"Accessibility" Policies -- A Rant
Jul. 8th, 2013 02:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sasha_featherI hope you all know by now that language and its effects are an issue near and dear to my heart. Language can be hostile or welcoming, centering or othering. This is particularly on my mind as I look at various "accessibility" policies for conventions in the SF/F world.
I am creating List of such conventions for the Geek Feminism Wiki. (This was inspired by their List of cons with anti-harassment policies.)
First, why is it helpful to have such policies online?
Because information is good access. The more information you can provide to people, even if it's to say that there are barriers to access, the better people can plan for their trip.
Secondly, if people have to ask to receive information, that in itself is a barrier. As many of us with anxiety, fatigue, or other disabilities know, it can be difficult to make that phone call or send that email. A lot of us are used to dealing with people on the other end of the line who aren't our allies and might make our lives more difficult when we ask for information.
As and someone working access, do you really want to give out the information again and again? Why not just do it once, and then point people at your webpage or printed materials?
I know there are some conventions that have had good access but don't have their policies online. Open Source Bridge, I'm looking at you. :)
Other conventions have their policies online (good!) but then make all kinds of mistakes with language. They send signals that they really don't want PWDs to attend at all, that they think people are faking disabilities in order to get good seats or other services (no one does this! seriously), and otherwise hostile language.
Several of these pages use the term "special needs". I don't think very many people on this planet have special needs. Most people have the same needs, it's just that some of us need accommodation in order to enjoy the same events at conventions, like getting to the programming rooms in a timely manner, being able to move through the hotel, being able to understand what is going on, being able to visit with friends, etc. I realize special needs is an introduced PC term for disabled people, but I am just not sure that it fits or is accurate. It makes it sound like disabled people want "more" (like champagne) when what we really want is the same stuff as everyone else (water in a glass we can hold).
Whenever you want to say or write "special needs", I suggest you substitute "accommodations" instead.
Let's Break down some of the specific policies and why they are problematic:
DragonCon
"We will have the Con schedule in large print available (to be read at our table or we can email a copy to you to print or download to your screen reading device)
If you have low vision, you better have a device for reading the program. Otherwise, you have to sit at the registration table to read the program! It's apparently too hard for them to print off a few more copies for low-vision attendees. (Remember, this is a for-profit con.) I really don't know why you would want people clustered around your reg desk that way.
We offer 5 stickers for badges, based on needs:
Wheelchair seating: for our wheeled folk, of course.
Chair in Line/End of Row: for non-wheeled folks with mobility impairments.
Proximity/ 50 ft. to Screen: for visual/lip reading access.
Sightlines: for access to the interpreter, safe space for working animals, and certain other unique situations.
Medical: This sticker is merely a place to put emergency information if you have a medical condition that the EMT needs to know about before they put you in the ambulance. It does not entitle you to any other services.
A person has to out themselves in order to get any of these services. It's right there on one's badge: everyone you interact with at the convention then knows you are a disabled person. It also positions whoever gives the sticker as an authority. I know a lot of people with mild hearing loss who don't consider themselves disabled, but who might benefit from line-of-sight seating. Such people wouldn't want to get a sticker even if they might use an otherwise reserved chair.
One important thing to remember: we will do our best to make sure events are accessible to you, but that does not mean we guarantee you a front row seat, or head-of-the-line privileges. If you are going to a very popular event, you must get there extra early to get a good seat, just like everyone else. The accessible seating will not be in the front row.
I guess if you move slowly, are delayed by crowded elevators, etc., you are screwed. Several other websites said this. Maybe these conventions should put a cap on their membership? (Oh wait, DragonCon is for profit.)
Phoenix Comic Con This is the worst one.
You get a special badge! Lucky you.
But the badge doesn't get you:
· Early access to panels and special events
· Guaranteed access into special events, photo ops, autographs, or panels.
· The ability to skip lines
So fuck you I guess! Especially if you are someone who can't stand for a long time!
Service Animals are always welcome at the Phoenix Convention Center. Animals are sometimes questioned if the need is not apparent, so we suggest attendees carry documentation with them for their companion.
