[OT]: Ranting, FLOSS sense of community and addressing accessibility and disabled people [WAS] Re: slow keys must die. now

[Lorenzo Sutton]

[Email contains para-fictitious fabricated-like, wry parts. Please do 
not read if not interested]

Dear valued customer,

On 19/08/12 16:57, Paul Johnson wrote:
> Who do you think I can complain to?

We regret you are facing issues using XFCE.

Please file your official complaint firstly to your distribution's XFCE 
maintainer (i.e. they might have mangled the default settings - which 
for example here on Debian Wheezy is to have all Keyboard accessibility 
options turned off).

>
> I'm sick to death of this stupid, inconvenient, "feature" called slow
> keys. While I'm trying to write an essay--and thinking--and I don't
> want to be penalized for leaving my finger on the shift key.  I
> understand the fact that somebody worked really hard to make it work
> this way, but IMHO it was an enormous waste of effort. Slow keys is a
> silly, stupid, frustrating thing that has taken me out of my train of
> thought more than once.

We regret that the 'slow keys' accessiblity feature has possibly aborted 
the next literature masterpiece of the century. As XFCE ltd. licence 
agreement (which you have accepted upon installing XFCE) states:

"While XFCE does it's best to make sure all trains are on schedule, XFCE 
cannot be held responsible for unintentional train of thought derailing 
or delays"

>
> At one time, it was completely disabling because it seemed the
> keyboard was dead. Now understand the cause, but I still hate it.

There are much more important things to love or hate in this world - IMHO ;)

> Today I noticed a popup in the xcfe tray warning me that "slow keys
> was enabled", I suppose that's progress. At least the user is warned
> that the irritating feature is still present.  But I don't want to put
> up with it, at all.
>
> And I think it is a stupid design to have automatic slow keys in the
> first place.  Do you really think this helps a disabled person in any
> appreciable way?  How in the world is this person that requires "slow
> keys" even logging into the computer with "ordinary keys"?

Various ways, for example someone might help them to set up the system 
to auto-logon etc.


They can
> type a username and password and then all of the sudden they can't
> type at regular speed?

Your use of "disabled people" and the way of addressing to them is so 
insulting and superficial you should be condemned to use slow keys for 
at least a month to focus your brilliant train of thought on how the 
world is much wider and diverse than your own little desktop.

  The slow keys has to be a feature a person
> elects in a menu, in the display manager.  How many people are so
> disabled that they can't click a menu, or have a helper hit a menu
> button?

For example visually impaired people.

>
> I want to disable this feature entirely. How do I do it?

As many have pointed out there is a window in the settings menu. 
Incidentally as they are ordered alphabetically the 'Accessibility' one 
will be the first in the English version of XFCE. Otherwise obtainable 
via a 3 min. googling session.

All the best,
Lorenzo.

If I have to
> remove xfce entirely to do that, I don't think I mind. But I wish
> there were an easier way.
>