Another ADA disaster, along the same lines as when UC Berkeley was forced to get rid of all their free online course videos, because they didn't have the budget to have someone write captions for them. You should never have to take something away from people who aren't disabled just because making it accessible isn't feasible.
infotainment•1h ago
> You should never have to take something away from people who aren't disabled just because making it accessible isn't feasible.
The ADA is a horribly-designed law precisely because it encourages this behavior. Reforming it is necessary, but doing so would be so politically toxic that it will probably never happen.
ChickeNES•17m ago
Yeah the ADA can both be a good idea, while also having perverse incentives/externalities. Reform is the answer.
AngryData•26m ago
I agree but also is it really that difficult to use some sort of auto-caption program with maybe an asterick not assuring accuracy? I feel like it would be impossible to legislate the quality of captioning and it isn't like mistakes don't happen even with a human transcriber.
tekla•9m ago
How does one auto-caption a white/black-board in a world before insanely cheap computer vision?
susiecambria•8m ago
Seems to me both are examples of institutions not complying with the rules (laws, regs, etc.) by choice.
The Philadelphia government could have budgeted for ADA compliance and it chose not to, just as Berkeley could have budgeted for captioning. Budgets reflect our priorities. It is clear from both examples that meeting the needs of people with disabilities is not a priority.
kube-system•1m ago
The ADA isn't some surprise that crept up on any of these people. The problem is that 36 years later, people are still ignoring the fact that disabled people even exist.
Sabinus•1h ago
>At the 2025 market, vendors and Christmas Village staff had temporary ramps that they could place out to accommodate shoppers who used wheelchairs or walkers.
>"Well, it was a great approach, but a very small group of people do not like that they need assistance to enter booths which able bodied don't need to ask for," Bauer wrote.
I wonder if that small group of people are pleased with the outcome.
josephcsible•1h ago
infotainment•1h ago
The ADA is a horribly-designed law precisely because it encourages this behavior. Reforming it is necessary, but doing so would be so politically toxic that it will probably never happen.
ChickeNES•17m ago
AngryData•26m ago
tekla•9m ago
susiecambria•8m ago
The Philadelphia government could have budgeted for ADA compliance and it chose not to, just as Berkeley could have budgeted for captioning. Budgets reflect our priorities. It is clear from both examples that meeting the needs of people with disabilities is not a priority.
kube-system•1m ago