Does anyone know if this is actually illegal? It sounds illegal to me. [eta: it is, see comments] Then again, it's Arizona... I don't think "welcome" means what they think it means, also, to be pedantic, you won't get very far questioning an animal!
Some of the other policies are much better, including for ReaderCon, FogCon, and Arisia (and WisCon, but no need to toot my own horn--plus, I always want to improve.) Some suggested bits of activism for those involved with conventions, or even those who aren't but who can do emailing:
*Encourage Conferences and Conventions to develop Access policies and list them online. Professional and Academic conferences, trade shows, etc can be included here.
*Encourage those with bad policies to improve them.
Comments and suggestions welcome.
I am creating List of such conventions for the Geek Feminism Wiki. (This was inspired by their List of cons with anti-harassment policies.)
First, why is it helpful to have such policies online?
Because information is good access. The more information you can provide to people, even if it's to say that there are barriers to access, the better people can plan for their trip.
Secondly, if people have to ask to receive information, that in itself is a barrier. As many of us with anxiety, fatigue, or other disabilities know, it can be difficult to make that phone call or send that email. A lot of us are used to dealing with people on the other end of the line who aren't our allies and might make our lives more difficult when we ask for information.
As and someone working access, do you really want to give out the information again and again? Why not just do it once, and then point people at your webpage or printed materials?
I know there are some conventions that have had good access but don't have their policies online. Open Source Bridge, I'm looking at you. :)
Other conventions have their policies online (good!) but then make all kinds of mistakes with language. They send signals that they really don't want PWDs to attend at all, that they think people are faking disabilities in order to get good seats or other services (no one does this! seriously), and otherwise hostile language.
Several of these pages use the term "special needs". I don't think very many people on this planet have special needs. Most people have the same needs, it's just that some of us need accommodation in order to enjoy the same events at conventions, like getting to the programming rooms in a timely manner, being able to move through the hotel, being able to understand what is going on, being able to visit with friends, etc. I realize special needs is an introduced PC term for disabled people, but I am just not sure that it fits or is accurate. It makes it sound like disabled people want "more" (like champagne) when what we really want is the same stuff as everyone else (water in a glass we can hold).
Whenever you want to say or write "special needs", I suggest you substitute "accommodations" instead.
Let's Break down some of the specific policies and why they are problematic:
DragonCon
"We will have the Con schedule in large print available (to be read at our table or we can email a copy to you to print or download to your screen reading device)
If you have low vision, you better have a device for reading the program. Otherwise, you have to sit at the registration table to read the program! It's apparently too hard for them to print off a few more copies for low-vision attendees. (Remember, this is a for-profit con.) I really don't know why you would want people clustered around your reg desk that way.
We offer 5 stickers for badges, based on needs:
Wheelchair seating: for our wheeled folk, of course.
Chair in Line/End of Row: for non-wheeled folks with mobility impairments.
Proximity/ 50 ft. to Screen: for visual/lip reading access.
Sightlines: for access to the interpreter, safe space for working animals, and certain other unique situations.
Medical: This sticker is merely a place to put emergency information if you have a medical condition that the EMT needs to know about before they put you in the ambulance. It does not entitle you to any other services.
A person has to out themselves in order to get any of these services. It's right there on one's badge: everyone you interact with at the convention then knows you are a disabled person. It also positions whoever gives the sticker as an authority. I know a lot of people with mild hearing loss who don't consider themselves disabled, but who might benefit from line-of-sight seating. Such people wouldn't want to get a sticker even if they might use an otherwise reserved chair.
One important thing to remember: we will do our best to make sure events are accessible to you, but that does not mean we guarantee you a front row seat, or head-of-the-line privileges. If you are going to a very popular event, you must get there extra early to get a good seat, just like everyone else. The accessible seating will not be in the front row.
I guess if you move slowly, are delayed by crowded elevators, etc., you are screwed. Several other websites said this. Maybe these conventions should put a cap on their membership? (Oh wait, DragonCon is for profit.)
Phoenix Comic Con This is the worst one.
You get a special badge! Lucky you.
But the badge doesn't get you:
· Early access to panels and special events
· Guaranteed access into special events, photo ops, autographs, or panels.
· The ability to skip lines
So fuck you I guess! Especially if you are someone who can't stand for a long time!
