Creating An Accessibility Specification for Lubuntu 11.10

[Pia]

I will try to make this concise until I have free time this evening to 
answer the technical questions but just wanted to say first of all that it 
is not divisive to admit that as a developer one does not yet understand 
or "get it" the use case they are working with but rather a first step in 
developing the team approach with the user. Because we are talking about 
people who on a basic level interact with their environment in a 
completely different way, this is essential and so no offense meant.  So, 
both working together united as a team and having the humility to admit 
that one does not "get it" is essential to getting it and being successful 
and coding for it.
 	Secondly, my frustration is that there are a ton of road maps and 
system specifications out there for accessibility in Linux and specific 
distros.  The choices of assistive technology to support and software 
utilizing those technologies to install and configure is really very 
narrow and thin.  It is sparse enough and Ubuntu and others have done 
enough to get .deb packages that work well in their implementations, that 
it is frustrating to see someone say that would take a whole development 
cycle to reinvent the wheel rather than modifying the wheel to meet your 
needs.  I am jaded by having wasted my time working on projects where we 
were never allowed to move past the specification stage because some 
people were too intimidated to and the first sign was always a very long 
time frame for the specification of the system.

On Fri, 27 May 2011, Jonathan Marsden wrote:

> Pia (and accessibility team),
>
> On 05/26/2011 03:22 PM, Pia wrote:
>
>> What John is asking for seems so obvious to us who are disabled that
>> I forget normal people don't "get it".
>
> I really hope the Ubuntu Accessibility team is not composed entirely of
> folks who are "disabled" -- some more or less "normal" people may well
> have an interest in accessibility issues, too.  Is dividing human beings
> into "us" and "normal people" really a helpful and appropriate mindset
> for an accessibility team?  All concerned might benefit more from
> working together, than from creating artificial and unhelpful divisions
> between people.
>
> For a little perspective: I am the guy who spoke up at a UDS session
> discussing possible software features for Lubuntu this release cycle and
> said (via IRC)
>
>  "do we need to consider improving accessibility features of Lubuntu
>   in Oneiric ?"
>
> (That is a direct quote, copied from my IRC log of 10 May 2011).
>
> Had I not done that, as far as I know doing this work would not even be
> under discussion for this development cycle, because accessibility would
> not be in the blueprint for Lubuntu 11.10 at all.
>
> I am an advocate for doing some work in this area in Lubuntu; in order
> for a very small team to do that effectively and efficiently, we need
> clarity on what exactly that work *is* , and how to prioritize it.  This
> is not optional, it is required, if useful work in this area is to
> happen in the next few months within Lubuntu.
>
> Open source software development in general now has a fairly well
> established set of stages, and Debian and Ubuntu software development
> has its own perhaps even more specific variant of those.  Defining
> clearly what it is you are trying to do, that is, writing a
> specification, or blueprint, is an early part of that process.
> Launchpad supports this with what it calls blueprints, UDS is the usual
> venue for refining these specifications, etc.  There are probably books
> and academic papers written about this process...
>
> I submit that your stating or implying that I am "normal" and that I
> "don't get it" were both rather unfortunate and unhelpful choices to make.
>
>> That kind of request is like demanding that there be a specification
>> first that monitors and video cards have to be supported or that we
>> need mouse support.
>
> (It is tempting to make a comment about non-software-developers not
> "getting it", but that might be unkind).
>
> Allow me to use your own examples: Does Lubuntu 11.10 need to add full
> support for Tektronix vector graphics terminals as a primary output
> device, or do we need to add drivers for Hercules monochrome graphics
> cards this cycle?  Do we need to support the Xerox Star mouse?  Should
> we go to special lengths to add support for one-button mice, since Apple
> makes those?  Is testing that Lubuntu works well with Microsoft bus mice
> appropriate and necessary, since no-one tested that in the last (Natty)
> development cycle?
>
> Saying "we need monitor, mouse and video card support" is a hopelessly
> vague specification, in need of much refinement before it can be
> implemented by software developers.  So is "we need accessibility"!
>
> If you do not understand the rationale for software specifications being
