Post Status Cache Up With Joe Dolson  ## Metadata - Author: [[Post Status]] - Full Title: Post Status Cache Up With Joe Dolson - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: [accessibility, WordPress, community] author: [MISSING] source: [YouTube] reference: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI] date created: {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}} {{time:HH:mm}} --- # 🏷️ Title: Post Status Cache Up With Joe Dolson ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📚 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🛡️ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### 🔗 References - Include links cited in or relevant to the article. ## 📝 Summary - Post Status interviews Joe Dolson about WP Accessibility Day. - They cover its origins, operations, and accessibility decisions. - Stakeholders include organizers, speakers, attendees, and sponsors. - Tradeoffs include registration friction versus accessibility gains. - Bottom line: accessible operations require funding and intentional design. - Source: YouTube interview and transcript. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI ## 📖 Main Content - WP Accessibility Day began with the WordPress Accessibility Team in 2019. - The event runs online with 24 hours of talks for global access. - Registration enables Zoom features like ASL on separate screens and captions. - Organizers pay speakers and interpreters to value labor and expertise. - Translation focuses on Spanish and French, with others when possible. - Physical accessibility at venues still lags; online access helps many. - Sponsors and micro-sponsors fund professional services and stability. - This year’s keynote comes from Smashing Magazine’s Vitaly Friedman. - The team prioritizes sustainability, boundaries, and volunteer wellbeing. - Source: interview video and transcript. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI ### 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI&t=7) Origins and purpose ### [H1] WP Accessibility Day starts in 2019 > “the idea was kicked off in uh fall of 2019” - The Accessibility Team initiated the concept. - The format models 24-hour inclusive design events. #### ⏱️ [02:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI&t=128) Online shift and speaker access ### [H2] Online format increases speaker availability > “we were able to get really an amazing collection of speakers” - The pandemic increased remote availability. - Fewer organizers carried more workload. #### ⏱️ [06:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI&t=390) Platform choice ### [H3] Zoom enables synchronized ASL and captions > “we wanted to add sign language… offer two synchronized screens” - Registration supports multi-screen layouts. - Accessibility needs outweighed open streaming. #### ⏱️ [08:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI&t=513) Translation strategy ### [H4] Captions get post-corrected and translated > “afterwards we have those captions corrected… translated” - Spanish and French receive priority. - Some talks appear in additional languages. #### ⏱️ [12:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI&t=752) Paying speakers ### [H5] Event compensates speakers and values time > “we make a point of paying every speaker” - Payment diverges from typical WordPress events. - The choice supports disabled speakers’ inclusion. #### ⏱️ [14:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI&t=882) Accessibility for all ### [H6] Accessibility benefits aging and diverse users > “accessibility is for everyone” - Captions and contrast help many users. - Aging reduces hearing and vision acuity. #### ⏱️ [18:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI&t=1112) Keynote focus ### [H7] Vitaly Friedman covers UX and accessibility > “the founder of Smashing Magazine… about user experience and design” - UX choices shape accessibility outcomes. - Bandwidth and device constraints matter. #### ⏱️ [20:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI&t=1218) Physical access gaps ### [H8] Events still block mobility-impaired speakers > “ongoing issues with access to venues” - Ramps, elevators, and backstage access often fail. - Silence often reflects resignation, not satisfaction. #### ⏱️ [23:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI&t=1433) Temporary disability signals ### [H9] Temporarily disabled users report issues more > “people with temporary disabilities can be incredibly useful” - They have energy to file issues. - Chronic barriers exhaust long-term users. #### ⏱️ [29:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI&t=1746) Funding model ### [H10] Sponsors and donations fund professional services > “we need to pay professional captioners… sign language interpreters” - Zoom Events reduces streaming risk. - Post-production sync improves ASL quality. #### ⏱️ [30:47](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI&t=1847) Event timing ### [H11] Event starts October 15 at 1500 UTC > “the event is happening