I have found some of my favorite designers like Caitlin Hunter on Ravelry. Action Network is an open platform that empowers individuals and groups to organize for progressive causes. Six days ago, Ravelry rolled out its new branding and redesign and at Countess Ablaze we have. For citations/references, see this post on RPG.net: https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/new-ban-do-not-po... Ravelry followed up on their homepage a week later by stating. I go onto Facebook for knitting advice and I feel like I am getting attacked because of the way I do this or that. wcag content on DEV Community. But recently Ravelry has come under fire for their new policy. Ravelry has constantly and consistently deleted, merged into locked threads, or otherwise used moderator tools to suppress the voices of people with disabilities and their supporters. Sign Up Ravelry is a free website for knitters, crocheters, and fiber artists. If people were talking about this on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram then most likely they are most likely talking about it Ravelry too. They love to push the stereotype that we are all a bunch of grandma’s sitting on the porch just knitting away. I truly don’t believe that they are excluding anyone. People of Color began to share their knitting stories and some of those stories were not always happy. If you want to talk politics go to Facebook but leave ravelry for crafting. Though it had been in the works for more than a year and had been tested by beta users, there have been reports that the accessibility of the new site design wasn’t fully thought through. By continuing to browse and submitting your information, you agree to our use of cookies. And as we would find out in the days to come absolutely zero consideration for accessibility. Full documentation, knowledge base, and tutorial videos are available here. We all realize this is an ongoing process and we have work to do. We are banning support of Donald Trump and his administration on Ravelry. On this site, yarn lovers can go find patterns, make friends, sell their own designs, get advice and much more. As of this publication, the #istandwithravelry has 3,709 posts on Instagram. From: https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/new-ban-do-not-po... “New Policy: Do Not Post In Support of Trump or his Administration.”. This website uses cookies for personalisation. I wrote a whole article about it. But after that came out this past year skeletons came out of the closet and people began to talk on social media. You can buy the whole pattern on Ravelry, and you can find out more about the Hook ‘n’ Learn blanket (including helpful videos) I prefer getting advice on Ravelry because it is like getting advice from a good friend. Colbert was supportive of the policy considering it a bold move. Some Ravelers have shared with us that marginalized people felt unsafe because groups with a history of hate speech violations were allowed to remain on the site. Ravelry Homepage.” , Ravelry, www.ravelry.com/. Click Here. The moderators in the For the Love of Ravelry forum have been instructed by us to shut down the threads about the site redesign because we are just not able to keep up with the volume of posts in the forums and track the issues that people are … Because of their decision to leave the problematic design in place where people can come across it accidentally, I have chosen to remove all links to Ravelry from Knitting-and.com and to warn people who may suffer from migraine, nausea and i I also totally believe that Ravelry should not be a place to talk about politics (we have Facebook and Twitter for that). Even if you are permanently banned from Ravelry, you will still be able to access any patterns that you purchased. Ravelry and accessibility: Getting off Ravelry (Last update was December 8, 2020 11:19pm ET.) Ravelry owners and staff have taken the decision to leave the new design as the default, regardless of the harm it is causing to the health of some users. Do not try to weaponize this policy by entrapping people who do support the Trump administration into voicing their support. It is hugely successful with millions of members. There’s lovely illustrations & icons throughout which add personality & give a friendly, community feel. This year, the greater fiber community has been having long-overdue conversations about diversity, racism, homophobia, size inclusion, disability awareness, and equity. I completely agree that the team should address concerns around accessibility and ensure that the design follows existing standards around that. I support Ravelry’s new policy, I will stay as a member of their community and I will adhere to their new policy. In plain language, the ADA provides that businesses shall ensure that a disabled person be able to use its services as a non-disabled person would, with only the support of reasonable accommodations and that forcing a person with a disability to bear an extra burden is a violation of their civil rights.Ravelry has been violating the civil rights of many of its users, which not only against U.S. federal law but is also against its own self-proclaimed mission of being an inclusive space. We are disappointed by the lack of communication and transparency from Ravelry with regard to how it intends to openly listen and learn from all stakeholders, remedy the accessibility issues, and keep accessibility in mind going forward. The Community Guidelines have been updated with the following language: “Note that support of President Trump, his administration, or individual policies that harm marginalized groups, all constitute hate speech.”