Substrates via Accessibility

The social model of disability holds that disability is produced by environments, not by bodies — that when software fails to accommodate a person’s needs, the environment is disabling them. We argue that the dominant organization of computing produces such interaction mismatches structurally: the commodity form of software requires a standardized consumer, and everyone whose needs diverge from this imagined subject is disabled by the software environment. The substrates research community has identified properties — disclosure, composability, malleability — that would address this, but the commodity form actively selects against these properties because they dissolve the boundaries on which exchange value depends. This raises a question: how can infrastructure organized against the grain of commodity logic be made durable? We find a precedent in accessibility infrastructure — sustained not by patronage but by the organized counter-power of disability rights movements. Through Allio, a system for cross-application augmentation built on accessibility APIs, we illustrate both what this foundation makes possible and where its limits lie. We argue that the accessibility case reframes the substrates programme’s central challenge as political-economic: the question of who sustains substrate infrastructure, and through what social mechanisms, is as important as the question of what properties it should have.

Malleable software: Restoring user agency in a world of locked-down apps

The original promise of personal computing was a new kind of clay. Instead, we got appliances: built far away, sealed, unchangeable. In this essay, we envision malleable software: tools that users can reshape with minimal friction to suit their unique needs.

Usability/UX/Accessability Research? · Issue #819 · w3c-fedid/FedCM

I'm curious if this work has any usability, UX, or accessibility research that supports the designs here? Are there non-goals, or handling of failure case scenarios that have been envisioned an...

Malleable software

computing environments where anyone can mold their tools to their own unique needs.That definition is by [[Geoffrey Litt]], who wrote [[Malleable software ...

Geoffrey Litt

Welcome! I work on malleable software: computing environments where anyone can adapt their software to meet their needs with minimal friction. To see what that means to me, read this essay or listen to this interview.

Digital accessibility is real and tangible

A workshop using real-life examples and first-hand experience of how assistive technology works can result in a deeper understanding of accessibility needs

A Deep Dive into Accessibility APIs, Part 1 — Knowbility

In this first Deep Dive into Accessibility APIs installment, we'll start from absolute scratch and recount the widely available basic story. It's written for beginners, but the fact that I describe web accessibility in the broader context of software accessibility might offer a different twist for current practitioners as well. Parts 2 and 3, on the other hand, are more technical. Although those discussions may largely be of interest only to "inquiring minds that want to know", understanding the history and variety of the specialized protocols at the heart of this process sheds light on why screen readers sometimes perform differently in the same application or on the same web site while also providing a glimpse of a likely future.

A threat model for accessibility on the web - Alice

A explanation of the primary threat to accessibility on the web, and a call to action for the web standards community

Apps and programming: two accidental tyrannies

On coding agents, malleable software, and the future of interface invention

Apps and programming: two accidental tyrannies

On coding agents, malleable software, and the future of interface invention

Generative and Malleable User Interfaces with Generative and Evolving Task-Driven Data Model

As part of the Digital Library's transition to Open Access, new features for researchers are available in the Premium Edition. Click here to learn more.

recommended techniques for accessibility champions - A11y Toolkit

An open-source library of techniques to avoid the most common accessibility failures.

lukeslp/awesome-accessibility

Curated list of accessibility resources, tools, and best practices for creating inclusive digital experiences

The Road to Good Intentions Is Paved with Hell: A Deep Dive into Accessibility APIs, Part 2 — Knowbility

This post is the second in a three-part series about how screen readers obtain what users need from applications and operating systems.