Open Source Accessibility by Ed Summers - CourtneyR.dev's 2nd Brain

Open Source Accessibility by Ed Summers 🔗 **Source:** [Open Source Accessibility by Ed Summers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y) > [!note]+ Document Notes  ## Claude Analysis --- tags: [accessibility, open-source, github, assistive-technology] author: Ed Summers source: All Things Open reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y date created: 2024-12-28 15:30 --- # 🏷️ Title: Open Source Accessibility by Ed Summers ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Check out GitHub's accessibility scanner — github.com/github/accessibility-scanner #accessibility - [H2] Visit open source accessibility roadmap — gh.io/open-source-accessibility #community - [H3] Consider accessibility vulnerabilities in dependencies — supply chain impact #security ## 🧭 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 - [GitHub Accessibility Scanner](https://github.com/github/accessibility-scanner) - [Open Source Accessibility Roadmap](https://gh.io/open-source-accessibility) ## 📝 Summary - GitHub's accessibility strategy focuses on four priorities: empowering employees, empowering disabled users, helping customers meet accessibility goals, and improving open source accessibility - 70-90% of modern software is open source, creating massive accessibility impact potential - Three-goal pledge: improve mainstream project accessibility, empower disabled contributors, and increase open source assistive technology adoption - Open Source Accessibility Summit created collaborative roadmap for community-driven improvements - Accessibility vulnerabilities in dependencies affect entire application stacks, similar to security vulnerabilities ## 📖 Main Content GitHub has evolved its accessibility strategy over 3-4 years and recently outlined four key priorities for the next 3-5 years. The first two priorities focus internally on empowering GitHub employees and users with disabilities to build on the platform. The newer priorities expand externally: helping customers achieve accessibility goals through tools like their new AI-powered accessibility scanner, and improving open source accessibility at scale through a public pledge with three specific goals. The scale of impact is significant given that 70-90% of modern software consists of open source code. This creates a supply chain effect where accessibility vulnerabilities in dependencies can compromise entire applications, mirroring how security vulnerabilities propagate through the software stack. GitHub's three-goal accessibility pledge addresses: (1) increasing accessibility of mainstream open source projects and dependencies, (2) empowering people with disabilities to contribute to open source (noting that 51% of companies seek open source experience when hiring), and (3) increasing availability and adoption of open source assistive technologies, particularly important given the economic barriers faced by disabled communities. The presentation distinguishes between accessibility (a property builders must implement) and assistive technology (tools disabled people use to live independently). Examples include screen readers like NVDA (free and open source) and VoiceOver, which the speaker demonstrates using during the presentation. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=0) — [H1] Introduction with service dog - Key idea: Speaker demonstrates accessibility in practice with service dog accommodation - Evidence: "He is wired a little differently... he gets really wired in front of a crowd like this" #### ⏱️ [01:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=90) — [H1] GitHub's four accessibility priorities - Key idea: GitHub has four strategic priorities for accessibility over next 3-5 years - Evidence: "Empowering our employees and empowering people with disabilities to build on GitHub" #### ⏱️ [02:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=135) — [H2] New AI-powered accessibility scanner - Key idea: GitHub shipped open source AI accessibility scanning tool - Evidence: "We just shipped an open-sourced and AI powered accessibility scanner" #### ⏱️ [02:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=165) — [H1] Public pledge for open source accessibility - Key idea: GitHub made public commitment to improve open source accessibility at scale - Evidence: "In May we took a pledge... to help improve the accessibility of open source at scale" #### ⏱️ [03:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=195) — [H3] Accessible polling methodology - Key idea: Traditional hand-raising polls exclude people who can't see - Evidence: "I can't see your hand... people up in front can't see people behind them" #### ⏱️ [04:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=270) — [H1] Open source code prevalence poll - Key idea: 70-90% of modern software applications are open source - Evidence: "70 to 90% of modern software applications website is open-source" #### ⏱️ [05:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=345) — [H2] Accessibility supply chain vulnerabilities - Key idea: Accessibility problems in dependencies affect entire applications - Evidence: "If your applications dependencies... have accessibility vulnerabilities... people with disabilities may not be able to use your application" #### ⏱️ [07:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=420) — [H2] Open source experience in hiring - Key idea: 51% of companies