. At this point, people want to be heard, and Ravelry’s actions are not allowing that; • Treat people with disabilities as if they were any other marginalized group – because we are. We are not banning people for past support. Join organizations large and small who've made the switch! This petition had 1,172 supporters. Forum posts: Unacceptable posts will be removed. Sunday, June 23rd @ 8:00 AM Eastern: First version. It has been a dark time for the yarn-loving community. We are starting by closing existing groups that have historically had repeat violations of those guidelines. I've been shocked at the degree of negativity around the Ravelry redesign. We are angry that Ravelry is silencing a large swath of Ravelry users, which is inconsistent with its prior actions towards disenfranchised populations. A Pride Flag is regularly added to the logo during Pride Month; site users are able to add their pronouns to their profile; site users are able to choose a Pride symbol to add to their profile; Ravelry denounced Trump, declaring that all posts and projects supporting him would be deleted; and Ravelry has supported the BLM movement. Welcome in the spring Tiny Modernist style with bold designs and bright colours. While kind and supportive things were said, unkind and racist things were said too. • Either hire or consult an accessibility expert, a web design expert who specializes in accessibility, or, at the very least, familiarize yourself with some of the many sites that help with ADA accessibility. As most people know Colbert is an anti-Trump, liberal, while Fox News is a very conservative news station and pro-Trump. People who are disabled shouldn’t have to choose the option that Ravelry itself considers “less than;”. Discover the world of knitting and crochet community website Ravelry and learn more about its fantastic features with Jen Arnall-Culliford in part one of this Midweek Masterclass. Ravelry doesn’t want to be another Facebook. Why are we turning off Instagram comments and forum threads? The OLD Ravelry. Tell me what you think of Ravelry’s new policy? Sunday, June 23rd @ 8:12 AM Eastern: Clarify that if you are permanently banned from Ravelry you will receive a copy of your data including any purchased patterns. While Ravelry has provided a “feedback form,” it was initially created in a style that was inaccessible to many users with disabilities. Patterns: Unacceptable patterns will be returned to drafts. Ravelry, Accessibility and Me. Ravelry Accessibility Extension for Firefox (Desktop and Android) Twitter Instagram Action Network partners get access to our full range of tools, including the ability to upload activists and subscribe them to your list, create custom-branded email and page wrappers, and more. We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers. Users who post on the “For The Love of Ravelry” forum asking about accessibility and the hiring of a specialist in accessibility have continued to be locked and hidden, with posters threatened with temporary r permanent bans if they continue to post. • Openly listen to users affected by the site changes without responding. Last week Ravelry launched a new design that came as a surprise for a lot of users. Our definition of hate speech is as follows: Hate Speech and Hateful Imagery Words, phrases, or images deemed by Ravelry's owners to express, either deliberately or unknowingly, hatred or contempt towards a group of people, based on areas such as their ethnic, cultural, religious or sexual identity, gender, socio-economic class, or with reference to physical health or mental health, are not allowed. These people spoke out on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Log In. The two telegrams - Kennan's and Novikov's - set the scene for the Cold War in Europe. If Ravelry read all of the posts and, indeed, this petition replacing “people with disabilities” with “[other marginalized group],” we believe action would have already been taken. I generally prefer dark mode on my devices and this extension gives me that for ravelry. There is a time and a place to chat about politics and Ravelry is not one of those places. Accessibility and usability are among the core areas of user experience, as is credibility. To: Others have been very supportive of Ravelry. I have always felt like Ravelry as one of the safer social sites on the internet. It’s now three months since Ravelry’s disasterous release of their new design and there have been no substantial changes since the option was given for us to change back to Classic. Looks aside, Ravelry is now much easier to use on mobile too which is a big step forward. Ravelry’s new logo for their “non gendered” design. Once they start it is really hard to get them to stop. We want to recognize - and join in on - the praise we've seen for the BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and body-positive members of Ravelry who have been speaking out and making a positive difference. Above all else, please continue to enjoy Ravelry, connect with other Ravelers, and celebrate your love of yarn! Ravelry is registered as a business operating in the United States of America, and is responsible for adhering to the Americans with Disabilities Act (hereinafter “the ADA”), mandating that businesses provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. Men in the media love to make fun of knitters. “Since we shared our new No Trump policy we have received an overwhelming amount of feedback, encouragement, love, and expressions of solidarity, and we are truly grateful. Some people stated that having those alternatives listed in one place on the blog would be helpful to them. The new look Ravelry is fresh & clean, while also having a retro look. In light of Ravelry’s lack of commitment to accessibility, many designers have chosen to leave the platform or to offer their patterns in another location in addition to Ravelry. I consider it as the Facebook of the knitting world but much nicer. As people started browsing the site, a percentage of them started to report episodes of eyestrain, migraines, dizziness, nausea, blurred vision and even seizures. I like to go there to find… The Ravelry community are speaking out against the lack of inclusive design decisions and some people have been experiencing seizures when using the website. On June 23rd they posted on their homepage that any future projects, posts or content relating to Trump or hate speech will be banned from the site. Twitter user @TNProgrammer has created browser extensions to fix the new colour theme: Ravelry Accessibility extension for Chrome; Ravelry Accessibility extension for Firefox; Or just visit his website, the links are there too (along with a way to slide him some money if the