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FOSS and Disabled Communities Out of Touch

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the cross-talking dept.

Yinepuhotep writes "Newsforge has a thought-provoking article on the lack of communication between the FOSS community and disabled persons." From the article: "How can the FOSS community address the issues of the disabled? The most urgent task is to improve documentation. Perhaps you can make it a personal goal to be able to configure your favorite FOSS tool blindfolded while someone reads your improved instructions aloud. Your local LUG could organize ways to connect volunteers to assist disabled users with installations. Be sure to contact local disability rights groups to let them know what you're doing. They may also be able to provide more feedback about needs in your community."

4 of 263 comments (clear)

  1. Not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Open source programmers tend to be extreme right-wingers. They probably think disabled people are just being "lazy" and would all magically be healed if it wasn't for the evil "welfare state".

  2. Disabled Seeking A Way To Sue FOSS? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    They can't seem to get a grip on FOSS! I've sure got to hand it to them , they've succeeded in suing everyone else for not providing access to the disabled, so now they've turned to FOSS? They should know that lawsuits are only slightly more efficient than the one-armed bandits that Las Vegas casinos use in making money. I know they won't like the bad news, but it's best to put your best foot forward and go into such ventures with both eyes open wide , even if you are blind. As they say, it's better than a sharp stick in the eye .

    I'm certain that our answers will be a sight for sore eyes to the lawyers who represent the disabled in such lawsuits. They'll undoubtedly be falling down with laughter at what they read here.

    So in ending, as the disabled leper said to the prostitute: "Keep the tip!"

  3. It's funny... by cr0z01d · · Score: -1, Troll

    It's funny to try and serve the disabled with FOSS... the user interface is so bad most of the time that people without disabilities have trouble.

    Get a user inteface that doesn't suck. Then we can talk about extending it for disabled users.

  4. more dumbing down by Webspit · · Score: 0, Troll

    Why is society so determined to ensure that everything is produced to a standard that addresses the lowest common denominator. I really don't see the point in accomodating disabilties by crippling software. The whole point of a disability is the fact it renders certain things impossible and the human race is dead from an evolutionary point of view when we start putting more effort into pandering to the disabled rather than striving for survival of the fittest. Why should development of products I want and can use be delayed because some differently advantaged person might be inconvenienced. Soon you won't be allowed to get an oxbridge physics degree for the simple reason people who don't understand guage theories or whatever can't. OK we can't actually advocate the proper evolutionary answer to these problems because there are too many bleeding hearts out there and the tyranny of democracy rules but we can at least stop crippling ourselves and our tools for no reason other than pandering to the disadvantaged.