October 15th and 16th… 1500 UTC” - Registration is required to attend. - Attendance is free; donations welcome. ## 📚 References - Video interview and transcript: Post Status Cache Up With Joe Dolson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - The show explains why WP Accessibility Day requires registration and funding. The goal is better access through ASL, captions, and translations. - Organizers pay speakers and vendors, prioritize sustainability, and invite sponsors. The event remains global and online. ## 📰 Newsletter - WP Accessibility Day returns with global reach and real access features. - Expect ASL, captions, and translations, plus a UX keynote by Vitaly Friedman. - Attendance is free with registration. Donations and micro-sponsorships help fund interpreters. - Watch the interview for details. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Draft a registration explainer that frames access benefits. - Record a 90-second “how to use ASL view” video. - Publish a post-event recap with metrics and quotes. #### OSPO - Document an accessibility vendor policy and budget rubric. - Create a translation prioritization matrix and renewal plan. - Define a speaker compensation guideline and disclosure template. #### Community - Launch a volunteer onboarding guide with role scopes. - Run a caption QA sprint using short talk segments. - Share a micro-sponsor outreach kit with email copy. #### WordPress - Propose an “accessible events” handbook page on Make. - Ship a Zoom Events setup checklist for meetups. - Publish templates for alt text and slide accessibility. #### The WPCC - Explore microgrants for accessibility tooling in events. - Pilot a “speaker stipend” policy template for communities. - Publish a quarterly transparency note on funding impact. ### FAIR - Draft a covenant on accessible streams and recordings. - Add provenance and translation metadata to published videos. - Release a scorecard for event accessibility commitments. ## 🧪 Hypotheses - Registration increases ASL and caption uptake versus public streams. - Paying speakers broadens speaker diversity and retention. - Spanish and French translations increase non-US attendance. - Zoom Events reduces dropoffs versus a single 24-hour stream. ### 📊 Methodology - Randomize viewers into registered versus open-stream trials. - Track ASL window usage and caption toggles. - Compare speaker demographics pre- and post-stipend policy. - Measure attendance continuity across segmented sessions. ### ❓ Questions - How should organizers prioritize additional languages? - What metrics best capture accessibility outcomes? - Can recordings ship with signed transcripts and alt text? - How should we budget for physical accessibility at hybrids - Summary: In this episode of Cache Up, host Michelle Frechette chats with Joe Dolson, co-founder of WordPress Accessibility Day. They discuss the event’s origins, its 24-hour global online format, and the importance of accessibility in web design for people with disabilities and aging users. Joe explains the logistics behind providing live captions, ASL interpretation, and paying speakers. The conversation highlights the volunteer-driven nature of the event, the need for sponsorship, and ongoing efforts to improve both digital and physical accessibility in the WordPress community and beyond. The Origins and Growth of WP Accessibility Day: WP Accessibility Day started in 2020 as an online accessibility-focused event and was significantly shaped by the pandemic, which allowed the team to attract international speakers. Founders Joe Dolson, Amber Hinds, and Bet Hannon built a volunteer-run organization that has grown into an annual, fully online 24-hour event, enabling global participation. Commitment to Accessibility for All: The event emphasizes true accessibility, not just compliance. It includes live ASL interpretation, live captions, and translated content (currently in Spanish, French, and other languages), ensuring participants with various disabilities and language backgrounds can fully engage. Accessibility is seen as a benefit for everyone, including those with temporary or situational disabilities. Valuing Contributors and Maintaining a Sustainable Model: WP Accessibility Day pays its speakers and translators to honor their time and expertise, despite being a volunteer-led nonprofit. Sponsorships and donations fund professional captioning, sign language interpreters, Zoom infrastructure, and post-production, balancing high-quality accessibility services with organizational sustainability. Real-World Impact and Awareness: The conversation highlights how accessibility challenges extend beyond the web to physical spaces and everyday life. Joe and Michelle emphasiz... - URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0tWqLdyI Welcome to the Postatus Cashup podcast where I'm catching up with Joe Doulson. Joe, how are you? >> I'm doing really well. How are you? >> I am good, thank you. It's been a little while. We usually see each other at