spirit moves you) Support of the Trump administration is unambiguously support for white supremacy.” (Ravelry Homepage.” , Ravelry, www.ravelry.com/.). The journalist over at Fox considers it to be a public relations stunt. Why has the community not heard from Cassidy on Ravelry threads and Twitter? Caitlin Hunter on Ravelry. Cassidy has since deleted her Twitter account after criticism of the tweet. We thank them for their thoughtful work. We will never delete your Ravelry project data for any reason and if a project needs to be removed from the site, we will make sure that you have access to your data. Joyce Alene tweeted she was "proud" to be a Ravelry member and it was the "same folks who knit hats for the women's march taking the lead on calling out hate", alluding to … This list is not all of the options available to you for knit and crochet patterns. A Twitter thread (what Ravelry did wrong) And then another Twitter thread (why Ravelry's blog response was deeply problematic) And yet another Twitter thread (why accessibility is important to all people) And, you guessed it, another Twitter thread (evaluation of Ravelry's response to the open letter from designers) Summaries: On Reddit Play Pause. We cannot provide a space that is inclusive of all and also allow support for open white supremacy. If you want to talk politics go to Facebook but leave ravelry for crafting. [Your Name]. Ravelry is registered as a business operating in the United States of America, and is responsible for adhering to the Americans with Disabilities Act (hereinafter “the ADA”), mandating that all businesses provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. US zip codes to cities powered by SimpleMaps.com. Join now. This thing with Ravelry caught the attention of both Fox News and Stephan Colbert. Ravelry user Sylvie J. created a petition on June 27 asking Ravelry to hire an accessibility expert so users can access the site safely. If you aren’t sure what’s been going on with Ravelry since June, my Ravelry and Accessibility post gives a run down. Now, this implies Cassidy does not believe in the accessibility issues that users have been facing over the last six weeks, which is extremely concerning and greatly diminishes any hope of real progress being made. I like to go there to find great patterns and get advice. We would be grateful if all Ravelers would join us in making our community more safe, just, and fun; especially if you identify as an ally, please help make our community safer for our fellow Ravelers who are part of marginalized groups. Projects: Unacceptable projects will be provided to the member or made invisible to others. Ravelry, Disability and Accessibility (Part 2) Published July 18, 2020 by Friday In the first part of this post, I mainly addressed accessibility from the disability point of view, and I hope you found it useful and it gave you some perspective on the matter. Ravelry is a community site, an organizational tool, and a yarn & pattern database for knitters and crocheters. To you, we would like to say that we're sorry, and you will see us continue to improve Ravelry's safety. Again, thank you. Ravelry should be a fun place where yarn lovers can connect with other yarn lovers, get advice, share great patterns and make friends. We are grateful for your labor, knowledge, willingness to share your lived experiences, and courage to demand changes to our site, the fiber community's culture, and the world at large. Neither liberals nor conservatives can chat about Trump. Click Here. Some people were offended and they deleted their accounts. We will continue improving our reporting features and our behind-the-scenes systems for handling problems. Ravelry and accessibility: Ravelry's problematic behaviour (Last update was October 21 11:31am ET.) Not everyone had the same opinion. Remember me Log In. A knitting social media site that has made headline news. We are definitely not banning conservative politics. Just as Ravelry has supported and defended BIPOC, BLM, LGBTQ+, etc., so should it support and defend people with disabilities. Send us an email with your name and your message at support@actionnetwork.org and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. In my opinion, Cassidy appears to be coming quite unhinged over the issues with Ravelry’s accessibility. I do not really consider it to be a public relation stunt at all. If you see a profile, pattern, or forum post that violates our guidelines, you can anonymously flag it to report it to Ravelry staff. However, after reading several pages of the feedback thread, I'm shocked at how negative the community response is. We encourage responsible activism, and do not support using the platform to take unlawful or other improper action. We do not control or endorse the conduct of users and make no representations of any kind about them. News flash I know knitters of all ages and both genders. Because they can still use the site for what it was intended for which is to connect crafters with other crafters. Ravelry has stated it wants to be an inclusive space for crafters, but all of Ravelry’s actions since the new site was rolled out have disproven that. Please stop relying on an open-access site run by Google to measure accessibility and depend on real people who are familiar with accessibility features; • Wait until you have a site that is fully ADA compliant before you make the new site an option for anyone. Click here to learn more or change your cookie settings. Head to Cheryl McKinnon’s website for a cool mix of stitchy stuff to inspire you: there are biscornus for every month, uplifting quotes, contemporary samplers, super Stitch-A-Longs – plus lots of new designs including ‘Night Skylines’ and the ‘Stitch Goddess’. There have been no updates on the site relating to accessibility for the past month. Also, we will make sure that you receive a copy of your data. Sign In Register. Ravelry, hire an accessibility expert so we can access without harm. is Oklahoma’s premiere, full-service auction company. Your browser currently has Javascript turned off. Many of you have asked us about making donations to Ravelry. Please know that we appreciate and thank you for your work!