#modelviewculture

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At the end of the day, the numbers say it all. They’ve been saying it all. And they’re telling us that despite all the posts on company blogs, all the promises made, these places are still either actively against diversity, or they know so little about it that they’re hoping some other rich white people can fix their problem.

Riley H, “Your Half-Assed Diversity Initiatives Aren’t Going to Cut It In 2016″

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Issue 30 is here!

We discuss exploitative monetization models in technology, and critique representations of online identity and how they impact underrepresented groups. We look at the pervasive empathy gap in tech communities, and how the diversity movement in gaming continues to fail marginalized developers. Plus, a look at domestic violence in the Marvel universe, and a Q&A series with technologists with disabilities on their work, STEM education and the pipeline.

https://modelviewculture.com/issues/issue-30

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The Argument for Free-Form Input

“It is unacceptable that the same industry writing thinkpieces and case studies on every minutiae of UX doesn’t question how their interfaces might invalidate the personhood of those different than them. We acknowledge that frustrated users leave quickly. We track and consider what percentage of people will leave a site if it doesn’t load in under two seconds. We acknowledge that overly strict validation and requiring a specific syntax (e.g. “MM-DD-YYYY” for dates when “DD-MM-YYYY” or “DD/MM/YYYY” is easily parsable) will make users leave or enter the wrong data. We talk about intelligent defaults, and which ordering of exclusive options will yield the highest conversion rate. Yet despite all this research, quantification and analysis, we continue to arbitrarily trust the judgements of white, able-bodied, neurotypical cis dudes to define personhood in the digital world.”

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Intel at IndieCade: The Cost of Diversity in Games

To all corporations intent on continuing to use the work of marginalized developers: Pay us. Stop offering us opportunities without the means to attain them, dangling our hopes and dreams in front of our faces with a thousand dollar price tag we cannot afford. Pay for our travel, accommodations, and provide us stipends to feed ourselves while attending your events. Pay us for our time, whether as speakers or developers, because our work is valuable and worthy of remuneration.

If you want to continue profiting off of our presence at your events, our image in your press releases, and reap the free PR and social relevance our hard work buys you, then pay for it.

- Veve Jaffa

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”Like the tech industry, the electronic music scene is often seen as a progressive space. We align ourselves in opposition to the mainstream, thrive on the sense that we’re building something new, something counterculture — that we might someday change the world.

But how much of that fantasy lines up with reality? In her 1996 book,Club Cultures, Sarah Thornton writes: “Despite their discourse of liberty, fraternity and harmony, raves had distinct demographics — chiefly white, working-class, heterosexual and dominated by the lads. Raves may have involved large numbers of people and they may have trespassed on new territories, finding new spaces for youthful leisure, but they did little to rearrange its social affairs.”

Not much has changed in 2015. We still see male-dominated lineup after male-dominated lineup, at clubs and festivals predominantly run by male bookers and promoters.”

- Femmes, DJs, Raves: Towards More Inclusive Club Cultures, by Alyce Currier 

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Very often, specialized companies create assistive technology with little input from actual users with disabilities. These products are usually institutional in look and feel, overpriced, and only reimbursable by insurance. People with disabilities have limited selection and cannot repair or replace parts independently. Upending this relationship between manufacturers and people with disabilities, makeathons and other similar activities can incrementally disrupt this power dynamic.

Alice Wong, Assistive Technology By People with Disabilities, Part I: Introducing Team Free to Pee

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Introducing Ditto: A Link Aggregator For An Inclusive Community

I am a Black American software developer whose experience with Reddit hasn’t always been pleasant. Trying to be a part of the community by joining in on conversations was a struggle. Any time there was a post regarding Black people, the comments often resulted in lots of misinformation, questionable views, or just blatant racism. Any attempts to inform or educate were often met with trolling and/or micro-aggressions. Such experiences aren’t limited to Black people who use the site; this is a problem that all marginalized groups face with Reddit.

In the summer of 2015, when Reddit received a plethora of press regarding banning of communities and changes to their harassment policies, a couple of things became apparent to me: the community is allowed to be much worse than initially thought, and it’s absolutely disgusting what Reddit is allowing to be associated with their company. During that time, many people on social media were calling for more inclusive alternatives. That’s when I began development on Ditto, a link aggregator for an inclusive community, and I’m really excited to announce its first public testing phase.

Read the full article by Ditto.Today creator Michael DeBerry 

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Asian American Women in Tech: Lawsuits and Lived Experiences

Evidence that Asian American women haven't been fully included in technology is found not only in recent lawsuits, but in the lack of Asian American women in tech leadership.