#access solution

[mtandtgroup]

WEB Deck™ Under Bridge Access Solution.

WEB Deck is an innovative clip-on modular system which provides a stable and strong working platform for under-decks. It is suitable for a variety of work tasks and can be used by regular tradesmen without safety lines. The system is quickly installed to the underdeck of bridges, viaducts, jetties and oil platforms.

Fast Installation: Only seven days to install and fully encapsulate 300m2 of bridge under-deck.

Safe: fewer hours working at height; rope access is statistically safer than scaffolding.

Low cost: Efficient install leads to lower labour cost and lower total access cost.

Low self-weight: Suitable for weaker structures.

Full containment: The system includes side containment and full encapsulation where necessary.

[rivkae-winters]

Edit: the app launched and Is down- I have the initial apology video in a post here and I’m working on getting a full archive of their TikTok up ASAP. I’m letting the rest of this post remain since I do still stand by most of it and also don’t like altering things already in circulation.

Warning for criticism and what I’d consider some harsh to outright mean words:

So I’ve just been made aware of the project known of as ‘lore.fm’ and I’m not a fan for multiple reasons. For one this ‘accessibility’ tool complicates the process of essentially just using a screen reader (something native to all I phones specifically because this is a proposed IOS app) in utterly needless and inaccessible ways. From what I have been seeing on Reddit they have been shielding themselves (or fans of the project have been defending them) with this claim of being an accessibility tool as well to which is infuriating for so many reasons.

I plan to make a longer post explaining why this is a terrible idea later but I’ll keep it short for tonight with my main three criticisms and a few extras:

1. Your service requires people to copy a url for a fic then open your app then paste it into your app and click a button then wait for your audio to be prepared to use. This is needlessly complicating a process that exists on IOS already and can be done IN BROWSER using an overlay that you can fully control the placement of.

2. This is potentially killing your own fandom if it catches on with the proposed target market of xreader smut enjoyers because of only needing the link as mentioned above. You don’t have to open a fic to get a link this the author may potentially not even get any hits much less any other feedback. At least when you download a pdf you leave a hit: the download button is on the page with the fic for a reason. Fandom is a self sustaining eco system and many authors get discouraged and post less/even stop writing all together if they get low interaction.

3. Maybe we shouldn’t put something marketed as turning smut fanfic into audio books on the IOS App Store right now. Maybe with KOSA that’s a bad idea? Just maybe? Sarcasm aside we could see fan fiction be under even more legal threat if minors use this to listen to the content we know they all consume via sites like ao3 (even if we ask them not to) and are caught with it. Auditory content has historically been considered much more obscene/inappropriate than written content: this is a recipe for a disaster and more internet regulations we are trying to avoid.

I also have many issues with the fact that this is obviously redistributing fanfiction (thus violating the copyright we hold over our words and our plots) and removing control the author should have over their content and digital footprint. Then there is the fact that even though the creator on TikTok SAYS you can email to have your fic ‘excluded’ based on the way the demo works (pasting a link) I’m gonna assume that’s just to cover her ass/is utter bullshit. I know that’s harsh but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it’s probably a duck.

I am all for women in stem- I’ve BEEN a woman in Stem- but this is not a cool girl boss moment. This is someone naive enough to think this will go over well at best or many other things (security risks especially) at worst.

In conclusion for tonight: I hope this person is a troll but there is enough hype and enough paid for web domains that I don’t think that’s the case. There are a litany of reasons every fanfic reader and writer should be against something like this existing and I’ll outline them all in several other posts later.

Do not email their opt out email address there is no saying what is actually happening with that data and it is simply not worth the risks it could bring up. I hate treating seemingly well meaning people like potential cyber criminals but I’ve seen enough shit by now that it’s better to be safe than sorry. You’re much safer just locking all your fics to account only. I haven’t yet but I may in the future if that is the only option.

If anyone wants a screen reader tutorial and a walk through of my free favorites as well as the native IOS screen reader I can post that later as well. Sorry for the heavy content I know it’s not my normal fare.

[menlove]

people loooove to douse very conservative and classist ideas in progressive language to make it palatable like. i s2g if I hear One More Person being like "ummmm if you're not financially well off yet you don't deserve to have kids that's abusive and neglectful" I may actually lose my fucking mind. no, growing up poor isn't great! it sucks sometimes! but that's not bc your parents should never have had children, it's bc we live in a shitty classist society like am I losing my mind? when did saying "poor people shouldn't have kids and only rich people should reproduce" become a bog standard leftist take? like think about what you're saying for even Two seconds. what you're saying is that poor people should die out. sit with that. think about the types of people that have money. think about the types of people that don't. rotate in your mind who you're saying shouldn't reproduce. shut the fuck up.