look for open source experience when hiring developers - Evidence: "51% of companies look for opensource experience when they're sourcing development talent" #### ⏱️ [08:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=495) — [H2] Empowering disabled contributors - Key idea: Open source contribution provides employability skills and empowerment - Evidence: "The feeling of empowerment when you get to build something that works" #### ⏱️ [09:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=540) — [H1] Accessibility vs assistive technology distinction - Key idea: Accessibility is a property builders implement; assistive technology are tools disabled people use - Evidence: "Accessibility... the burden is on the builder... assistive technology, these are tools that those of us with disabilities use" #### ⏱️ [10:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=630) — [H3] Examples of assistive technologies - Key idea: Assistive technologies range from eyeglasses to screen readers - Evidence: "I use a free and open source screen reader... on my Windows laptop called NVDA" #### ⏱️ [11:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=675) — [H2] Economic barriers and assistive technology - Key idea: Disability correlates with lower economic outcomes, making free tools important - Evidence: "Disability is correlated with lower economic outcomes... employment rates are just lower" #### ⏱️ [12:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=750) — [H2] Virtuous cycle of access - Key idea: The three goals are interrelated and build on each other - Evidence: "They're interrelated... create a virtuous cycle of access and opportunity" #### ⏱️ [13:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=825) — [H2] Open Source Accessibility Summit - Key idea: GitHub hosted pre-conference accessibility summit with high demand - Evidence: "Huge number of registrations and... even bigger number of people on the wait list" #### ⏱️ [14:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aScopuxL1Y&t=870) — [H3] Community roadmap and resources - Key idea: Collaborative effort continues through public GitHub organization - Evidence: "Available on in a GitHub or a public GitHub org... gh.io/open-source-accessibility" ## 📚 References - [GitHub Accessibility Scanner](https://github.com/github/accessibility-scanner) - [Open Source Accessibility Initiative](https://gh.io/open-source-accessibility) - [NVDA Screen Reader](https://www.nvaccess.org/) - [Census II Report - Linux Foundation](https://www.linuxfoundation.org/) - [State of Open Source Report - UK](https://www.stateofopencon.com/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - GitHub has developed a comprehensive accessibility strategy with four priorities spanning internal empowerment, customer support, and open source ecosystem improvement - The vast majority of modern software depends on open source components, creating a supply chain effect where accessibility problems in dependencies can compromise entire applications - Economic barriers faced by disabled communities make free and open source assistive technologies particularly valuable for enabling participation in technology and employment opportunities ## 📰 Newsletter 🎯 **GitHub's Bold Accessibility Pledge: Making Open Source Truly Open** GitHub just announced an ambitious plan to improve accessibility across the entire open source ecosystem. With 70-90% of modern applications built on open source dependencies, accessibility vulnerabilities can ripple through the entire software supply chain. **Key developments:** - New AI-powered accessibility scanner now open sourced - Three-goal public pledge targeting mainstream projects, contributor empowerment, and assistive technology adoption - Successful Open Source Accessibility Summit creating community roadmap **For WordPress developers:** Consider how accessibility issues in plugins and themes affect the broader ecosystem. GitHub's approach offers a model for systematic accessibility improvement. **Get involved:** Check out the collaborative roadmap at gh.io/open-source-accessibility and explore GitHub's accessibility scanner for your projects. Resources: [WordPress Accessibility Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/handbook/), [WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluator](https://wave.webaim.org/), [WP Accessibility Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-accessibility/) ## ✅ Action Items #### Community - Maintainers: integrate accessibility scanning into CI/CD pipelines - Contributors: participate in open source accessibility roadmap development - Sponsors: fund accessibility improvements in critical dependencies - Ecosystem: establish cross-project accessibility standards and testing #### WordPress - Core: evaluate accessibility scanner integration for WordPress.org - Accessibility: create plugin accessibility testing guidelines - Training: develop accessibility-focused contributor onboarding - Themes: establish accessibility requirements for theme directory - Plugins: implement accessibility review criteria - Documentation: expand accessibility guidance in developer resources #### DevRel - Education: host accessibility-focused workshops and office hours - Developer experience: integrate accessibility tools into development workflows - Community management: facilitate accessibility working groups - Developer marketing: promote accessibility as competitive advantage ## 🧪 Hypotheses - Open source accessibility improvements will have multiplicative impact due to dependency relationships - Economic barriers prevent many disabled developers from accessing commercial assistive technologies - Community-driven accessibility initiatives will be more sustainable than top-down approaches - AI-powered accessibility scanning can reduce manual testing burden while maintaining quality ### 📊 Methodology - Survey disabled developers about barriers to open source contribution - Analyze dependency graphs to identify highest-impact accessibility improvement targets - A/B test accessibility scanner effectiveness against manual audits - Track employment outcomes for disabled contributors to open source projects ### ❓ Questions - How can we measure accessibility debt across the open source supply chain? - What incentive structures would encourage maintainers to prioritize accessibility? - How do we ensure assistive technology development keeps pace with platform changes? ### 🔮 Future Research - Develop automated accessibility testing for CI/CD pipelines - Create disability-inclusive contributor onboarding programs - Investigate AI applications for assistive technology development ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Accessibility scanning becomes standard part of development workflow - Policy: Open source foundations may adopt accessibility requirements - Security: Accessibility vulnerabilities tracked similarly to security issues - Education: Accessibility training integrated into computer science curricula - Funding: Increased investment in open source assistive technology projects ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: Grade 12-14 (college level) #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Statistical data displayed prominently (70-90%, 51%) - Improve: Add dependency graph visualizations, accessibility workflow diagrams #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Full video presentation with clear narration - Improve: Provide audio-only version, podcast-style summary #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Clear definitions of accessibility vs assistive technology - Improve: Add glossary of accessibility terms, more analogies #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Live demonstration of screen reader usage - Improve: Hands-on accessibility testing exercises, sandbox environments #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Clear four-priority framework, three-goal structure - Improve: Decision trees for accessibility improvement prioritization #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Community summit, collaborative roadmap development - Improve: Discussion forums, peer review processes for accessibility #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Individual reflection prompt at end ("should open source be open to everyone?") - Improve: Self-assessment checklists, personal accessibility audit tools #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Supply chain and ecosystem thinking about dependencies - Improve: Broader connections to universal design principles ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Speaker uses screen reader during presentation, demonstrating real usage - Improve: Provide detailed alt text for statistical slides, heading structure #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Focus on multimodal interaction (voice + raised hands) - Improve: Ensure all interactive elements accessible via keyboard #### Contrast and readability - Present: High contrast presentation slides - Improve: Verify all text meets WCAG AA standards #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: Large text on presentation slides - Improve: Test content reflow at various zoom levels #### Media and captions - Present: Video has full transcript available - Improve: Add synchronized captions, audio descriptions of visual elements #### Forms and interactions - Present: Simple interaction model (raise hand + voice) - Improve: Multiple response modalities for audience engagement #### Standards reference - Aligns with WCAG 2.2 AA principles of perceivable, operable, understandable, robust ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: Global perspective on open source adoption statistics - Improve: Include international accessibility standards, cultural disability perspectives #### Inclusive language - Present: Person-first language ("people with disabilities"), avoids ableist terms - Improve: Define technical jargon, provide plain language alternatives #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Clear structure, predictable presentation format - Improve: Content warnings for sensitive topics, processing time allowances #### Representation - Present: Disabled presenter sharing lived experience authentically - Improve: Include diverse disability experiences, intersectional perspectives #### Psychological safety - Present: Respectful framing of disability as part of human diversity - Improve: Guidelines for inclusive discussion, community standards ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Deductive strength: Supply chain logic (dependencies affect applications) well-supported - Inductive strength: Employment statistics support contributor empowerment argument - Causal reasoning: Clear connection between economic barriers and assistive technology access - Analogical strength: Security vulnerability comparison effectively illustrates