I woke up to a comment so smug, so perfectly soaked in gatekeeping and faux-righteous posturing, it earned its own blog post.
You want freedom? You want GNU/Linux to mean something?
Then maybe start by not telling disabled users to go fuck themselves with a smile.
This commenter thought they were defending "software freedom." What they were really doing was kicking people out of the room. Dismissing accessibility. Mocking effort. Pretending that cruelty is some kind of rite of passage. They quoted Stallman like it was scripture, ignored real-world experience like it was noise, and wrapped it all in condescension dressed as virtue.
I’ve spent over a decade in this ecosystem. Writing patches. Rebuilding broken stacks. Helping blind users boot systems upstream doesn’t even test. I didn’t "just install Arch and whine about the terminal." I lived in it. I survived it. I held it together when maintainers disappeared and no one else gave a damn.
But apparently, because I didn’t call it GNU/Linux™ and because I dared to talk about how this OS chews people up and spits them out, I’m lazy. I’m weak. I should "get a dog."
So I wrote a response. Line by line. No mercy. No euphemisms.
This isn’t just about one comment. This is about every time someone’s been told they don’t belong because they couldn’t learn fast enough, code well enough, or survive long enough. It’s about everyone who was pushed out while the gatekeepers patted themselves on the back for "preserving the spirit of free software."
You want a free system? Start by making it livable. Because freedom that demands you crawl bleeding through a broken bootloader isn’t freedom. It’s abandonment dressed in ideology.
And if this kind of gatekeeping is your idea of community?
You can keep it.
https://fireborn.mataroa.blog/blog/you-dont-own-the-word-freedom-a-full-burn-response-to-the-gnulinux-comment-that-tried-to-gatekeep-me-off-my-own-machine/
#Linux#GNU #FOSS#Accessibility#BlindTech#FreeSoftware#Gatekeeping#DisabilityInTech#OpenSource#Orca #ScreenReaders#ArchLinux#BurnItDown #blogpost

I woke up to a comment so smug, so perfectly soaked in gatekeeping and faux-righteous posturing, it earned its own blog post.
You want freedom? You want GNU/Linux to mean something?
Then maybe start by not telling disabled users to go fuck themselves with a smile.
This commenter thought they were defending "software freedom." What they were really doing was kicking people out of the room. Dismissing accessibility. Mocking effort. Pretending that cruelty is some kind of rite of passage. They quoted Stallman like it was scripture, ignored real-world experience like it was noise, and wrapped it all in condescension dressed as virtue.
I’ve spent over a decade in this ecosystem. Writing patches. Rebuilding broken stacks. Helping blind users boot systems upstream doesn’t even test. I didn’t "just install Arch and whine about the terminal." I lived in it. I survived it. I held it together when maintainers disappeared and no one else gave a damn.
But apparently, because I didn’t call it GNU/Linux™ and because I dared to talk about how this OS chews people up and spits them out, I’m lazy. I’m weak. I should "get a dog."
So I wrote a response. Line by line. No mercy. No euphemisms.
This isn’t just about one comment. This is about every time someone’s been told they don’t belong because they couldn’t learn fast enough, code well enough, or survive long enough. It’s about everyone who was pushed out while the gatekeepers patted themselves on the back for "preserving the spirit of free software."
You want a free system? Start by making it livable. Because freedom that demands you crawl bleeding through a broken bootloader isn’t freedom. It’s abandonment dressed in ideology.
And if this kind of gatekeeping is your idea of community?
You can keep it.
https://fireborn.mataroa.blog/blog/you-dont-own-the-word-freedom-a-full-burn-response-to-the-gnulinux-comment-that-tried-to-gatekeep-me-off-my-own-machine/
#Linux#GNU #FOSS#Accessibility#BlindTech#FreeSoftware#Gatekeeping#DisabilityInTech#OpenSource#Orca #ScreenReaders#ArchLinux#BurnItDown #blogpost

I didn’t plan to write about Wayland yet. But Xorg is dying — not eventually, but now. GNOME’s dropping X11 support. RHEL already removed it. Ubuntu and Fedora are next. And if you rely on accessibility, you don’t get to wait this one out.
So here’s Post 4 of I Want to Love Linux. It Doesn’t Love Me Back.
I’m using Wayland now. Primarily. Not because I love it. Because the fallback is disappearing, and I want to be there helping fix what comes next. GNOME with Orca actually works. KDE and COSMIC are making progress. I’ve talked to the people involved. They care.
But a lot is broken.
MATE — the desktop most blind users preferred — isn’t on Wayland.
ocrdesktop doesn’t work. xdotool is gone.
wlroots compositors still don’t reliably support Orca’s keybindings, especially on laptops.
This isn’t GNOME’s fault. They’re the only reason accessibility on Wayland works at all.
But the old excuses are gone. “Just use Xorg” isn’t going to be an option much longer.
So yeah. I’m a Wayland shill now. Because I’m using it. Because I have to.
And I want to make sure we’re not excluded from what comes next.
https://fireborn.mataroa.blog/blog/i-want-to-love-linux-it-doesnt-love-me-back-post-4-wayland-is-growing-up-and-now-we-dont-have-a-choice/
#Linux#Wayland#Accessibility#Orca#GNOME#KDE#COSMIC #FOSS #a11y#BlindTech #xorg

🎓 Returning #Blind #CS #Student – Seeking Advice on LaTeX & #Accessible #Math Tools

Hi everyone! I’m a blind student returning to college to pursue a B.S. in Computer Science through Colorado Christian University Online. This is my third attempt at college due to chronic illness, but I’m excited to be back and determined to make it work.

I’m looking for advice on two fronts:

📝 1. LaTeX on #Windows

I’ve recently started learning LaTeX and find it a more accessible way to write papers—especially when paired with Zotero for citations. My main machine is a Windows 11 Pro mini PC, and I also have a Raspberry Pi running Arch Linux ARM.

So far, I’ve tried:

• Overleaf – nice interface, but the PDF viewer isn’t very screen reader-friendly and the editor has some issues too (JAWS/NVDA repeat lines).
• VS Code with LaTeX Workshop – most accessible option I've tried
• TeXnicCenter – only briefly.

👉 Question: What LaTeX editors or workflows do you use on #Windows, and how accessible have you found them?

➗ 2. Relearning College-Level Math

I’ll be starting with calculus early next year. It’s been a long time since high school, and chronic illness has affected my memory and cognition. I used to use a Perkins Brailler for math, but arthritis/lupus (still being diagnosed) makes that painful now.

👉 Question: Can anyone recommend accessible resources for relearning math—especially for someone doing everything online?

Any tips for doing math, science, or programming fully online as a blind student would be incredibly appreciated.

Thanks in advance! I’m happy to share what I learn along the way.

Feel free to boost or tag others who might have insights.

#BlindTech #Accessibility #LaTeX #STEM #DisabilityInSTEM #MathAccessibility #JAWS #NVDA # #ScreenReader Zotero #ChronicIllness #OnlineLearning @mastoblind@a.gup.pe @main