[CSMastermind]

> Back then the majority of web sites and their pages actually contained text for readers to read.

Did they though?

I remember when sites would heavily leverage Flash, Shockwave, Java Applets, Image Maps, etc.

The reality is that the web started as a document system but immediately got pulled in the direction of being a multimedia delivery platform and has continued in the direction for 30 years.

If anything the tools for accessibility are better than they ever were but are always going to be trailing behind because users and creators want to push the medium further and it takes time to figure out how to translate those new features in an accessibility setting.

[graypegg]

I remember relying on slices in photoshop + tables to build out complex layouts. There was a lot of hidden content in images.

[superkuh]

> heavily leverage Flash, Shockwave, Java Applets, Image Maps, etc.

For navigation. Full Flash/Shockwave/Java sites for the content were very rare. The text itself was still text in the HTML. It might not have been perfect but at least you had something for the screen reader to read. Modern sites are just blank pages of nothing.