Notices by Robert Kingett backup (weirdwriter@tweesecake.social)

So glad I found this. Block sites publishing AI slop. Google search results are much better too as a result! https://github.com/laylavish/uBlockOrigin-HUGE-AI-Blocklist #AI #Tech #OpenSource

Need money to sustain me until the end of September. I’m a disabled writer with a form of long Covid, and I am unable to work full-time or part-time job these days. Even so, I do a lot for my community. Tutorials, share off-line mutual aid, and more. https://robertkingett.com/donate/ #MutualAid #DisabilityMutualAid #MutualAidRequest #Disability @mutualaid@a.gup.pe @MutualAidVisibility @MutualAid@universeodon.com @disabilityjustice@a.gup.pe @DisabilityJustice@chirp.social @disability @MutualAidNet @mutualaid@kolektiva.social @mutualaid@a.gup.pe

In this post, I wrote about the sad experience of having a friend use AI to wish me a happy birthday. https://robertkingett.com/posts/6627/ #AI #Blog #Blogging #Blogs @techtakes @fuck_ai

In addition to LibreWolf keeping #Accessibility features in tact, they also disabled this recent #AI chat bullshit, so download the browser and give it a try! https://codeberg.org/librewolf/issues/issues/1919 #AIHype

#WebDev this is what we mean when we say that a website is not accessible to our screen reader.

@tess @aral This is everything right here! And people really do wonder why we stick with big Tech as problematic as it is. I honestly can’t tell which is more frustrating these days. I think we are all well aware of the issues caused by big tech but I never seen such irony as The open source community. Well, if your system isn’t working, you could use the system that you can’t use to contribute code on the system that you can’t use. Blows my mind every time. When open source actually works collaboratively, and without the elitism, it really is the best way to make Tech. I’ve contributed to fantastic open source environments and tools and otherwise, but there’s just something about the community as a whole that percolates this kind of ironic accessibility view all throughout the projects that I encounter. Even though big tech could be better in their accessibility, at least they give us breadcrumbs. The open source community turns around and says, if you want it, you make this thing accessible, not me.

This actually wouldn't shock me in the slightest because VC funded software is adopting privacy and security like buzzwords now anyway, so just don't be shocked if they do/are VC funded because tech can't help itself. @aral @m04 @bohwaz

oh hey @aral is there a database of small tech I can explore that's broken down into categories? Like a wiki? Something like PortableApps but for small tech?

This is so wild, but the blog and RSS feed, well, one of them anyway, I've been reading and loving, I just figured out was @aral and if you all don't have his RSS feed, you really should, because I love posts like this https://ar.al/2021/05/10/hell-site/

I’m trying @librewolf browser and it might seem like a small thing to you all, but they went out of their way to preserve accessibility features for disabled users like myself, whereas other privacy solutions remove accessibility features completely, and their efforts to make sure disabled users have a private focused but accessible browser is more welcome than you can imagine because disabled people need privacy as well. I would argue that disabled people need privacy more. I wish more #privacy advocates took accessibility and disability into account the way they have currently. I hope this remains a core mission of theirs

Yes! I've been waiting for Miranda NG to provide #Matrix support but that doesn't look like it will happen, so I've been looking into #XMPP as a result, because there are more screen reader friendly clients out there. I'm kind of amazed how every Matrix client is inaccessible and bloated @pax

@pax XMPP is still being developed. It's a protocol, so will never get updated at the speed Matrix is, but it's still being developed, just like email protocols.

I'm a Disabled person that wishes more people would use the #Alt4Me hashtag. If you can't write/dictate/put a media description, I'd love it if someone else did it. That hashtag is not just for Blind or low vision people. It's there if you can't provide an media description yourself! There are groups that do the same thing. Anyone should be able to use the tag to request a description without getting harassed for it. If you do provide audio transcripts for an uploaded audio or an image description, tag with #Alt4U so others can find it! Also, today I learned about @closedcaptionsbot

Oh! I have good news! The lowest WP tears do have the Fediverse blocks, the follow one, and the display recent followers one! @feditips

Could the support forum links be added to the FediTips page about this? If they are evergreen, anyway. The support forums? @jeremy @feditips @irina @pfefferle

@feditips Nope, not from what I can see, nope, and no sharing buttons and otherwise either! I'll add our SADC handle to the contact page soon so people can find us. On my personal website I have much more control. I didn't see anything on the Fedi tips page also including their recommended WebFinger plugin. Have any idea what that is? If they recommend we install that too on our own websites, might be worth explaining it in FediTips or at least link to the WebFinger plugin.

@feditips Thanks! I will do that on my own website, but for SADC we have the lowest paid plan, so WP COM won't let us change unless we upgrade to the business plan, but thank you though! That pointed me in the right direction!

@feditips Did they explain how to change our name? Like our fedi name? For example, right now, SADC shows up as @socialaudiodescription.com

Because I feel as if I am the *only* blind person that hasn't jumped on the #AIHype nonsense yet, it really annoys me when I see the degradation of once mostly accessible apps and or services. On the services side, Shopify. On the app side, First, the Alexa app. Then, Spotify.

Sure, for now, it's only those 2 apps I've found, but I bet you this trend will continue. Add a new **AI** feature that isn't really AI, they just branded an algorithm they had for decades as AI, but let's forget all about #Accessibility and usability. Trust me, #Enshittification will accelerate like never before as tech becomes more and more desperate. Yes, interfaces are just going to get far worse for us, but we're not preparing for this, and I doubt we will. It's gonna be a very long, long, long, decade ahead, folks.

One thing I haven’t seen any other blind person talk about, because the community has 100% bought into the #AIHype is other services are becoming less accessible. For example, the Amazon Alexa app on iOS is in its worst state of accessibility I’ve ever seen. My prediction is that now that #AI is a thing, Tech Brose won’t think about accessibility anymore for a very long time unless it has to deal with AI. At least I will be employed as an expert accessibility witness for a very, very, long time