events. I think it's been almost a year probably, if not a little bit longer, since I've been uh >> physically in the same space. >> Did we see each ourselves in uh in Europe? I think we were both >> uh probably ships passing in the night though, if I was going to guess. >> Indeed. Yeah, fair enough. It was a It was a busy day, but yes, I believe that's true. We were both in Europe this year. It was nice to see you anytime we get an opportunity and today is no exception. So, today we're here to talk about WordPress accessibility day, WP accessibility day. >> You are, I believe, one of the founders, correct? I am of this great day. You do a lot with accessibility. I would hazard to guess that it is at least 90% of your working day is around accessibility things. Yeah, >> I I sometimes feel like 90% of my day is just fixing things that I've already broken, but um yeah, let's let's call it accessibility. I >> mean, broken things need to be fixed and it's all part of accessibility, right? So, it's all good. >> Absolutely. >> So, tell us a little bit about the history of WP accessibility day for anybody who's not aware of how it came to be. >> Yeah, absolutely. So the idea was kicked off in uh fall of 2019 >> um >> before the world came to an end. >> Yes indeed when the accessibility team uh the the WordPress accessibility team just decided we wanted to put on some kind of event and at that stage we had literally no idea what it was. We threw out all sorts of ideas, you know, just a big accessibility contributor day. Um, and we finally settled on doing a series of talks kind of modeled on the uh, ID 24, which is a very similar event that's it's 24 hours of consecutive talks all on not exactly on accessibility, but inclusive design generally speaking. Um, and it's a great event and if it's happening very soon and you should go to it. Um, but that was kind of the the concept and how we came up with it. And we were, you know, deep into planning all sorts of ideas and then, you know, March 2020 hit and we were like, well, I'm glad we'd already decided this was going to be online >> because the world went online for a great amount of time at that point. >> Yes, it did. Um, which it was actually had a really interesting side effects for the event because as an allon online event that was already in well advanced in planning. Uh, we were able to get really an amazing collection of speakers because a lot of really international speakers who talk on accessibility all the time everywhere uh suddenly had a lot more availability in their schedules than they had maybe anticipated having. And so it was really an amazing conference. Um what it also was was an incredible amount of work. >> Yes. >> Uh because the other side effect of the pandemic hitting around that time is uh people started to kind of drop away from the organizing team because frankly life happened. People had kids and they needed to deal with now their kids are in school and things got really busy and so the team kind of shrunk. Uh the team was great. everybody who was involved in an amazing amount of work. But by the time the event actually happened, we were down to like, you know, maybe four or five people running the whole thing. >> Mhm. >> And it was intense. >> I believe it. Uh, and so really the modern quote unquote the new WordPress accessibility day, the nonprofit that Bet, Amber, and I have now founded to run this organization, all comes out of Amber reaching out to me after 2021 didn't happen. >> And kind of saying, >> "I'd like to restart WordPress accessibility day." >> Yeah. >> But I don't want to do it without you. are you interested? >> And I had to really think about that. I didn't know Amber at all at that point, you know, hadn't ever talked. >> Now you're besties. >> And it's like, we'd never met and we'd never talked. So, we had a meeting and we talked about it. And now we're great friends cuz, you know, I find that we work really well together. >> Um, we do have one >> problem working together, >> which is, >> uh, we we both have a strong tendency to overdo it. Oh yes, I see that >> there's an element where when every time you ping somebody at 11:30 at night, they respond within five minutes and say, "Oh yeah, I can take care of that." >> It is an unhealthy relationship. >> It was very effective. It is a large part of what enabled like the 2022 2023 conferences to happen, >> right? >> Um but we are so so happy. We're both getting better about this. We're we're cutting back. We're maintaining >> boundaries. >> We have to make sure we have a big enough crew working on this that all of this stuff can happen. And we have that now. Like >> yes, >> the the volunteer and organizing team for WordPress accessibility day is amazing. >> And I agree. uh they mean, you know, the rest of us who who have put in way too many hours early on can uh sit back and put in a normal and reasonable number of hours instead. >> Right. Right. And so for those of you who heard those people who just heard