[thursdayinspace]

I went through locking half my fics on AO3 and then couldn't continue. I HATE this. I believe in fandom being free of barriers and easily accessible to everyone. I don't WANT people to have to make accounts to read fic. I want people to be able to comment and kudos anonymously if they don't want to sign their username to it for *whatever reason they may have*. But I spend weeks, sometimes months on my fics. I don't want AI to have them. I hate this. I'll keep thinking about this. But seriously fuck AI. I hate having to make fandom a members-only club to protect our work.

[omegalerc]

okay, question: would u say max and charles are mates? cuz if max and charles are mated, how does the omega auction even go? wouldn’t max have first priority or something? especially if charles is pregnant??

anon this is such a loaded question but i thank u for asking. the answer is quite complicated; a lot of my lestappenanel situations are curated but what emotion i am specifically feeling at the time. sometimes charles and max are mates with twins on the way, sometimes they are fuckbuddies by contractual and heat/rut partnerships, and sometimes charles is just. Getting sold tf out of at the omega auction. you see omegaverse lestappen can exist in so many different lifeforms it’s quite beautiful really.

[ganondoodle]

Sorry ab the shitty English translations/localizations, it's bc they think that Americans won't get it otherwise (bc when we act stupid, we act REALLY stupid), our bad 💀

[a-little-revolution]

Hi lovely, I hope you are well?

I saw the ask about the bathroom accommodations and it got me really interested in two things.

1) what are accommodations that are hLepful (trying to 'help' without actually considering the needs of the individual, for example the step not enabling independence and I imagine from prior posts that it would also cause strain on your joints? (Plus the whole hygiene side, run into that one myself with suggested accommodations) )

2) what accommodations would you want to see in public spaces (doesn't have to be bathroom related, this just showed me a gap in my awareness and I'd like to work on it so I can include more awareness whenever I'm partaking in conversations around accessibility. If you have prior posts do link them, the only one that's coming to my mind right now was discussing the lack of accessibility in hospitals)

Hope you have a good pain/energy day, and I really love your style!

Hello! Indeed, I spoke about some ways to make public spaces more accessible for little people here - particularly when it comes to public washrooms. Here's some more accommodations I'd love to see!

I would love to see more information/reception desks with varying heights! This is an excellent piece of infrastructure that allows little people (and wheelchair users) full access to the counter and a place to speak to an attendant.

In the realm of public counter tops - a huge point of inaccess for me is grocery store conveyor belts. They come to about my chest, which makes loading and packing very difficult. And the "accessible" lane is no different! Plus every grocery store I've been to makes the "accessible" lane also the express lane - so while I'm buying my load of groceries, there's always a disgruntled customer behind me - I've even been denied access for having too many groceries!

The self check out is even worse - in a world where we're now being ushered to interact with these robots instead of real people, I can't reach the screen or the debit machine! So either way I need to ask for help, which completely defeats it's purpose. I would love to see a more accessible option that is lower to the ground.

A second, lower handrail on public stairs is a must! I've seen these in children's hospitals and schools, and would love them to be common place. Average handrails often land at shoulder height or higher - they provide little to no stability or safety for little people.

An access issue that often gets overlooked is the height of public seating - this includes doctor's office chairs, modern theatre seating, bar stools, booths, and office swivel chairs. The irony of a disabled person not being able to sit down is one I come across on the regular. The number of times I've showed up for an interview and not been able to sit without assistance is absurd.

Having a variety of seating options, or providing public step stools (or a combination of the two) could be easy fixes to this issue. In hospitals I am seeing a slow shift towards even lower chairs and beds since this issue is not always unique to little people - anyone who has difficulty bending, sitting, or transferring from a wheelchair has this issue. Modern design needs to account for diversity, instead of steering towards minimalism.

Step stools are of course the easiest means of making public spaces more accessible for little people, but I want to point out that they're not always the be-all-end-all solution, and can actually just be a band aid to some problems. While stools are incredibly versatile, not everyone has the ability to use them and they can pose a hazard in certain situations. In points of high traffic, built-in steps are far safer and could even be designed to fold up when not in use - they can also account for weight and wear.

Additionally, when stools are option in public, it's vital that they be easily accessed and borrowed by patrons without the need for a special request. I've said it before, "If I have to ask for help, it's not accessible". In order for stools to be a viable accommodation, they should be as freely obtained as toilet paper.

