How the hell am I supposed to even argue with this?
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How the hell am I supposed to even argue with this?
Coworker about accessibility (in the context of "why don't devs/their bosses book the accessibility training for frontend developers we offer?"):
"for me as a front-end developer, accessibility is a niche issue. I have a hundred other problems to deal with. The fact that a small group of 2–4% of the market has trouble using my website is, frankly, none of my concern. Especially when it requires a huge amount of extra effort to implement and maintain. Either a UI library handles it for me, or I simply don’t do it."
I'm quite helpless in the face of this major fail of both human decency AND work ethic. And I assume they aren't a singular phenomenon, they just trust me enough to speak frankly.
@lizzard this has been the attitude ever since i started in the field, circa 2002. plus ca change...
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How the hell am I supposed to even argue with this?
Coworker about accessibility (in the context of "why don't devs/their bosses book the accessibility training for frontend developers we offer?"):
"for me as a front-end developer, accessibility is a niche issue. I have a hundred other problems to deal with. The fact that a small group of 2–4% of the market has trouble using my website is, frankly, none of my concern. Especially when it requires a huge amount of extra effort to implement and maintain. Either a UI library handles it for me, or I simply don’t do it."
I'm quite helpless in the face of this major fail of both human decency AND work ethic. And I assume they aren't a singular phenomenon, they just trust me enough to speak frankly.
@lizzard I've found that mentioning government regulations sometimes works.
Nothing devs fear more than the word "lawyer"!
I don't know about Germany, but I've seen businesses in the US be forced to at least do an accessibility audit by threat of lawsuit.
(I really like this post talking about it in the industry at large: https://fireborn.mataroa.blog/blog/because-fuck-you-why-consumer-choice-is-being-stripped-away-and-how-the-tech-industry-profits-from-it/#:~:text=what%20actually%20changes%20things)
But I'm sorry that appealing to human decency isn't working. It's awful to realize that people around you just... don't care
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How the hell am I supposed to even argue with this?
Coworker about accessibility (in the context of "why don't devs/their bosses book the accessibility training for frontend developers we offer?"):
"for me as a front-end developer, accessibility is a niche issue. I have a hundred other problems to deal with. The fact that a small group of 2–4% of the market has trouble using my website is, frankly, none of my concern. Especially when it requires a huge amount of extra effort to implement and maintain. Either a UI library handles it for me, or I simply don’t do it."
I'm quite helpless in the face of this major fail of both human decency AND work ethic. And I assume they aren't a singular phenomenon, they just trust me enough to speak frankly.
-
How the hell am I supposed to even argue with this?
Coworker about accessibility (in the context of "why don't devs/their bosses book the accessibility training for frontend developers we offer?"):
"for me as a front-end developer, accessibility is a niche issue. I have a hundred other problems to deal with. The fact that a small group of 2–4% of the market has trouble using my website is, frankly, none of my concern. Especially when it requires a huge amount of extra effort to implement and maintain. Either a UI library handles it for me, or I simply don’t do it."
I'm quite helpless in the face of this major fail of both human decency AND work ethic. And I assume they aren't a singular phenomenon, they just trust me enough to speak frankly.
@lizzard and thats why the world is as shitty as it is. All this "why should I care for minorities?" and then the same people wonder why everyone who belongs in this group hates most people.
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@lizzard I've found that mentioning government regulations sometimes works.
Nothing devs fear more than the word "lawyer"!
I don't know about Germany, but I've seen businesses in the US be forced to at least do an accessibility audit by threat of lawsuit.
(I really like this post talking about it in the industry at large: https://fireborn.mataroa.blog/blog/because-fuck-you-why-consumer-choice-is-being-stripped-away-and-how-the-tech-industry-profits-from-it/#:~:text=what%20actually%20changes%20things)
But I'm sorry that appealing to human decency isn't working. It's awful to realize that people around you just... don't care
@ragman yeah, that's my only hope. Some sectors are regulated.
Alas, even customers that are heavily regulated (major public transport companies) routinely instruct us (their hired developers) to ignore accessibility. Not all of them, but it happens often enough.
The EU has a very different stance on paying damages to people who've been discriminated against than the US. As long as there are not only laws, but enforcement is also painful, I'm afraid that the colleague is right.
I'm just frustrated about it is all.
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@lizzard and thats why the world is as shitty as it is. All this "why should I care for minorities?" and then the same people wonder why everyone who belongs in this group hates most people.
@svenja "why should I invest any of my strength into those few people" is the basic world view of the privileged. I want to stand on the side with the pitchforks and torches when the uprising finally comes. Fuck, I'm currently in the mood to open a pitchfork factory!
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@ragman yeah, that's my only hope. Some sectors are regulated.
Alas, even customers that are heavily regulated (major public transport companies) routinely instruct us (their hired developers) to ignore accessibility. Not all of them, but it happens often enough.
The EU has a very different stance on paying damages to people who've been discriminated against than the US. As long as there are not only laws, but enforcement is also painful, I'm afraid that the colleague is right.
I'm just frustrated about it is all.
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@MostlyBlindGamer @ragman yeah, I know, our devs and project managers know and so does the customer. And it will be implemented. Just not by thinking about it from the start and thus, sadly, not perfectly (read: with huge holes).
(We also have other customers who do very well on that front!)
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How the hell am I supposed to even argue with this?
Coworker about accessibility (in the context of "why don't devs/their bosses book the accessibility training for frontend developers we offer?"):
"for me as a front-end developer, accessibility is a niche issue. I have a hundred other problems to deal with. The fact that a small group of 2–4% of the market has trouble using my website is, frankly, none of my concern. Especially when it requires a huge amount of extra effort to implement and maintain. Either a UI library handles it for me, or I simply don’t do it."
I'm quite helpless in the face of this major fail of both human decency AND work ethic. And I assume they aren't a singular phenomenon, they just trust me enough to speak frankly.
@lizzard
That's very sad. Its the equivalent of "so what if you're trying to sleep, I like playing my music this loud!"Very self centred and disappointing.
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@MostlyBlindGamer @ragman yeah, I know, our devs and project managers know and so does the customer. And it will be implemented. Just not by thinking about it from the start and thus, sadly, not perfectly (read: with huge holes).
(We also have other customers who do very well on that front!)
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