you drop a couple names, that would be Amber Hines uh and but Hannon, right? Who are both huge proponents of accessibility as well and whose businesses also include accessibility uh all day every day. So, so from that first one in 2020, uh, which you know, we didn't I thought it was funny that 2020 like we should have had perfect vision of what was coming in the future, but nobody knew, right? Just because the year 2020, uh, to today, >> it's been other other than that one year that it was like, okay, let's regroup and figure out how this goes forward. Um, it's been an annual event, including this year, all online and a 24-hour event. so that no matter where you are in the world, you can watch something live and you can be there interacting. It's all on Zoom, so you do have to register. It's not like you can just happen upon it on YouTube or something like that. You do have to be registered for it. Um, >> and that's actually an interesting point. Like we had to really think about that. The first year it was all just streamable on YouTube and I think that was also true the second year. Um, we did ask for registrations the second year, but it was still all streamed to YouTube. Um, but ultimately it was an accessibility decision. Um, and it was it's kind of this difficult balance. It's like I know people don't want to have to register for another thing and give their email away and all of that. >> But we wanted to add uh sign language, >> right? And in order to have sign language, what we needed to be able to do is offer two synchronized screens that people could have uh otherwise what you have for ASL is very much >> it's it's kind of second class because you have just a tiny little window embedded in your screen and >> right >> so yeah you can get the sign language if you're hard of hearing but have amazing eyesight >> right or blow it up so that that's the only thing you on your screen. Yeah. >> And so we wanted to make sure that we could offer that and really Zoom was the only platform that really made that >> work for us. >> I love that. And in addition to ASL because not everybody who is a deaf person uses American Sign Language around the world, it's also has live transcription so that there's more accurate than just voice text recognition um being used. >> We've been working really hard on trying to make this as available to as many people as we possibly can. Yeah. >> Um it's it's kind of not very feasible to have sign language interpretation into multiple language of sign language. And part of that is >> uh it starts to get really complicated if somebody needs to both know their flavor of sign language >> and English. >> Yeah. >> Um you know there's just a lot of complexity once you have that many people that many screens. We don't have a production team. We're still a volunteer run organization. >> Exactly. >> But what we can offer is we like you said we have the live captions so that that's always being part of the part of the event. >> Yeah. >> Um and then afterwards we have those captions corrected and we've been working really hard on getting things translated. >> Yes. >> Uh so actually almost all of the 2023 talks are now translated into at least one language and many of them are now in two. We our our widest uh availability is in Spanish and French and those are the ones we've really been pushing for just for >> global access. Um right >> since we had to prioritize something. >> Absolutely. >> Um >> but yeah, we've had a number translated into uh Hebrew. Yeah, we've got a whole variety of translators. Really great. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. That's fantastic. It's interesting because you can't you we're not the United Nations where you can put on a headset and something so it might immediately translate it into your own language. Um I'm sure AI is going to get there someday but it isn't there now through Zoom for example. And would it be perfect anyway? Probably not. Um, but I I remember talking to somebody when I this is back during 2021, I think. I spoke at Word Camp Taipei, which was online and it was live and I had to get up at like be up at 3:00 in the morning because it's on the other side of the world from where I am. And somebody said, "Do you speak Mandarin?" And I said, "No, it's it's it's in English." And they're like, "Well, why is it in English?" I said, "Because so many people tune in. English is a language that a lot of people in WordPress speak or at least have a basic understanding of. And so although it isn't perfect, you do have to choose a language to present in. And and the truth is that most of our presenters do speak English. And most of the receivers who people who are watching it also at least understand enough English to be able to participate. And then we are translating it into other languages as well for people to be able to have as part of our library, which I think is fantastic. Now, you did mention it's a nonprofit, but we do have sponsorships and we do um open up for