Service Animals are always welcome at the Phoenix Convention Center. Animals are sometimes questioned if the need is not apparent, so we suggest attendees carry documentation with them for their companion.
Does anyone know if this is actually illegal? It sounds illegal to me. [eta: it is, see comments] Then again, it's Arizona... I don't think "welcome" means what they think it means, also, to be pedantic, you won't get very far questioning an animal!
Some of the other policies are much better, including for ReaderCon, FogCon, and Arisia (and WisCon, but no need to toot my own horn--plus, I always want to improve.) Some suggested bits of activism for those involved with conventions, or even those who aren't but who can do emailing:
*Encourage Conferences and Conventions to develop Access policies and list them online. Professional and Academic conferences, trade shows, etc can be included here.
*Encourage those with bad policies to improve them.
Comments and suggestions welcome.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 09:12 pm (UTC)Also I love "animals are sometimes questioned if the need is not apparent." Great use of the passive voice there! Questioned by whom, hmmm?
no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 09:15 pm (UTC)I don't know that I will find many more accessibility policies, but I will keep looking!
no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 09:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 09:25 pm (UTC)Dead.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 09:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 09:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 09:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 09:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 09:58 pm (UTC)No they can't require service animal documentation
Date: 2013-07-08 09:20 pm (UTC)Follow this link for the full details, in not-too-confusing language. Here's the key quote:
P.S. They use the term "service animal" for consistency with ADA 1990, but the 2010 version -- the ADA Amendments Act -- narrows allowable species to just dogs.
P.P.S. The U.S. Dept of Justice/Civil Rights Division has revamped the information on the Americans with Disabilities Act. There are more plain language descriptions and finding aids.
http://www.ada.gov
Re: No they can't require service animal documentation
Date: 2013-07-08 09:26 pm (UTC)The Convergence service animal policy also allows ponies/mini horses:
http://convergence-con.org/about-us/policies/#animals
Re: No they can't require service animal documentation
Date: 2013-07-08 09:37 pm (UTC)Convergence is in the Twin Cities. A quick check of the Guide Horse Foundation leads me to the Minnesota legislature where there's a law passed this year specifically permitting guide horses, relying on the new special provision for miniature horses in ADA 2010 which I missed while composing my previous post. I am not a lawyer, and it seems that there's a delicate dance going on at the Federal level (a guide horse is not a "service animal," and its admission is subject to limitations which are prohibited against service animals) and at the Minnesota level (a guide horse is not a service animal, but Minnesota's Human Rights Act looks favorably on Federal definitions, so we'll pretend they are until someone sues us about it.)
Re: No they can't require service animal documentation
Date: 2013-07-09 04:31 am (UTC)In other words, we'll be Minnesota Nice! LOL.
Re: No they can't require service animal documentation
Date: 2013-07-09 01:17 am (UTC)Re: No they can't require service animal documentation
Date: 2013-07-10 09:40 pm (UTC)We do mention service dogs so that folks with allergies know to expect them.
If we did get a service horse, though, I would rush to change our PSA "Working Dog is Working" signs right away! Knowing what folks with service dogs go though, I can only imagine the people who just HAVE to pet the horsie...
no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 09:24 pm (UTC)Often I'll find a caption that says something like, "Alternatives for people with dietary restrictions will be provided."
For those of us with food restrictions/anxiety ABOUT food restrictions, it'd be really helpful to know exactly what the options are, especially since so many conventions are held in hotels that are isolated from downtowns/places with other food options.
Sometimes people think they've "covered it all" by providing gluten-free options, peanut-free items, & some vegan stuff, but for someone like me (intense reflux), I'd still need to see a menu, & I suspect others would as well.
Hotels usually have their menus online, so I'd suspect this wouldn't be a labor-intensive move for most conventions - you could just link, or tell people who to contact on your convention's team/who to contact at the hotel.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 09:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 09:45 pm (UTC)If I don't see a link to a menu, I don't trust a general statement. I mean, I won't believe it even when I get to the restaurant, but at least I know the general issues I'll need to be discussing with the servers.
Providing links from the web site out to the local restaurants (within walking distance) would be exceptionally helpful.
