Add / change keyboard shortcuts

Some users asked for new keyboard shortcuts. Let’s discuss which we would like to implement and which key(s) one would have to press.

If anyone would like to change a keyboard shortcut that could also be discussed here.


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“Reshare”, “Show more” and “Show n more comments” would be easy to implement. For “Reshare” we could use “r”. Any suggestions for “Show more” and “Show n more comments”?

Hm, r would also be a good candidate for reload though.

@jonnehass I thought that was F5 :wink:

But you are right, ‘r’ for reload also sounds legit.

This seems a good idea why not create a vote

I like twitter very much for its keyboard shortcuts

@karthikeyanak I’d first like to do some brainstorming.

@steffenvanbergerem ya sure, democratic enough. Better to hear from more people.

m for show more :slight_smile:

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“N” and “P” should scroll through the comments just like it does on Google+ : “N” for next comment, “P” for previous comment.

I think we should be careful not to make keyboard shortcuts for any actions (eg. a “like”), so nobody would do anything accidentally.

“like” already has a keyboard shortcut (L). Before you have to use J/K to highlight the post so doing that accidentally should be a rare issue.

Keep in mind, that screenreaders make heavy use of keystrokes, too.

For example, have a look at this slides (~ 4 years old): http://www.slideshare.net/swimsy/screen-reader-shortcut-keys

I’ll try to get in touch with some blind users to ask for suggestions next week.

@ryunoki

I’ll try to get in touch with some blind users to ask for suggestions next week.

This is a nice idea. Maybe we should try to find out first what is easy to use and common for people with a disability…

So I’ve asked on the Orca MailingList and they said, it’s dependent on the application software. So here’s the shortcut list for Firefox and Chrome and Opera, but I couldn’t find something for Safari …

But, please, don’t hijack the keyboard strokes, but I think, accesskeys are safe to use :slight_smile:

@ryunoki Sorry to dig up some old conversation here… so I think it would be safe to hijack the keyboard strokes, but add a checkbox in settings to disable keyboard navigation for people that have screenreader problems with it?

Diaspora’s keyboard shortcuts violate WCAG 2.1 by not providing a way to remap or disable the shortcuts.

https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/#character-key-shortcuts

Also (although this is not as obvious, as the guide talks about pointer activation, but I would say it applies here too) the shortcut being activated on key down is questionable as there is no way to cancel the operation. Activation should be on key up.

https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/#pointer-cancellation

As undocumented keyboard shortcuts, especially the “on key down reshare” can surprise even the most able user, there should be an option for enabling shortcuts with default being “shortcuts disabled”.

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