> created and refined before software is designed and coded, it will be
> very difficult for you to make a significant contribution to the
> software development process of Lubuntu.  I would therefore urge you and
> the accessibility team to make a little effort in that direction, just
> as I am trying to make some effort to learn more about what it will
> really take, and what it really means, to "add accessibility" to Lubuntu
> in a useful way.
>
> We can help each other, if we choose to do so.  The alternative is to
> declare that those who are not like us and do not share our own
> background and education "don't get it".  Which would you prefer?
>
>> The road map document would be simple.  We need:
>
> I think this is a potentially useful initial rough draft; please do
> publish it on a wiki page, and so allow it to be edited and revised by
> the accessibility team as a whole, and to have others outside it
> (Lubuntu developers included, if they wish) add comments and questions.
>
> Here are a few questions from my initial reading of your list:
>
> 1. Are these items in priority order?  If not, can your team please
>   order them, so we can consider implementing the most important ones
>   first?
>
> 2. How many (and which) of them do Xubuntu, Kubuntu and Ubuntu already
>   fully support? (This helps us understand how far behind Lubuntu
>   currently is).
>
> 3. How many and which of them do Xubuntu, Kubuntu and Ubuntu plan to
>   work on implementing this (11.10 Oneiric) development cycle? (This
>   helps us collaborate and use any such current work, avoiding any
>   unnecessary duplication of effort).
>
> 4. "Something that allows for braille output" might be more of a
>   hardware specification than a software one.  I know braille output
>   devices exist, and back in the days of text mode computer use have
>   helped set them up.  Is there a class of these devices that already
>   have working driver support in the Linux/Debian/Ubuntu world?  How
>   do Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu support them currently?
>
>> special keyboard layouts and settings for the mobility impaired that
>> will allow them to use toggle keys since they may not be able to hold
>> down more than one key at once
>>
>> Something to modify mouse behavior for the mobility impaired.
>
> 5. These seems to assume all users with mobility impairment will be
>   able to use some form of keyboard and mouse -- is that realistic?
>   I have seen "suck/blow" tube interfaces to a screen in (old) video
>   about severely mobility impaired (mostly paralyzed) disabled users
>   using computing technology; such users might find "special keyboard
>   layouts" and "something to modify mouse behaviour" insufficient.  I
>   have no idea if that is a common issue, or so unusual it can safely
>   be ignored for Lubuntu.  Can it?
>
>> A dictation package that responds to voice commands as the interface for
>> the mobility impaired.
>
> 6. Are there any such open source dictation tools currently in
>   existence?  Can you provide pointers to information about them?
>   Is their memory footprint low enough for inclusion in Lubuntu?
>   We definitely would not have enough developer resources to create
>   such a product from scratch in 11.10.
>
>> meaningful icons for the dyslexic but alt tags or meaningful text on the
>> icons for the visually impaired.
>
> 7. I'm not sure I understand this item yet; can you provide examples of
>   "good" and "bad" practice in this regard in the current Lubuntu
>   11.04 default user interface, to help clarify this for us?
>
>> See, list done.  Most of this can be done just with settings in the
>> existing desktop, others require programs.
>
> 8. Really!  Can you (or your team) annotate your list with which items
> can be done just with settings in the existing (Lubuntu 11.04 LXDE)
> desktop, please?  And please could you also mention (and provide links
> to web sites for) any specific programs you have in mind for all those
> list items requiring programs?
>
>> Mentioning espeak was important because the solutions also have to be
>> lean and so it doesn't make sense to evaluate heavier resource
>> intensive apps.
>
> It doesn't make sense to evaluate *any* apps at all without a clear
> definition of what you are trying to accomplish by adding those apps to
> Lubuntu; hence my request for a clearer specification.
>
> Thanks for helping us take the first small steps in this direction,
>
> Jonathan
>
> [ Throwaway aside of the day: why does a team labeled "accessibility"
> choose to use a closed (i.e. inaccessible) mailing list?  On the
> surface, that appears paradoxical.  Any chance you could at least make
> the ubuntu-accessibility mailing list archives more readily "accessible"
> (public) to the rest of us, so we can learn from reading them?  Ideally,
> please make your list as open as this one (lubuntu-desktop) is. ]
>