donations. So, I mean, I know a lot of the answers to the questions I'm asking you because I'm also on the organizing team, but for those people who don't, why are we getting all this money from other people if it's entirely volunteer-led? >> Well, the team that's running it is all volunteer-led. Yes, >> but the fact is we need a lot of services and we are going to pay professional captioners to provide this captions and we need to pay professional sign language interpreters to get the sign language. We're paying for uh Zoom events this year, which is a much more expansive program, but it is giving us some very useful and needed features uh to be able to improve what we do. Um, we also we're hiring somebody to do our post-production editing of videos to just clean them up, make sure the ASL is properly synchronized with that. Um, you know, there are a lot of miscellaneous costs in running an organization and making it work. >> You know, we have to have a Google Workspace account. Actually, that's we get that for free as a nonprofit. Some things we get benefits. >> Now, we do though we didn't but we weren't a >> nit. We did have to pay for it. Yes. >> Um but yeah, there's just all sorts of >> cost to that come in. We pay our speakers. I mean, that's one of the really key things is that we make a point of paying every speaker. >> We do offer them the option to donate that back to not to us, but to some other organization. >> Sure. Uh but to it was that was a really important thing to me and that's actually one of the really key reasons why we broke away from being a WordPress community organization, >> right? >> Uh because within the WordPress community organization, it's uh it's mandatory that you not pay speakers. >> You're not allowed to pay your speakers. >> And that was kind of for me that was kind of a deal breakaker. >> Yeah. I think honoring people's time, it isn't just the half hour or 45 minutes that they're on screen. There's so much prep time that goes into preparing a talk. And you and I have given talks, we know that firsthand. So when you are and and we're not paying them nearly the amount that we that we could to cover all of their time, but we do give them money that says we value you and we value your inputs here and we appreciate that you have become part of this um this day. >> Yeah. And I think it's really important particularly if you're trying to reach out to speakers who are themselves people with disabilities. >> People with disabilities are massively undermployed. >> Yes. >> And that undermployment is the fault of employers. It's the fact that people are not providing an accessible workspace. They're not providing a way for you to get to work, a way for you to get in the building, a way for you to be at your desk. they're not providing enough uh freedom if you simply can't remain seated in one place for 8 hours. Uh, you know, the technological barriers to working when you're a person with a disability can be extraordinary and can change unpredictably >> when the people who are responsible for procuring new versions of software aren't checking for accessibility and suddenly now your payroll system is something you cannot log into. >> Right? There's so much. >> Well, I work in accounting at this business. I need to do this. >> Yeah, exactly. It's And I'm I you know I wear bif focals. I am I'll be 57 next I'll actually be 57 on the day of the event, honestly. So it's like WP accessibility day is a lovely birthday gift this year. Thank you so much. Um but as I get older, you know, the fine-tuning in my hearing is not what it was in my 20s. My vision isn't what it was in my 20s, which even then wasn't that great to be honest. So, I appreciate the things that we do that, you know, when people think about accessibility, oftentimes they think of um building a website that includes people who are blind, but it's so much more than that. And accessibility we talk about all the time, accessibility is for everyone. And to have an accessible website doesn't just mean a screen reader can use it. It means somebody like me can see who can see can see the script because it's not in a size eight font in a light gray for example that there's contrast and that I can hear the things that are being said. I use captions all the time in movies and television now and I am I don't I don't I mean I guess I'm happy to see some of the things but incredibly perplexed that they're describing sounds that I can't hear on my television like dishes clanking background you know music and I'm like what dishes what music because I can't hear that anymore >> but al I mean I also don't blast the TV so you know those kinds of things are very helpful >> to every individual ual as we get older and sometimes we want to be able to watch things really quietly and having those visual cues and being able to read the dialogue makes a lot of sense, >> right? >> And so that's and that's what we're bringing uh to all of the people who are attending WP accessibility day as