Something which would be even more awesome: when there's a hotel in the restaurant, the concom have checked with the hotel, and the chefs are willing, a statement such as "[restaurant staff] are happy to prepare naked dishes with no sauces or spices for our guests with food concerns."
It took me around five years before I learned to ask, "May I order off the menu?" and then "Plain broiled chicken breast, no salt" or "oatmeal, no butter." Most chefs are fine with preparing foods like this -- if it keeps a guest happy, it's good.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 10:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-09 03:23 am (UTC)I used to head up a microscopic poly con (~70 was our max), and our registration said something similar to this with a fill in the blank space for registrants to state what their needs/preferences were. Considering that all the food was done by volunteers, and included in the registration fee, I was always proud of being able to accomodate whoever was present - in fact we had an event with someone who's celiac issues were so severe, she didn't expect to be able to eat anything we provided. At the end of the con, one of her husbands came up to us with tears in his eyes to express gratitude for how seamlessly we'd managed to provide for her. Which - yeah, this is something a microcon can do if they have the heart and desire. It's probably a lot harder on a larger scale.
But this was the same year that a person we personally knew had designated herself as "vegan" on the registration, and then at the con selected the chicken enchiladas for her entree. Someone on the comcon asked her about it (a fairly generic "I thought you went vegan?") and she replied, "oh, I just wanted to see what you'd do if I said that." It didn't change our commitment to provide full meals of similar caliber to everyone attending, but it was really disheartening to realize this particular person had no problem with that level of perfidy in a community that was based on radical honesty.
Food is such a loaded topic - I came from a "food is love" culture, and my interpretation of that prevents me from saying "you're on your own" to guests when it comes to food. I've had to adapt to lots of different menus over the years - seriously, all it takes is the desire to do so.
It pisses me off when people won't even take the time to consider it.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-09 04:34 am (UTC)<3
no subject
Date: 2013-07-10 11:53 pm (UTC)Word carved in limestone and dropped on their roof. That's brutal.
I just wanted to add that "food = love culture" is so precious, so welcoming, as a person with food issues. Thank you!
no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 10:40 pm (UTC)There, I used the language 'specific needs' which probably could stand revisiting, but I'm pretty sure I snagged it from somewhere else that made sense to me.
The idea being that we are a very small convention, with a limited budget, and there's ...
1) some stuff we could build in (picking a hotel with an eye to various mobility issues as far as transit between spaces, picking a hotel that has both free parking and good bus access, picking a hotel where there is not usually a long wait for the elevators, moving upstairs to a better laid out function space as soon as we could afford to our 2nd year, which cuts down the amount of 'between items' walking a lot)
2) some stuff where we will put more time and energy into it as we know it's needed (variations on program access, for example: doing a large print program is enough of a pain that we haven't done it routinely, but if we have a little notice, we're glad to do one: the people we know about in the community who need visual access assistance all prefer technology tools, and we use a schedule tool that adjusts well to individual preference in several ways, though not all.)
(This is particularly because our program goes to print fairly late in the process, by which point everyone who *could* do program variations is also busy with a dozen other things. So advance notice that we need it is something that helps us not burn out or overburden our board and other volunteers.)
3) some that are likely out of our budget for a long time to come, but where if we knew there was a significant need, we'd see if we could do more about it or work on some solutions that would be slightly more feasible for us (real-time transcription, ASL, etc. all have complications - they'd be a very substantial amount of our budget if we did more than, say, a keynote, and both of them present some challenges around highly specialised language where people in the community use terms in vastly different ways, that mean we'd need time to *prep* whoever was doing the ASL or transcription work.) But they're all pricy enough that we're unlikely to be able to do it for just one or two requests (but if we had, say, 10 people saying "This'd be really helpful", it would get nudged further up our "Can we find the money for this thing?" list.)
