Access-centered support on Communication Platforms

The Turing Way uses a variety of platforms for communication (for example, social media platforms like X/Twitter, Linkedin, Mastodon) and collaboration (for example, Github, HackMD, Etherpad, Miro, Excalibur). This chapter describes the access and inclusion-related support we provide on our communication platforms, as well as support we hope to provide in the future. We encourage our community to practice kindness in communicating with others and to be aware of cultural, linguistic, disability and personal differences, including the potential digital divide (in terms of unequal access to, use or impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)) that may affect the way people communicate online. On every platform our community uses to communicate or collaborate, we aim to enable access in a broader sense as defined by our Accessibility Policy.

Access and inclusion-related support we provide on communication platforms

We aim to provide the following support and normalise the following practices within our community:

• Adding alt text to images: We use alt text or “alternative text” to describe images, diagrams, or other visuals within The Turing Way. To learn more about how to write and use alt text for your work, please use this guidance.

• Limit embedded links and provide alternatives for accessing information: On many platforms, embedded links may not be accessible by screen readers, or may increase cognitive overload. If you are inserting a link into a message, limit the number of embedded links within a message. On Slack, avoid hyperlinking links within replies to messages when possible, as links posted within threads are not readable for screen readers.

• Limit use of emojis that disrupt narrative flow: Do not replace words with emojis or use too many emojis to communicate important information. Screen readers usually read one emoji at a time using the alternative text and while sometimes the purpose may be clear (:thumbsup: represents an icon of a thumbs up sign), at other times it may not be (:partyblobcat represents a multicolored cat that is rotating in a circle, and is generally used in the context of a celebration or celebratory news). More broadly, strings of emojis can produce a clunky, repetitive user experience for people trying to understand the core message. Remember that not all people are able to access the emoji reactions option within Slack, and normalise using written affirmations as well.

• Cross-post information to ensure openness: People interact with The Turing Way community on many different platforms. Not everyone in the The Turing Way community is in the Slack workspace, or on Github, in every community call, or on every social media channel. Where possible, we aim to normalise creating issues and discussions on the Github repository or post across social media channels in order to ensure the widest reach and participation possible across the community.

• Be sensitive to bandwidth needs: As a digital and remote-first project, we are committed to making sure that our resources, communication platforms, and community are accessible to the widest possible audience, despite any bandwidth needs or barriers. In order to make sure that our communication platforms are accessible in low-bandwidth environments for the community, we avoid posting data-intensive content like videos directly into the channels. Instead, we prioritise hosting the content on other platforms (such as YouTube) where viewers have the option to adjust the data-intensiveness of the streaming platform. We also frequently turn off video streaming in team meetings in order to adjust for participants or community members that find it difficult to tune in.

• Be descriptive and clear in communication: Aside from these concrete recommendations that we adhere to within the community, more broadly we aim to prioritise clear communication within The Turing Way in order to ensure that our messages are accessible and readible for the community.