also. So I did mention that it's on my birthday, but would you tell us exactly when it is and what time it starts? >> How's that for a segue? >> That's a great segue. So we'll start with telling you when Michelle's birthday is. >> That's right. That's what's important here. >> Later. Just kidding. >> Yeah. Yeah. Michelle takes donations >> for WP accessibility day. >> Right. Of course. Right. Of course. Absolutely. So, yeah, the event is happening October 15th and 16th. Uh it will be starting at 1500 UTC or 10:00 a.m. Central time. A time that was chosen largely because it's convenient to Amber and I. That's right. >> Hey, it's got to start somewhere for you all. That's right. >> Exactly. I think it's very important that the people who are running it be um awake and >> able to function at the time that it starts. I think that is actually a >> 100% agree with you. Absolutely. How much does it cost to attend? >> It does not cost anything at all to attend. You do need to register and at that time you can make the choice to make a donation. Uh there's an option to do a $10 donation, an option to do a $50 donation where you will uh get a gift of a WordPress accessibility day t-shirt. Um or you can also become a micro sponsor for $150 uh in the registration process. I believe we now this year also added a donate whatever you want amount if you just feel like it. Um because I mean >> why not? >> It doesn't have to be $10. you can donate $5, whatever. >> Mhm. >> Uh it all is helpful. It all helps keep the organization running. Helps keep us secure in case >> uh you know companies sometimes have to change their budgets. They might not be able to sponsor next year. And if we suddenly lose a major sponsor, all those donations will be extremely beneficial to make sure next year's event can still happen. >> Absolutely. That's really a big part of our fundraising is it's not about making sure we pay for this year's event. It's about saying, >> okay, worst case scenario, can we put on next year's event? >> Yes, absolutely. And right now the answer is most likely. >> I think so. Y. >> Now, tell us who is our keynote this year. Pretty exciting. >> So, our keynote this year is Vitily Freriedman, the founder of Smashing Magazine. uh he's going to be giving a great talk about uh user experience and design and how they relate to accessibility. Smashing magazine has published a lot about accessibility. So I think this is going to be really fascinating. Um >> I do too. >> And I think it's a really great way to kind of kick things off. Um so I think that I'm really looking forward to seeing that talk. There's a lot of interesting talks. I mean I'm always looking forward to seeing the talks. I never will go to all of them live because >> it's 24 hours. >> I'm not going to stay up for 24 hours. Uh that is a thing. I I believe we had an earlier conversation about things we used to do in our 20s. >> Yes. >> Same. Actually, same >> that kind of fits into that uh little niche. >> Yeah. But lots of great talks about design and typography, readability. Um some great things about uh some of the impact that geographical differences have like just the fact of you know the entire global south has much more limited access to just internet devices. What does that mean for accessibility? What does that mean when you're talking about >> uh you know what does bandwidth mean for accessibility? And that's that's can be >> something that people don't think about. They're like, okay, we made sure all of the colors are right and we've got this JavaScript library that makes sure that all this stuff works. Unfortunately, that JavaScript library is 14 megabytes unnecessarily. And uh >> and your computer will come to a screeching halt while you try to access >> Exactly. Ah, >> I'm also excited because uh Joe Simpson Jr. this year is also going to be talking about physical accessibility um in spaces which you know from being my friend that I have had issues with um as a mobility impaired person accessing >> events and conferences and even some of what you expect to be the most accessible events still will have some issues where I can't get into a door or um the green room is upstairs but there's no elevator so me as a speaker doesn't have access to those kinds of Thanks. And can I roll with it? No, no pun intended, but yes, I can. Did you see what I did there? Um, >> I did see that. Yeah, >> it was unintentional, but it came through. Okay. But, but is it the best experience? And just because somebody who's a veteran in the field here can, you know, just kind of roll with the punches, so to speak, doesn't mean that it's acceptable and doesn't mean it's acceptable for everyone. And having been somebody who's long-term in the community who can access people easier doesn't mean that it's a good experience for somebody who has mobility impairment coming in for their first or second time either. So I'm really happy to see um Joe talking about some of the changes that's been made within WordPress for