OK this is a stupid question, but why have Linux projects (apparently) fallen over themselves to comply with an age-recording statute in a single US state (albeit a large one), when those projects have been failing for decades to respect national and even international law regarding disability?
#accessibility #disability #linux #FreeSoftware #fascism #AgeVerification #infantilism
Because it's not a single state, not even a single country. I think this video about systemd is elucidating:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5AcreFk40U
Watch until the end, because the last message is important.
Accessibility is hard. Really only Apple have made a passable go at it. You have to know stuff and have experience in the field to really make a difference.
Anyone thinks they can add an age API because it looks easy but is in fact hard. Took me 30 mins to add a maliciously compliant joke api to Fuzix, and it's actually IMHO better designed ;)
Much open source is doing "easy" stuff again and again, because it's people doing stuff for fun. Hard stuff is underresourced
This is where project governance comes in. The tools are there.
I don't think it is that technically challenging as socially and organisationally challenging. I suspect most devs see it as tedious or unimportant.
I can see that it might seem a bit mysterious for those who have not used a screenreader before.
Also, you know, doing work with actual users, etc.
Isabel Ruffell
António Manuel Dias
The Penguin of Evil