The Hornet
Aggressive. Painful. They attack in swarms.
Hornets are nature's enforcers: aggressive, relentless, and painful. High-severity accessibility bugs share these traits. They don't block completely, but they make every interaction a struggle.
Why The Hornet?
A single hornet sting is painful. But hornets rarely attack alone. When one hornet stings, it releases pheromones that call others to join the assault. What starts as one sting becomes a swarm, and suddenly you're in serious trouble.
High-severity accessibility bugs work the same way. A single instance might seem manageable, but these bugs rarely exist in isolation. Poor color contrast in one component usually means poor contrast everywhere. One tiny touch target means dozens more.
Unlike Critical bugs that stop users cold, Hornet bugs let users proceed, but every step hurts. They create compound frustration, turning simple tasks into exhausting battles. Users can technically complete their goals, but at what cost?
The Sting: User Impact
- ▸Physical strain: Eye fatigue from poor contrast, hand strain from tiny targets
- ▸Cognitive load: Extra mental effort to parse confusing interfaces
- ▸Time theft: Tasks take significantly longer than necessary
- ▸Abandonment: Users eventually give up and go elsewhere
Entomology: The Real Hornet
- •Asian Giant Hornets can grow up to 2 inches long with a wingspan of 3 inches.
- •A single hornet can kill 40 honeybees per minute during a hive raid.
- •Their venom contains a neurotoxin that can be fatal even to humans not allergic to stings.
- •Hornets release pheromones when threatened, signaling others to attack and creating a swarm response.
- •They can fly at speeds up to 25 mph and will chase perceived threats for miles.
- •Unlike bees, hornets can sting repeatedly without dying.
The Swarm Effect
Like hornets releasing attack pheromones, high-severity bugs signal patterns that amplify across your entire product.
One hornet bug identified
Often reveals pattern across entire site
"Poor contrast in one button → all buttons affected"
User encounters friction
Frustration compounds with each interaction
"Each tiny button compounds the frustration of the last"
Workarounds attempted
Time and cognitive load multiply
"Users spend energy avoiding bugs instead of completing tasks"
In Accessibility Terms
High-severity bugs don't block access, but they make access painful. Here's what that looks like:
Tiny Touch Targets
Interactive elements smaller than 44x44 pixels cause constant mis-taps and frustration for users with motor impairments.
Auto-Playing Media
Videos or audio that play automatically disorient screen reader users and trigger anxiety in some users.
Poor Color Contrast
Text that's readable to some becomes strained or invisible to users with low vision or color blindness.
Time-Limited Actions
Sessions that expire without warning force users to restart tasks, wasting time and effort.
Hornet vs. Other Tiers
See how High severity compares to other bug tiers
| Tier | User Can Proceed? | Pain Level | Likely Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
Critical | No | Blocked | Cannot complete |
HighCurrent | Yes, but painful | Severe | May abandon |
Medium | Yes | Annoying | Frustrated |
Low | Yes | Minor | Completes |
"The worst accessibility bugs aren't always the ones that stop you. They're the ones that let you continue while making every step feel like walking through mud."A3S Accessibility Philosophy