that. So that's >> Yeah, I think I think that'll be great. Um, and yeah, I do think one of the things that it's easy for people to forget is that when people aren't complaining, it's easy to take that as they are satisfied. >> Correct. >> Um, and that's not the same thing. And especially for people with disabilities, resignation to inadequacy is a common reaction because >> because it is so ubiquitous. you know, you're just dealing constantly in like in your case with awkward rises that you're like, well, okay, great. There's a door. It's wide enough, but there's a 2-in >> rise here and >> now I'm I'm just kind of screwed, >> right? >> And things that people don't anticipate and you're just but you expect it because it is ubiquitous. It's everywhere. >> People with disabilities on the web, you know, people who are using a screen reader. Yeah. Encountering a button that doesn't have a label. Yeah. You know, that's totally routine. That's nothing. There's no surprises there. So, the reaction isn't frequently, I'm going to immediately write a complaint and send them an email. It's just like, uh, another one of those. I wonder what it does. I guess I'll find out whatever, >> right? Yeah. No, for sure. And and it's also not only just the resignation to it, but sometimes there's fear of retaliation. So, >> Oh, absolutely. I've been in places where I'm the loud voice saying I can't access and there are other people in wheelchairs but because of who they work for are afraid to raise their voice because they don't want to be the person within their organization that's complaining. >> I don't see it as a complaint. I see it as standing up for no pun intended again um I'm just walking into all of them today for what I should have access to. And I'm talking about physical spaces. The same is true of our digital spaces for people who have other disabilities and whether those are um situational uh temporary or permanent disabilities. Uh everybody, you know, we talk sometimes about you broke your arm. So now you understand what it's like to try to do one-handed keyboarding or you're a young parent and you're holding a baby and trying to work at the same time. There are a lot of reasons that people experience even temporary um needs for accessibility online. >> And I will say actually people with temporary disabilities can be incredibly useful. >> Absolutely. >> Um and that it has a lot to do with the fact that they are much more likely to have >> the spoons to complain >> because they haven't been dealing with it every day for the last 50 years. >> For them, it's a new thing and they're like, "Oh, this sucks. I'm going to about it. And you know what? That is extremely valuable because >> that is one of the biggest problems is people >> getting just worn out. You know, you you reached the point where like I don't I don't have the energy to complain about this again. >> Yeah. And if you're listening to this and you're like, "What do spoons have to do with it?" Look up spoon theory. I beg of you. >> Yes. It is very relevant. >> It is very relevant. Absolutely. Uh so we talked about how much it costs. We talked about what it is. We talked about it being 24 hours. Uh, we mentioned the t-shirt. Now, I love that there's a little bit of tongue and cheek in last year's t-shirt and this year's t-shirt. Last year's t-shirt had a a frame uh a border around and the um the logo and it said it's a feature, not a bug, meaning the focus feature uh that sometimes people have complained about like, why is this appearing when I'm tabbing through? Uh it's a feature, not a bug. This year's t-shirt I love because on the front of it is WP A in uh finger spelling, American Sign Language finger spelling. And then on the back, which is also very tongue-in-cheek, we have the alt text for the front of the shirt, which I just think is delightful. >> Yeah, it was a lot of fun to come up with that design this year. >> It's always interesting. You never know what you're going to land on. And uh you know it's it's it's a fun thing about doing the t-shirt is that it's a very visible representation and it's something that people can actually hold on to and see. >> Yeah. >> Uh >> you know uh and it's just honestly it's a fun thing for the organizing team to do and to to get out of this is like we end up having a t-shirt. It's like yay this is fun. It is >> um >> and something for us as an organizing team to be able to have fun with it >> and to be able to say, >> "Yes, this is serious work. This is important work, but if we're taking ourselves too seriously in the process and not having fun, then we need to be paid." >> Exactly. >> I mean, that's the thing. We're all We're all doing this for as volunteers. And if you're doing volunteer work, it has to be enjoyable. >> So we need to make sure that for everybody who's participating, it's a good experience. >> Absolutely. So our call for volunteers, call for speakers, all of that is closed, but the call for translators remains open 24/7 365. Yes. So