So basically what we do is lay out the stuff we know we can do, and then say "Your registration form has space for you to tell us about things that would help you enjoy and participate in our event: please tell us, and we'll see what we can do." Because as a very small event, we can't do everything - we don't have the volunteer staffing, we don't have the budget, etc. But we do have to rely on people to tell us (and with more than a week or two's notice) if there's something that is going to take us time to prep. [1]
We've done lists of local restaurants in the past, and someone should do an update again. (I no longer live locally, which complicates this, though I still run the hotel side of operations from a distance.) It helps that our board chair is gluten-free, and the hotel itself has been excellent about accommodating a range of options (and there's a bunch of both chain and independent places within walking distance or a very short drive. It's part of why I really wanted that hotel.) We also do explicit lists for actual food functions, and publicise the basic 'what'll be there' once we have an actual menu (which is usually pretty close to the event.
One of the things we did, which I mention in case it's handy for anyone else: our food event last year (and one of the two our first year: we didn't have any food events our second) is an afternoon tea at the close of the convention. It gives everyone a chance to hang out and be mellowly friendly before heading home, but people who need to catch a plane or drive aren't missing Major Programming Events. But because it's tea and not a major meal time, people who have food limitations, assuming they've told us about 'can't be in the same room with' ones) can hang out and have lemonade or tea or coffee, or whatever, even if they can't eat or can eat only one thing on the list. (This year, we did pound cake variants, including a gluten-free option: we want to do a bit better next year. Con's in March, so seasonal fruit isn't a great option, alas.)
no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 11:31 pm (UTC)I found money for ASL at WisCon (we also have a limited budget) by applying for a grant through the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services. Something to consider. In order to prep the ASL interpreters and the CART person, I sent them a list of jargon terms and names. I got the Guest of Honor speeches ahead of time from our liaisons and sent them to her. Hmm, maybe I should make another post about this!
Waiting until there is "significant need" is problematic in my view. Why would Deaf or hearing impaired people come to a convention where there are no interpreters? On the other hand, if we start providing interpreters, captioning, etc, we may attract Deaf/HoH folks to our spaces, in a "If you Build it they will Come" way. For a very small convention this may not be fiscally possible, I know. I might post again about interpreters. Some cons (Convergence) use volunteers.
Thanks for your comments!
no subject
Date: 2013-07-09 12:16 am (UTC)We're also in the weird place of having the stuff that people might particularly want ASL or CART for being spread out across our weekend, which doesn't help at all. (We've tended to have one keynote, and the last two years, two guests: two years ago, the second guest did a performance, this last year our second guest preferred other formats.) We're also still low enough on things like volunteers for badge checking and keeping an eye on the hospitality suite and so on that we've been wary of adding more volunteer tasks, no matter how much we'd like to do some other things, because we have core stuff we're still trying to fill.
And again, to put in perspective: we don't have a single guest liaison : three separate people are involved in handling specific stuff from our guests but also have a bunch of other duties, and our guests have also tended to be people who do not necessarily pre-plan speeches well (Notes, yes. Excellent workshops, yes. Full blown pre-written speech, only the first time, and we posted it as soon as we had a copy when he was done) and... lots of specific sub-group cultural stuff that can get tricky to negotiate sometimes about assumptions.
(One of the complications with working with people who treat teaching as a religious commitment and vocation, and who believe that the deities may touch them on the shoulder and say 'this thing needs saying tonight' or the energy of a particular space lending itself to one thing and not another is that, well, they go off script. Often in really awesome ways, but learning to run with that presents some accessibility challenges in a bunch of directions.)
This is also a "take care of your own air mask before helping others" sort of problem: we also care a lot about making sure that the communal spaces like the hospitality suite have someone friendly there, partly so that if there's an issue of safety or harassment, someone knows how to get a board member *fast* if we ever need one (i.e. the hospitality person has the board chair's cell, my cell, a couple of other people's, so we can deal with any major issue quickly if it comes up - central point of contact even if you can't find anyone useful anywhere else) and badge checkers - we only have one, at the entry to the function space - also do a lot of friendly meet+greet and "The bathroom's over there" stuff that's pretty necessary on its own. Obviously, some people might volunteer for transcription who might not volunteer for anything else, but...
(Erm. Run-on paragraph. Sorry.)
And we *know* that a bunch of people are going to need directions to the bathroom, and we know that a bunch of people will need or really want a friendly person in the hospitality suite who can help them out. (And we hope a lot that we won't need to summon people for a crisis, but it's better to plan for the possibility). So the energy goes there first. I'm hoping that in the next year or two we get enough bigger and make that next jump to another layer of volunteers that we can do a lot more. 250's still a bit tricky size-wise.