accessibility risks #### Fallacies - Appeal to emotion: Uses personal experience effectively without overgeneralizing - Hasty generalization: Statistics properly sourced and contextualized #### Tone of voice - Overall tone: Professional yet personal, balancing expertise with lived experience, inclusive and empowering rather than deficit-focused ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Deny: No denials present - acknowledges ongoing challenges openly - Attack: No attacks on any groups or individuals - Reverse victim/offender: Not applicable - presenter advocates for marginalized community --- ## Full Transcript [00:04] Thank you, Jonno. [00:07] And thank you, Jesse. [00:09] Uh, the other thing when you get started [00:12] with this on stage is remember to [00:13] breathe. It always helps to breathe when [00:16] coming on stage. Uh, come here buddy. [00:18] This is, uh, my third scene dog. Come [00:20] here, babe. Sit. Just give me a minute [00:23] to get him settled. Down. [00:27] Down. Down. He is uh [00:31] he is wired a little differently. He has [00:33] um you might have heard him bark [00:34] earlier. Okay, C9 dogs are not supposed [00:38] to do that. [00:40] Um but he gets really wired in front of [00:42] a crowd like this. You know, he's kind [00:43] of like me. He feels your energy. And I [00:46] was up here at 8:00 this morning [00:47] bringing him on and off this stage and [00:49] trying to work with getting him settled. [00:51] So, he was settled down. He did a great [00:52] job, didn't he? [00:54] >> Thank you. [00:58] Great. Give me just one second to get my [00:59] notes up. [01:03] Alrighty. [01:05] So, at GitHub, we've been working on [01:08] accessibility and making investments for [01:11] about three or four years now. And uh [01:14] we've made great progress and we're at [01:16] an inflection point and we're starting [01:18] to plan or we just finished planning the [01:21] next [clears throat] three to five years [01:22] and the priorities for us. So I just [01:25] wanted to share just briefly our [01:27] accessibility strategy at GitHub. [01:32] We have four priorities now. The first [01:34] two, empowering our employees and [01:36] empowering people with disabilities to [01:38] build a good hub. The first two um we've [01:41] been making um just great progress on [01:42] those. We'll continue to work on those. [01:44] The next two priorities are new for us. [01:48] Um, so the next one is empowering our [01:51] customers, many of you to build on [01:54] GitHub and meet your accessibility [01:56] goals. And we just shipped here at all [02:01] things open, we just shipped an [02:02] open-sourced and AI powered [02:04] accessibility scanner. Um, if you want [02:07] to check that out, go to [02:08] github.com/githubacibility-canner [02:14] um, and check it out. The next or our [02:17] our fourth and final uh priority is all [02:20] about improving the accessibility of [02:22] open source. [02:28] So in May we took a pledge. We took a [02:31] public pledge to help improve the [02:34] accessibility of open source at scale. [02:37] And we defined three goals for our [02:39] pledge. [02:41] Now, um the next slide, we're going to [02:43] go to a poll. Typically, [02:49] when we do a pledge, sorry, when we do a [02:51] poll like this in a big room, Todd did [02:54] it this morning. Ask people to raise [02:55] their hand. Okay. Well, there's a couple [02:57] problems with that from an accessibility [02:58] perspective. One, I can't see your hand, [03:00] so I won't be able to tell that. But [03:02] also, the people up in front, they can't [03:04] see the people behind them, right? So [03:06] the way we do that in a multimodal [03:08] accessible way is you raise your hand [03:10] and say I. So let's all do it together [03:12] right now. Raise your hand and say I. [03:14] >> I. [03:15] >> Woo. There's so many people there. [03:16] That's great. Love that. All right, [03:18] let's go right into our poll here. Um, [03:20] this comes from the Census 2 report from [03:22] the Linux Foundation. [03:27] How much source code within modern [03:30] software is open source? If you think [03:32] about the entire stack, all the [03:33] dependencies, and you lay it all out in [03:36] one big file, how many lines of that [03:38] source code is open source? I'm going to [03:40] walk through these options, and you can [03:41] raise your hand and say, "I when you [03:42] find one you like." [03:45] 30 to 50%. [03:48] >> Got a few takers. Okay, great. Thank [03:50] you. Thank you. 50 to 70%. [03:55] >> Okay, that's more [03:57] 70 to 90%. [04:00] Okay, I'd say that's the majority. It [04:02] turns out the majority is right in this [04:04] case. [04:06] 70 to 90% of modern software [04:08] applications website is open-source. And [04:11] that leads us to our first goal for the [04:14] pledge [04:15] and that's increasing the accessibility [04:18] of all those mainstream projects, all [04:20] those dependencies. Um we talked about [04:23] this I talked about this yesterday in [04:24] that wonderful talk on the third decade [04:27] of open source. [04:29] Um she talked about the open source [04:31] supply chain and securing the open [04:33] source supply chain. If if your [04:35] applications [04:36] dependencies open source dependencies [04:38] have security v vulnerabilities [04:40] your application will as well. If your [04:42] if those dependencies have accessibility [04:45] vulnerabilities