if somebody has um a fluency in another language and would like to volunteer to uh translate from English to whatever that other language is, they can feel free. And we do actually I say volunteer but we do pay our translators as well because that is arduous work. >> Specifically at this point we're paying for Spanish and French translations. >> We're not paying all translators and that was a hard choice for that. But it was really about we we wanted to try and reach the point where we could get a complete set of the talks in two languages >> and then everything else is just kind of a bonus. And I it's been a difficult decision. It's hard to decide who you pay and who you don't. >> Um and we might reassess that. Uh who knows? Uh because >> every year you ultimately we have to look at our finances postevent and how much after expenses and be like okay >> yes >> how are we in the black? How far in the black are we? What is something new we can take on as an expense for next year? I mean that is basically literally what we do at the end of every year. It's like okay we are in the black we are not in the black we are what are we able to do? >> I mean that's one of the reasons we were willing to go to Zoom events this year >> is we were sufficiently flush that we were like okay we can afford to pay for this higher level of service and take advantage of the some of the things that it provides for us. >> Absolutely. Um, the main thing that it provides for us, by the way, is that we don't have to try and wrestle with a single 24-hour non-stop stream. >> Um, everybody can register for one event and then have access to each individual 1hour stream, whereas before we had to try and do it all as one stream. And uh let's just say while Zoom theoretically can run for 24 hours straight, >> in practice it got pretty weird and we did have to shut it down and restart the stream. And that's nasty because that means now you have to like send out an emergency email to all attendees and this is the new link and now you have to recome to this one and >> some of them you don't get back because they don't see the email. They assume it broke and all of those things. you always have to assume that some some of those emails just won't be received and so you're promoting it everywhere you can but it's just messing up. You just don't want to have to do that. Um so that >> that is something that should just not be a problem this year because it's not we're not trying to wrestle with this continuous incredibly long session >> and our sponsorship dollars and our donations are what is allowing that to take place. So thank you to every everybody who has contributed. Um, as you said, you can still make a donation. You can still sign up as a micro sponsor and contribute in those ways. Micros sponsorship does have some benefits to it. I think uh you get a persistent link um and logo on the website for example. Uh and and shows that you are in support of this whole event. So, and micro sponsorship I believe do you remember how much that is? I want to say it's $150. That's correct. Yeah. Okay. That's what I thought you had said earlier and then you know my brain just went I don't remember. So, >> well, and I'll just tell you that if if we were to change that next year, I will guaranteed to tell you the wrong number. >> Likewise. Likewise. So, October 15th at 12, what did you say? 12 UTC. No, two. >> It's 10 a.m. forgot. Central time, 1500 UTC. >> 1500 UTC. Thank you. Um, I coming back from Europe last week, all of my plane tickets were in 24-hour clock time. I was constantly having to subtract 12 to remember what time it was at home and make sure I didn't miss my flight from the airport. Um I am not used to that 24-hour clock, but I'm learning. So there we go. Uh so all that's all the information. Anything else you'd like to add before we wrap things up for today? >> No, I think I'm just happy to do this. Happy to chat. Uh it's nice to catch up and I'm really looking forward to this year's WP accessibility day. >> Likewise. Very much so. So you heard it everybody. be there October 15th at 1500 UTC, 10 a.m. Central time, which is 11 a.m. on the East Coast where I am. See, I can do the math once in a while. >> Yay, math. >> It's all good. Um, and if you're interested in finding out more, we'll of course have this all in the show notes, but it is 2025.wpaccessibility. And all of the links to register and support and all of the things, including our schedule, are right there. So, thank you for joining me today, Joe. I appreciate you and your ability to talk about all things all the time, especially off the cuff because I didn't give you any questions in advance. It's just a conversation. >> Well, thanks for having me here. >> Yep. >> My pleasure. >> Fantastic. We'll see everybody at WP Accessibility Day and we'll see you all on the next episode of the Post Status Cash Up. Thanks so much for being here., Post Status Cache Up With Joe Dolson, Post Status, 01k6k1m1828q2ahy7ca6g63ysb.