Accessibility at CON.TXT

[corbae]

CON.TXT strives to provide an accessible environment for all attendees, online as well as in person. Read our Accessibility Policy for more details. In this post, we share what you can expect at CON.TXT 2023 in terms of accessibility and provide guidance on how you can contribute to accessibility at the con.

If you are an attendee

ATTENDING PANELS

Zoom live captioning will be available for all panels. Moderators have been provided with guidance on creating accessible programming (details further down in this post). In short, you can expect the following:

• Panel handouts and/or slides will be provided ahead of time (one hour prior to panel start at the latest)
• Moderators will use text color, font, and font size that contribute to ease of reading
• Audio captioning will be available through Zoom

Please do your part in creating an accessible environment by following moderator guidance on when you should be muted, where to chat, and how to share questions and comments. If the moderator doesn't offer guidance:

• Keep your microphone muted when you are not speaking
• Use the Raise Hand feature if you have a question or comment and wait to unmute until you are called on
• State your badge name before speaking so that everyone can follow the discussion

DISCORD PARTICIPATION

• Don't use emoji in your Discord username
• Avoid using large blocks of emoji. One or two is fine; a string is not
• Don't use rapidly flashing GIFs

PARTICIPATING ASYNCHRONOUSLY

CON.TXT 2023 panels and events will not be recorded and will not be available for viewing after the fact. We do this to maintain participant privacy. We recognize that at times you will be interested in two or more pieces of programming that are scheduled opposite each other. Please remember that making recordings for your own use is prohibited by the Code of Conduct.

You will be able to play vid shows at any time at or after the original vid show start time. Vid shows will be available for viewing for at least two weeks after the con.

VID SHOWS

Subtitles will be available for all vids in the Premieres and Nearly New shows. Some subtitles may be available for vids in other shows. Vid show playlists that include the vid name, fandom, audio, and content notes will be made available ahead of time for perusal for all vid shows.

If you are moderating a panel

To help us foster an accessible environment for all attendees, we have some guidelines for moderators as you create programming for the con.

PLANNING

• Provide materials ahead of time. If you have slides or a document you'll be reading from, post it in your panel's Discord channel at least one hour before your panel starts and tag ConCom to pin it for you.
• Provide captions or transcripts if you are playing video or audio clips as part of your panel.
• Use appropriate Content Notes. Vid shows are expected to follow our Content Notes Policy. Panelists are encouraged to send any content notes for their panel to panels@contxt.club so we can add them to the panel description.

CREATING SLIDES

• Explain acronyms and terms. Consider starting off with a brief definition of your terms.
• Make text big enough to read. A good guideline is to use a font size of 18 or larger for body text.
• Use an easy-to-read font. Calibri and Arial may be plain, but they're easy to read! Avoid fonts that are ornate or very thin for the body of your slides.
• Use high contrast colors. You should use either a light font on a dark background or a dark font on a light background. You can use the WebAIM color contrast checker to see whether two colors are high enough contrast; aim for the AA rating for the body (normal) text.
• Limit use of animations in your slides. Some animations can be distracting or make people ill.

PRESENTING

• Use a microphone or headset, and do your best to limit background noise. This makes it easier for people to hear and understand you.
• Don't speak too fast. This will give people following the captions time to catch up and will make it easier for everyone to follow along.
• Cover all the information on your slides. If you have text on your slides, make sure you cover it. You don't need to read things out verbatim, but you should cover all the information verbally.
• Give people time to process information. Short pauses between topics or pieces of information give everyone time to process.
• Describe visuals like images and video.
• Repeat questions from the chat before answering them.
• Ask participants to mention their name or handle each time they speak.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these guidelines, or if you would like to inform us of an accessibility need before or during the convention, please contact safety@contxt.club.

Adapted from Hosting Accessible Online Meetings, Making Your Presentation Accessible, and How to Make Your Presentations Accessible to All.

---

Reminders

Regular registration pricing is open through June 15, 2023
Apply for a scholarship by emailing registration@contxt.club by Friday, June 16th, 2023