same thing people with [04:47] disabilities may not be able to use your [04:49] application and enjoy your product. So, [04:52] we want to help the community improve [04:54] the accessibility of those mainstream [04:56] applications. Let's go to the next poll. [05:00] Okay, this one is how many companies [05:03] look for opensource experience when [05:05] they're sourcing development talent? And [05:08] we'll go through the options here. 22%. [05:13] >> Got a few%. [05:17] >> Okay. [05:19] 45%. [05:22] >> Okay, these are all about even 51%. [05:26] >> I think that's pretty much dead even. I [05:28] don't know, but in my uh expert opinion [05:31] there, the answer is 51%. [05:36] 51. Think about that, y'all. [05:40] By the way, that one's from the state of [05:42] open over in the UK. Uh [05:46] and that takes us to our second goal is [05:48] to empower people with disabilities to [05:51] contribute to open source. As you all [05:54] know, there are so many benefits, [05:56] employability and marketable skills just [05:58] being one of them. But just think about [06:00] the, you know, just the the feeling of [06:03] empowerment when you get to build [06:04] something that works. That's what got me [06:06] into computer science so many years ago. [06:08] We want everybody to be able to [06:09] experience that. [06:11] Now before we can talk about the third [06:14] goal, [06:16] uh we need to introduce a new term to [06:18] the conversation. I'm sure all of you [06:20] have heard about accessibility, but I [06:22] want to tell you about assistive [06:24] technology. [06:26] So let's let's kind of compare contrast [06:28] the two accessibility. It's a property [06:30] of the things that humans build. [06:33] Applications, websites, [06:35] homes, buildings like this one, [06:37] conferences like this one. And it's and [06:40] the burden is on the builder to make [06:42] that thing accessible. [06:45] But assist of technology, these are [06:47] tools that those of us with disabilities [06:49] use to live the lives that we want to [06:52] live. And I'll give you some examples. [06:56] Eyeglasses are definitely assist of [06:59] technology. Contact lenses, wheelchairs [07:02] is a great example of an assisted [07:04] technology. And in the digital realm, [07:06] screen readers. I'm using the voice over [07:09] screen reader right here on my iPhone to [07:10] flip through my talking points and I use [07:13] a free and open source screen reader uh [07:15] on my Windows laptop called NDDDA. [07:20] So goal number three is to increase the [07:23] availability and adoption of open-source [07:27] assistive technologies, many of which [07:30] are free. And this matters because [07:34] disability is c correlated, I'm sorry, [07:36] correlated with lower economic outcomes. [07:39] There are so many systemic barriers in [07:40] education uh in employment. Um it can it [07:44] it the employment rates are just lower [07:46] for people with disabilities. So assist [07:49] of technologies empower us to engage in [07:53] things like open source and our [07:55] communities and everything else. [07:58] [clears throat] [07:59] So we're really looking to empower [08:01] disabled builders to build their build [08:04] anything first off, but also build [08:07] solutions to their access needs, share [08:09] them with other people that need them, [08:11] and build thriving open source [08:13] communities around those solutions. [08:17] So just to recap the three goals here, I [08:20] want to just when you have a chance to [08:21] look at them here, I just want to recap [08:23] and state that they're interrelated. [08:25] They can build on each other. They can [08:27] feed off each other. And as we have a [08:28] success in one area, it contributes to [08:31] success in the other other area. And we [08:33] really want to create a virtuous cycle [08:37] of access and opportunity. [08:41] [clears throat] [08:43] Well, we took that pledge back in May [08:46] and before we had even shipped the [08:48] pledge and published it on the GitHub [08:51] blog, we were talking with Todd and our [08:53] great friends here at All Things Open [08:55] about our first deliverable against that [08:58] pledge. And Todd mentioned it earlier [09:00] that was the open-source accessibility [09:03] summit that we hosted here on Sunday. [09:06] It was a full day pre-conference [09:07] session. We had a huge number of [09:10] registrations and we had an even bigger [09:12] number of people on the wait list. [09:14] Unfortunately, we had limited space, but [09:16] we had a great day. [09:22] The goals of the summit, we [09:23] [clears throat] had three goals, but the [09:25] primary goal that I want to talk talk [09:27] about was to create a roadmap towards [09:30] improving the accessibility of open [09:32] source at scale. We made great progress [09:34] towards that on Sunday. [09:40] So um [09:43] that roadmap and this ongoing [09:47] collaborative effort through the [09:49] community is available on in a GitHub or [09:52] a public GitHub or we created and you [09:54] can go to that org at uh just [09:56] github.com/opensource [09:58] accessibility separated by hyphens or [10:00] the shorter is gh.io/open-source- [10:03] io/open-source-accessibility. [10:09] So I want to just want to leave you with [10:12] one question. If you think open source [10:15] should be open to everyone, please raise [10:18] your hand and say hi. Hi. [10:21] >> Thank you.