(500 would still work in our current spaces, or adding space in the hotel that would not cost us a lot more, and obviously give us something like twice the budget to work with, which would make a lot of things more feasible. There's some stuff we can't afford to hire out now because the budget's tight, and in a world where we were less worried about the budget, it'd free up some volunteers or volunteer energy for other thing too.)
I'm doing a workshop at my sorta-local Pagan Pride even next month on Chronic Illness and Pagan Practice, and one of the things I'm planning to talk about there is communicating in advance when you can. (A lot of modern Pagan stuff takes place in private homes, or rented spaces where you're picking and choosing which things matter the most to you.)
The footnote I left out earlier was me pondering about a seeker (someone checking out the group I worked with - series of short public classes that also let you be invited to appropriate new-person friendly rituals in a private home) where we'd asked several times (both in person and in writing) for people to let us know if they had any food limitations (because, private home, we wanted to make sure we had suitable stuff handy or could discuss.) And I still remember someone *not* telling us and then being surprised when it bugged us.
I know asking's really hard for a lot of people, but *not* asking is also really hard on a lot of people (especially when you're talking limited people who can solve a problem.) In that case, we were stuck with "do we start this ritual late, because someone runs to the store, or do we leave this person out of a formal ritual meal?" Neither is a great solution, and because of energy/sleep/etc. needs, starting late is problematic too, on the access front.
I just keep hoping there's a middle ground somewhere that mostly works, and yet keep feeling like I'm not there yet.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-08 11:39 pm (UTC)I built some of the access framework that's on WisCon's site (it has of course been improved and updated in the past six years). I want to chime in and reiterate how important it is to advertise, "We're not planning for it this year, but let us know what you want for our long-term planning."
re: event-specific vocabulary being accurately conveyed via interpreters/transcriptionists. It's certainly been a challenging game to brainstorm all the proper names and book titles that we can reasonably expect to pop up. We've tried, and we realize we can't ensure it. We can't ensure that the fully hearing people are understanding it either -- technical language requires education/immersion in the culture.
Large Print. I initially assumed we would have to reformat our materials and print at the large size. But no! Our "Pocket Program Book" is 3in by 9in; it contains the entire schedule, biographies, policies &c. We lay that baby on the photocopier and enlarge it to 11x17. The result is definitely unwieldy, but it's legible for those who need it. Given how quickly smart tech is spreading, I bet paper programs will be past tense before 2020. It will be cheaper to provide older-generation smart phones for free than to continue publishing complex documents.
Striving for excellence
Date: 2013-07-09 12:04 am (UTC)Last year's innovation was some serious outreach in the Deaf and hard of hearing community, and we did get some attendees, but our inability to cover the full convention (which is pretty much 24 hours) did result in some disappointment. I am hoping to do a little better this year.
This year, I am focusing on seating and line management for big events, which I expect to be challenging, even though we have only a very few large events.
I am open to feedback (and braced for it...)
Re: Striving for excellence
Date: 2013-07-09 12:08 am (UTC)The only thing I noticed was that at ReaderCon, the stages don't have ramps. This is strange to me, and it's something the hotel should provide. The convention brings in a lot of money to the hotel, and I don't think it's unreasonable at all for the convention to ask the hotel to get ramps. They are a basic part of universal design.
Re: Striving for excellence
Date: 2013-07-09 12:10 am (UTC)Re: Striving for excellence
Date: 2013-07-09 12:12 am (UTC)Re: Striving for excellence
Date: 2013-07-09 12:28 am (UTC)Re: Striving for excellence
Date: 2013-07-09 12:30 am (UTC)(selkiechick at yahoo dot com.... let's talk...)
Re: Striving for excellence
Date: 2013-07-09 04:53 am (UTC)Loncon 3
Date: 2013-07-09 12:21 am (UTC)http://www.loncon3.org/
And information throughout it's website of interest to people with disabilities (see http://www.loncon3.org/venue "getting there" section. I have moderately high hopes.
