A paraplegic can’t build a house, but can learn to code.
Sure there are people with cognitive disabilities who might not be able to do it, but you can’t expect every open source project to be completely accessible even to the most severely cognitively impaired. That’s a great way to kill the open source community.
Commerical products should absolutely be required by law to provide reasonable accessibility, because they have the resources and manpower to do so and are driven by a profit motive. Grants should be available to help smaller companies meet these requirements so they’re not disadvantaged relative to the big ones.
But using ableism to justify making excessive demands on open-source project maintainers who in many cases are doing it solo and for free as a passion project, is kind of absurd. And where does it stop? Can I post a silly little flash game on a public git repo intended as nothing more than a personal project for learning Lua scripts, and then some internet rando tells me I have to add full interpretive ASL, real-time alternative text, and optional eye-tracking controls? If that’s above my level, does that mean I can’t post my silly little flash game?
Also, ability is not the same thing as aptitude. Not knowing how to code isn’t a disability any more than not knowing how to wire a house. I can’t tell an electrician (specifically a hobbyist who works for free) that he needs to rewire my house for me just because I don’t know how to do it. I can learn home wiring, or I can pay a professional. But expecting every hobbyist to serve my needs for free just because I don’t have their skill sets would be insane.
But expecting every hobbyist to serve my needs for free just because I don’t have their skill sets would be insane.
I think this mindset shows up often on the Internet because many posters are children. It is normal for them to be given an assignment and have to complete it without compensation. So they think that’s how the world works.
I think many adults are capable of having the mentalities of children, especially when it’s effectively taboo to gently correct behavior.
Abuse is wrong and shouldn’t be tolerated, obviously, but we’ve overcorrected as a society. Teachers, parents, mentors, etc. need to have effective ways of setting ground rules without demeaning and belittling like was so common when I was growing up, or physical violence like the generations before mine experienced.
It just takes some emotional intelligence. It’s possible. Families like that exist, they’re just the exceptions rather than the rule. And people from those healthier backgrounds are by far the more well-adjusted members of society as adults.
A paraplegic can’t build a house, but can learn to code.
Sure there are people with cognitive disabilities who might not be able to do it, but you can’t expect every open source project to be completely accessible even to the most severely cognitively impaired. That’s a great way to kill the open source community.
Commerical products should absolutely be required by law to provide reasonable accessibility, because they have the resources and manpower to do so and are driven by a profit motive. Grants should be available to help smaller companies meet these requirements so they’re not disadvantaged relative to the big ones.
But using ableism to justify making excessive demands on open-source project maintainers who in many cases are doing it solo and for free as a passion project, is kind of absurd. And where does it stop? Can I post a silly little flash game on a public git repo intended as nothing more than a personal project for learning Lua scripts, and then some internet rando tells me I have to add full interpretive ASL, real-time alternative text, and optional eye-tracking controls? If that’s above my level, does that mean I can’t post my silly little flash game?
Also, ability is not the same thing as aptitude. Not knowing how to code isn’t a disability any more than not knowing how to wire a house. I can’t tell an electrician (specifically a hobbyist who works for free) that he needs to rewire my house for me just because I don’t know how to do it. I can learn home wiring, or I can pay a professional. But expecting every hobbyist to serve my needs for free just because I don’t have their skill sets would be insane.
I think this mindset shows up often on the Internet because many posters are children. It is normal for them to be given an assignment and have to complete it without compensation. So they think that’s how the world works.
I think many adults are capable of having the mentalities of children, especially when it’s effectively taboo to gently correct behavior.
Abuse is wrong and shouldn’t be tolerated, obviously, but we’ve overcorrected as a society. Teachers, parents, mentors, etc. need to have effective ways of setting ground rules without demeaning and belittling like was so common when I was growing up, or physical violence like the generations before mine experienced.
It just takes some emotional intelligence. It’s possible. Families like that exist, they’re just the exceptions rather than the rule. And people from those healthier backgrounds are by far the more well-adjusted members of society as adults.