[GTALUG] "Accessibility in Fedora Workstation"

[Karen Lewellen]

Oh do not mistake me, I feel reasonably sure, in most cases, such efforts 
are   well intended.
further they flow from  many factors, not the least of which is that 
individuals  using adaptive tools have rather bad pr generally.
Still,  the energy spent pretending to have a disability, <something I 
just learned  the Toronto Public Library actually does> can be better 
spent  engaging in progressive enhancement  design practices.  then no one 
has to talk about their body to perfect strangers, not living  their life 
situation.
I dare say it is like building a house, if you lay the foundations 
correctly the first time, you will not have to go back and take out a 
floor later.
Accessibility is largely about interaction.  does it work equally with the 
entre key?  are there suitable labels for items so a user, any user, knows 
what  they do if activated?
Is there enough basic HTML  for an object to work if triggered by anything 
other than a mouse click?
Etc. etc.
Kare



On Wed, 10 Aug 2022, Nicholas Krause via talk wrote:

>
> On 2022-08-09 23:36, Karen Lewellen via talk wrote:
>>  Hi there,
>>  Sighs.
>>  first and foremost that article link did not work in the one browser most
>>  common in command line Linux...at least not without turning off sending a
>>  user agent header.  Which I did to read the article.
>>  Speaking personally?
>>  While I respect that Red hat believes they are aiming  for inclusion,
>>  there are some aspects of what I read that, again speaking personally and
>>  objectively makes this person unqualified for the job   they are being
>>  advertised to do.
>>  lets start  with one glaring point.
>>  Fedora is aiming to be accessible. however accessibility is not, and has
>>  never  been  entirely about blindness, which is before  You even
>>  consider the absolutely disturbing idea that a single person with a single
>>  sight loss experience is qualified to develop anything for other users.
>>  he  may share a label with  these millions, but he does not share an
>>  experience with  them.
>>  That he states he has not educated himself on other  tools created for
>>  populations other than his own, makes him unqualified to create
>>  accessibility solutions.  what is redhat planning a token  insert
>>  condition person  to manage the rest of access?
>>  After all, even one of the comments outlined a desire, but since they are
>>  not blind, they are not included at the fedora table..why?
>>  then there is his limited, outdated, and frankly concerning awareness of
>>  even screen reader options in Linux.
>>  Speakup for example not only works with hardware speech...ever heard of a
>>  sound card? no idea those were obsolete, but it can work with embedded
>>  speech  synthesis as well, is incorporated in Debian, and has an active
>>  development base.
>>  Finel <spelling> is another  active screen reader project for Linux, this
>>  expert has not even heard of it.
>>    Something to consider though is that I am a media
>>  professional..catching factual errors in the first paragraph.  Linux had
>>  the best accessibility, for whom? by what definition? to perform what
>>  tasks?  and the first effort came from sun Micro..says who?
>>  Where  did this  new staff-member go to university?  His software
>>  engineering degree is at what level?
>>  did they also say minor in disability studies at least?
>>     Sorry!
>>  This individual is only qualified to create, from his personal
>>  understanding access for himself, perhaps a handful of his friends.
>>  However actual inclusion, say use the human rights code as a basis
>>  generally means that an individual, where they are, can use the tools
>>  defined as best by them, to access your services, including our website.
>>  I can personally name three red hat users who have  been involved in, and
>>  working regularly with fedora years before this  person had even heard of
>>  Linux...and one of them is a computer scientist if memory serves.
>>  One interesting discussion on a Linux list focused on accessibility is how
>>  important  it is that all aspects of Linux, console and gui  work  so
>>  that the individual can choose how they are going to use the system.
>>  managing a learning disability? Perhaps paraplegic?  want to use your
>>  voice?  and so forth.
>>  gGui is clunky time consuming and sounds reprehensible generally out of
>>  the box.  then, the programs associated  with said system themselves are
>>  not  fully  functional either.
>>  one thing, speaking personally, working against Linux is  likely a strong
>>  point for seasoned users...Linux is clay.  You can mold a system into
>>  what
>>    You desire, at least if you are knowledgeable enough.
>>  why is that a problem from an accessibility standpoint?
>>  Because by in large adaptive technology works as extensions of, if not
>>  substitutions for  physical body processes.  hands, ears, eyes, brains,
>>  a combination of these even if only a single diagnosis is on the table.
>>  Factor in that humans learn and interact WITH technology differently, and
>>  a  clay structure is challenging.
>>  generally though you do not say remove your hands for a different set when
>>  banking, and again when shopping etc., or your eyes for that matter.
>>  To claim that Linux ever had the best accessibility of any operating
>>  system is frankly hysterical, not only because of the number of
>>  populations involved, none of whom are fully  represented by this
>>  individual, but because sometimes it can take more than one Linux program
>>  to manage a task.
>>  Say to clap, you seem to need one for the right hand, on for just the
>>  left, and  a third to bring them together.
>>  To be Honest, and I say this  as a former Xerox adaptive technology
>>  staffer,  the best operating  system for accessibility, i. e.
>>  incorporated tools for multiple populations who read, write, and interact
>>  with  technology differently is likely Apple..for several reasons.
>>  Still, what is profoundly concerning here is that the redhat team actually
>>  believes that accessibility applies to a single population, and is
>>  staffing someone who, by their definition is only qualified because he is
>>  a member of that single population.  and hands down  projected
>>  stereotyping contributes more to a lack of accessibility than anything
>>  else.
>>  could Linux become actually inclusive?  certainly,
>>  would the process be easy?  It depends, mainly on how much they are
>>  willing  to toss out this accessibility only means blindness, and all
>>  blind people are the   same dictionary they are using.
>>  Do look forward to sharing this article on a few lists, and watching the
>>  explosion.  It is unfortunate comments are closed, Redhat could use an
>>  education.
>>  Just my thoughts though,
>>  Karen
>> 
> I tend to agree with Karen. In particular, token diversity is still a real 
> thing. It's very rare I see biological aspects of personality ever
> taken into consideration to prove my point. I think token diversity is
> a little thing for some companies who do this frankly. Most want to
> seem like there doing something but when you look at it closely it's
> not much.
>
> That's just my take through,
>
> Nick
>>
>>
>>  On Tue, 9 Aug 2022, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:
>> 
>> >  An article in Fedora Magazine talks about increased efforts to make the
>> >  Fedora distribution more accessible.
>> > 
>> >  <https://fedoramagazine.org/accessibility-in-fedora-workstation/>
>> > 
>> >  This seems like a Good Thing.  Karen Lewellen has been navigating these
>> >  problems and posted some software problems here.
>> > 
>> >  It would be good to have more attention to these problems.
>> > 
>> >  Karen:
>> > 
>> >  Do you have any reactions to this article for us?
>> > 
>> >  Are there easy improvements that could be made?
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