...and not to play favorites, the Spokane bid has preliminary information up as well, principally about mobility.
http://www.spokanein2015.org/wordpress/access/
no subject
Date: 2013-07-09 12:37 am (UTC)Also: Fuckity fuck fuck, I still haven't contacted the Dept for the Blind, nor have I talked to my immediate superior about getting an ASL interpreter for Opening and Closing Ceremonies. And the convention is at the end of the month. Rassa-frassa privilege, enabling me to forget stuff like that...
no subject
Date: 2013-07-09 01:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-09 04:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-09 03:33 am (UTC)Or, if they are afraid that people are going to pretend to have disabilities in order to get a better con experience, well, it's a lousy part of a long, long history of labeling people as malingerers, but also... it's a signal that maybe they should try to give everyone a decent con experience.
(My bitterness, I will show you it. Until I came to WisCon I thought it was totally normal for every event to start hours late.)
no subject
Date: 2013-07-09 04:39 am (UTC)It's like-- con runners are providing a service. They don't seem to get that. Why not make the con actually decent to attend for everyone who has a body? Maybe it's because geeks have this whole thing about wanting to be a brain in a jar...
no subject
Date: 2013-07-09 05:48 am (UTC)PhoenixCon: their stated policy is to violate the law. They're not just in violation of the law, they clearly advertise this fact. (Truth in advertising! Yay!) Also, what good does the badge do? What are the mobility services? How will spot-saving be perceived if it's actually practiced as recommended?
no subject
Date: 2013-07-09 07:14 am (UTC)tl;dr: Dragon*Con fails incredibly hard at accessibility and is disingenuous about it, I rage!quit
Date: 2013-07-10 02:25 am (UTC)I am a PWD, but the accommodations I would need are low on the list to get accommodated: as a person with anxiety disorders, I could really use a designated Quiet Room somewhere in one of the main 3-4 hotels, and I would loooove for there to be better traffic control (I am pining away for the day I get to go to a con that marks out traffic vs. still lanes in hallways) because with the incredible overcrowding of D*C, I get anxious enough to go aphasic after about an hour. Even with my extra meds.
ANYWAY. Dragon*Con has REALLY SHITTY DEAF/HoH SERVICE. REEEEEEALLY SHITTY. Line of Sight seating is not great (and can we talk about how not all Deaf/HoH people read lips and how reading lips is also dependent on things like lighting and how easy a specific person's lips are to read, etc.), and they only use interpreters for very big panels.
Also, they only use volunteer 'terps. I DIE. When you have FIFTY TWO THOUSAND PEOPLE, paying a (lowballed) average of $75 each, you can fucking give up one or two of your Guests of Honor and hire some professional 'terps. No really. And they play the "no really, don't look behind the curtain, we're just like a cash-strapped not-for-profit con, really!" well enough that one of my Deaf friends earnestly tried to convince me that he understood why D*C didn't have the money to hire any interpreters, and so he and his (also Deaf, just now becoming geeky) wife only saw one panel in four days that had a 'terp.
Also, it's worth (for values of "worth" equaling "will make you rage more") quoting the full, shitty "all PWD are just doing it for the front row seats" D*C policy:
One important thing to remember: we will do our best to make sure events are accessible to you, but that does not mean we guarantee you a front row seat, or head-of-the-line privileges. If you are going to a very popular event, you must get there extra early to get a good seat, just like everyone else. The accessible seating will not be in the front row. We are following the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which specifies the number and arrangement required for accessible seating. If you arrive late, or in some cases even ‘on time’ for an event, you may not get the seat you would prefer, and in some cases you may not be able to get in at all. Qualification for services does not guarantee availability of seating.
People who think they will need assistance at the convention should contact Disability Services in advance.
ALLLLLLLLL THE RAGE. ALLLLLLLLLLLLL THE RAGE.
Dragon*Con is my hometown con. Geeks around here do the terrible geek one-upsmanship by talking about who they know that volunteers for or works as a director for the con. Most of my geeky friends volunteer at con.