[mauricesmall]

Compost is the foundation of life.

[longsightmyth]

Posts that talk about how book piracy isn't okay because libraries exist miss the point I feel

Even if libraries didn't exist, or you don't have access to one, the way pay is set up for authors means pirating a book does actually DIRECTLY affect their income.

"Isn't it better for people to read their books and talk about them if they can't pay for them"

Well, no. Or we would not have had such a movement on here about how publicity for artists isn't the same as pay.

Pay artists for their art, or don't get their art. This only seems to be a difficult concept for tumblr (especially but not exclusively) when the art in question is writing.

[whyamiherewhosummonedme]

did you do control taste tests with distilled water, and virus-free pH buffer to compare the tastes?

I did not and I wish I had. It was more of a brief opportunity. Effectively a case study, not a full one with control groups and stuff

[thefreelanceangel]

"Wait, that guy?"

Manx stared at where Selenite pointed."He seriously wanted you to read the bones to tell him if his erection would come back from the dead?!"

( @ahollowgrave let me borrow Selenite, so she and Manx could hit up a party and gossip)

[llycaons]

I get what this post is saying I just don't think people would be rping with chatbots if they had friends or convenient 'bisexual internet women' on hand who would do that with them

[lavenoon]

To the anon worried about ao3 being banned in their country: you will do what all the rest of us in countries with banned ao3 did and get a good free vpn and Tor and read ao3 like before. The world slides into dictatorship, but we stay silly.

^ I suppose that's the easiest solution, rather than trying to find alternatives on an individual author basis!

[mauricesmall]

Remembering my father.

[queer-crip-grows]

If you are involved in climate activism and if you work in town planning and purchasing, or anything similar, I am begging you to please, *please* start thinking about disabled folk, elderly folk and parents with young kids when you are talking about walking and biking to places.

Cycles are absolutely inherently more pedestrian-friendly than cars, but they are still perfectly capable of injuring or even killing pedestrians, particularly frailer people, small people, and pets.

A lot of pedestrians, especially elderly and disabled people, have developed this instinctive terror of cycles and cyclists purely because poor planning so often shoves cycles into pedestrian spaces that aren’t actually even that ideal for pedestrians, and people who already have difficulties - elderly and disabled people, dog walkers, parents of small children - in those spaces start accumulating experiences of injury or even a succession of near-misses, which are perfectly capable of producing trauma even if physical injury is avoided.

And that only plays into the hands of polluters and governments who are in their pockets as well as increasing the marginalisation of already-marginalised people.

I can’t blame cyclists who are too afraid to ride cycles on the roads along with motor traffic. It’s terrifying and incredibly unsafe. Cycle paths, Cycle lanes, and other specific spaces for cyclists are absolutely essential, with as little need to share space with motor traffic *or* pedestrians as possible. Even in wide city boulevards, laid-out cycle paths and spaces are essential. They literally only need paint! And let electric scooters back on them in the UK too.

If you are providing any form of public rentable cycles, please, *please* accommodate elderly, frailer and disabled people too. We tend to be the ones who are in the most need of alternatives to get places, but traditional bikes are inaccessible to frailer people and most people with balance and fatigue issues. Please buy a selection of bikes, including adult-size tricycles, scooters with seats, and bikes with seats and tow options for small children. Parents exist, and are mostly desperately in need of transport as they have small humans with short legs and limited energy, and most prams and buggies are incompatible with traditional cycles.

We know so damn well how right-wing governments and corporations benefit from setting us against each other, and how adept they are at using marginalised people to distract the majority of exploited workers from the larger issues said governments are doing poorly or not tackling at all.

Disabled and elderly people, and parents of small children, are very vulnerable to climate change and the issues it causes. We are not the enemies of the climate movement; but we equally need to be *included* in it and *accommodated* by it.

If you are only looking for solutions that work for abled, healthy young adults, you are, frankly, not doing your job effectively. Listen to disabled people, older people, and parents. If you are doing large-scale planning work, invite us into the planning process *early*, not at the end when any changes will seem too burdensome and expensive to make, and, honestly, pay us for our time and expertise.

Oh, and if you make or sell bikes or electric bikes, sell more accessible options like adult trikes and ones with child seats and towing options too, please. And don’t charge enormously more for them than standard bikes. Financing options would be good too. Most disabled people can’t afford to run a car, and your bikes are often more expensive than that, if you offer them at all.