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A web version of curb cut effect[1], if you will. We all benefit from digital (and physical) accessibility. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curb_cut_effect h

A web version of curb cut effect[1], if you will. We all benefit from digital (and physical) accessibility. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curb_cut_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curb_cut_effect

panstromek 1y ago
The curb cut is not even that good, the new hotness are elevated crosswalks. Smooth paving also makes a big diffeerence. My wife is on a wheelchair and it's hard to overstate how much these little things improve her life. > We all benefit from digital (and physical) accessibility Interestingly though, in this space, wheelchair accessible sidewalks often conflict with tactile paving (for blind people). Those tactile bumps are often inside the curbs, so there's often no way for a wheelchair to avoid them.
- Doxin 1y ago
  > the new hotness are elevated crosswalks. Those are great for making cars not blast through intersections too.
  - bobbylarrybobby 1y ago
    And making sure puddles don't form in the crosswalk
TeMPOraL 1y ago
> We all benefit from digital (and physical) accessibility. If only. The problem is that businesses on the web directly benefit from things being not accessible. Attention economy makes money on friction. Your typical website is a maze the user is supposed to get a little lost in, to maximize time they're exposed to product offering, and/or third-party ads, and/or tracking. Cutting curbs just tells them where to go and lets them do it with less effort, so they cut through the maze faster, and business loses money.
- panstromek 1y ago
  That's pretty selective view of the problem. And I'm also pretty sure it's at least partially a fallacy that even some these businesses are fooled by. Removing friction often increases your revenue, that's been shown in many cases, often by the companies you seem to be criticizing here.
  - TeMPOraL 1y ago
    > Removing friction often increases your revenue It does, because obviously friction that doesn't make you money is a waste and loses you money. Doesn't change the fact that friction is how attention is monetized. As an example, think of a rotary grinder. The friction that's valuable to you is the one between the grinding end and the work piece you apply it to. The friction inside bearings of the grinder, or within the wobbling mount of the work piece, or electrical resistance, are all friction that costs you energy -> money, and you benefit from removing it. (The actual example that matches attention economy I have in mind is like a funnel that drops into a vibrating barrel lined with sandpaper, but I can't seem to find how that tool is named.)
    - panstromek 1y ago
      Sure, but you said that "businesses on the web directly benefit from things being not accessible." which is obviously not true in gereal. Every business would be stupid to not make their checkout form accesible, for example.

panstromek 1y ago

The curb cut is not even that good, the new hotness are elevated crosswalks. Smooth paving also makes a big diffeerence. My wife is on a wheelchair and it's hard to overstate how much these little things improve her life. > We all benefit from digital (and physical) accessibility Interestingly though, in this space, wheelchair accessible sidewalks often conflict with tactile paving (for blind people). Those tactile bumps are often inside the curbs, so there's often no way for a wheelchair to avoid them.

Doxin 1y ago
> the new hotness are elevated crosswalks. Those are great for making cars not blast through intersections too.
- bobbylarrybobby 1y ago
  And making sure puddles don't form in the crosswalk

TeMPOraL 1y ago

> We all benefit from digital (and physical) accessibility. If only. The problem is that businesses on the web directly benefit from things being not accessible. Attention economy makes money on friction. Your typical website is a maze the user is supposed to get a little lost in, to maximize time they're exposed to product offering, and/or third-party ads, and/or tracking. Cutting curbs just tells them where to go and lets them do it with less effort, so they cut through the maze faster, and business loses money.

panstromek 1y ago
That's pretty selective view of the problem. And I'm also pretty sure it's at least partially a fallacy that even some these businesses are fooled by. Removing friction often increases your revenue, that's been shown in many cases, often by the companies you seem to be criticizing here.
- TeMPOraL 1y ago
  > Removing friction often increases your revenue It does, because obviously friction that doesn't make you money is a waste and loses you money. Doesn't change the fact that friction is how attention is monetized. As an example, think of a rotary grinder. The friction that's valuable to you is the one between the grinding end and the work piece you apply it to. The friction inside bearings of the grinder, or within the wobbling mount of the work piece, or electrical resistance, are all friction that costs you energy -> money, and you benefit from removing it. (The actual example that matches attention economy I have in mind is like a funnel that drops into a vibrating barrel lined with sandpaper, but I can't seem to find how that tool is named.)
  - panstromek 1y ago
    Sure, but you said that "businesses on the web directly benefit from things being not accessible." which is obviously not true in gereal. Every business would be stupid to not make their checkout form accesible, for example.