And my spouse and I have decided that we refuse to give any more money to a for-profit organization that works hard to pretend it's a cash-strapped non-profit that can't afford to treat PWD right, because then they would lessen everyone else's (aka the All-Important Abled People's) experience. I can see famous people at other things, and geeky people at other things, and spend my money on other things, and all of these things will be more in line with my values and involve less work spending time in a space that is not accessible for someone with my disabilities.
Also, seriously, I know cons are about Bringing Geeky People Together, and that a volunteer system does that, but Spouse and I have talked about how if D*C would just pay some experts instead of just promoting long-time volunteers, the people who Do This Shit Professionally for non-geeky things would have overcrowding, signage (which is part of accessibility and is run [really poorly, and I hate to say that because the head of signage is a friend] entirely by volunteers), and accessibility, and probably how they're spending their $3.5 MILLION BUDGET in totally non-strategic ways all sorted out. Seriously. Save up some money and hire a conference consultant. Just once every ten years, even. And then do what they say.
In conclusion: *headdesks forever*
Re: tl;dr: Dragon*Con fails incredibly hard at accessibility and is disingenuous about it, I rage!qu
Date: 2013-07-10 02:38 am (UTC)Thanks for your comments!
Stickers
Date: 2013-08-16 07:27 pm (UTC)I don't hate the Dragoncon method of having stickers on the badges, it's something I have been thinking about doing for some things for my own convention(Arisia) and here is why.
1. Ok- first a little HOW.. Stickers should go on the BACK of the badge, so that the bearer can choose to show them, or not. This is an improvement over ribbons that many cons hand out, that are always visible. Anyone who asks for one should get one.
2. Lots of services at a convention should be built in, and need to disclosure to use, like wide aisles, properly made electronic documents, wheelchair parking spaces and many other things. There are still some services at conventions that I think require some sort of disclosure. If you need a Braille Program, you may have to pick one up form the info desk. If you need ASL, the convention will need to know that you need an interpreter, and will also need to find a way that you can meet with them. Most of these services, though, are things most people are not interested in unless you need them.
This is not true of the two biggies, Line management, and seating. Everyone wants a good seat, and most people don't like waiting in line. For popular events, people can get pretty pushy and nasty about these two things, and the seats that you want to keep reserved for those who need them are likely to be the ones to fill up first, so how do you police them, how do you make sure that the people who need then get them, and where do you put your gatekeepers?
My feeling is asking people to register with a single person ahead of or at con, ideally a person who has some idea about access services and confidentiality accomplishes a few goals. You can have someone who knows say- to ask what you need, and not demand to know why you need it (because that is none of our business).
It means we can make sure we have enough seats for the people who need them. If 40 people come and request "need clear line of sight/close to captioning/close enough to see seats" we know that the 15 we have planned for are not enough and can increase the number of seats. The same goes if we have set aside 40, and only 15 people make requests. It means the seats will be there, even if the attendee who needs them is not in the first 1/3 of the people to arrive. Being able to arrive after the main crush of people can be really important to people with mobility concerns, especially those who are sensitive to being pushed and jostled. Being able to show up after the rush, and still sit makes for a much better experience.
It means that well meaning people will not hassle the people in the seats, asking if they really need them, or otherwise badgering them.
Ushers and line managers are usually busy and harried, and this makes them less than ideal gatekeepers of any kind, and sign-up lists for reserved seating are not a good tool for any event seating more than about 200 people. If you make it easy on them, and say, anyone with that sticker gets a seat, or anyone with this sticker bypasses the line, you reduce the amount of drama inherent in getting so many hundred people seated, in 15 minutes or less.
I do wish we could just set aside seats, and have confidence that they will be used only by those who need them, but observation has shown me that especially in places where they will pack the room to standing room only, we're just not there yet.
Requiring disclosure is an imperfect solution, but I see it as one that will help make sure that the resources allocated for attendees with disabilities, are available for their use.
I have been thinking longer term about how we can best serve all attendees, and I don't have any easy solutions. What works great at a 1000 person con, is not a solution for a 5000 person con. But my post on Humane Line Management and Seating... that needs to wait for another day.
Re: Stickers
Date: 2013-08-16 08:55 pm (UTC)Re: Stickers
Date: 2013-08-16 09:11 pm (UTC)Re: Stickers
Date: 2013-08-16 09:08 pm (UTC)