025
Some breaking changes don't just inconvenience users, they lock them out entirely.
Access Denied #75: Trial and error
Dec 7th, 2025
In Issue 75 of Access Denied, Gary thinks it's okay for touch screen to be inaccessible.
Change is inevitable
Dec 6th, 2025
We can't stop change, but we can make sure it doesn't break things.
Real talk: If I were you
Dec 5th, 2025
Share your experience, not your judgment.
Celebrate the small wins in accessibility
Dec 4th, 2025
Momentum is what keeps you and your accessibility work moving.
Stop measuring coverage and start measuring confidence in your accessibility tests.
Making accessibility part of the spec
Dec 2nd, 2025
If accessibility isn't in your spec, it won't get built.
Your spec is probably incomplete
Dec 1st, 2025
If your spec doesn't include accessibility, AI agents will build exactly what you asked for, and nothing more.
Access Denied #74: AI Agent Mode
Nov 30th, 2025
In Issue 74 of Access Denied, Gary relies exclusively on AI to write code.
AI shifts accessibility right
Nov 29th, 2025
AI agents are writing, reviewing and testing code without anyone asking about accessibility.
Real talk: Everything else first
Nov 28th, 2025
Stop acting like you need to finish every other task on the roadmap before accessibility gets a look.
Ask for feedback before not after you ship
Nov 27th, 2025
Don't wait until after you ship to hear from users with disabilities.
Accessibility testing: Numbers lie
Nov 26th, 2025
Accessibility testing coverage numbers don't tell you if you sleep soundly at night.
Ignoring a problem doesn't always make it go away
Nov 25th, 2025
Accessibility is a problem that won't go away if you ignore it.
Personal story: Copy paste security
Nov 24th, 2025
A personal story about one man's security nightmare.
Access Denied #73: Security wins
Nov 23rd, 2025
In Issue 73 of Access Denied, Gary thinks adding CAPTCHAs to improve security justifies the accessibility and usability problems.
How I used to remember passwords
Nov 22nd, 2025
A story about password requirements being too much.
Real talk: Secure or accessible?
Nov 21st, 2025
When security best practices conflict with the WCAG, security usually comes out ahead.
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I send out short emails like these every day to help you gain a fresh perspective on accessibility and understand it without the jargon, so you can build more robust products that everyone can use, including people with disabilities.