Sorry, hit the wrong key there... There's obviously things you can't discuss, and that's fine, but as you said, when people don't know the whole truth, they tend to jump to assumptions or whatever, as we have obviously done with suggesting Avid be brought into the loop regarding this bug and so on.
But, now you've said all that, I'll personally try and be more understanding etc, but please please please, if there's anything we can do, please let us know. I feel strongly about Pro Tools accessibility, and not because I think it's my right as a blind user to be able to use Pro Tools, but because I enjoy working with Pro Tools, and it's a world better than using Garage Band to record with. Maybe if and when logic Accessibility comes along, I'll feel different, Logic certainly looks like a nice piece of software, but I'm sure there'll always be room for PT. Anyways, I'll stop rambling now, but stay on it, and remember there's a whole community willing to help in any way we can. Look forward to hearing of your progress, and as always, have fun! Take care, Chris Norman <chris.norm...@googlemail.com> On 14 Nov 2012, at 16:27, Slau Halatyn wrote: > Members of this list, > > I'm writing an open letter to all of you with my concerns and a request. I've > been working on the issue of Pro Tools accessibility for a very long time. I > wasn't involved with the initial progress back in OS 9 but I did become > deeply involved under OS X. I never campaigned for this "position," for lack > of a better word but I took on the role, firstly, for personal reasons, > having wanted to have an accessible platform as an audio engineer and, > secondly, for the sake of many blind musicians who needed a unified voice > representing the immediate concerns for an accessible Pro Tools platform. > I've spent enormous sums of money and countless hours on this project. I > never asked for a dime, mostly because of my personal interest in the outcome > but also because I never wanted to feel like I was beholden to anybody in any > way. There were times, sometimes huge swaths of time, that often passed with > no visible results but I knew it was time well spent because of the quality > of the relationships I've built and the results we've gotten so far. > > I now know what it probably feels like to be a politician. Let me assure you > that it's no stroll in the park. Sometimes, you are not at liberty to discuss > certain details openly for any number of reasons. I have a new appreciation > for executive privilege and classified information. That said, I've been as > open as I could possibly be with both the list and the periodic updates on > the petition site. I also have a new appreciation for how one cannot satisfy > the desires of everyone. I can also appreciate that old saying about walking > a mile in someone's shoes. > > Although, as I've said, I've never campaigned for this, I've also fallen into > this situation by default. I never asked for this and I only agreed to it, at > least in my mind, because I honestly felt responsible and I also felt that I > was the right person for the job. > > Every so often, it seems, I find the need to defend myself against what I > essentially find to be restlessness on the part of some people. I don't take > it personally because I understand that it comes from a frustration with the > status quo or, more accurately, a perceived lack of progress. I, too, feel > frustrated some of the time and I share many of the concerns of others on > this list. I agree with many ideas and I categorically disagree with other > ideas or at least their implementation and timing. I realize that, when I > happen to disagree with an approach, I probably lose the confidence of those > who see things differently. That's OK. As I said earlier, I accept the fact > that I can't satisfy everybody's wishes—it's impossible. What I do feel that > I have is the support of the majority of our community and I do appreciate > that. > > As I stated earlier, I feel like a politician and I don't particularly enjoy > it. My commitment to the issue of Pro Tools accessibility and to this > community are as follows: > > I will continue my relationship with several key individuals at Avid in the > interest of ensuring a future for Pro Tools accessibility. There are a couple > of things we're waiting for at the moment that will determine how I feel we > should proceed. Pending that initial outcome, I will make a personal decision > whether to continue the work I've been doing. Even if the outcome is > favorable, I'm not sure that I'll take on any responsibility other than beta > testing, as I've done on and off over the years. If the outcome is less > favorable, I'll offer my suggestions for a path toward a goal but I won't > take on any responsibilities unless an explicit majority of this community > give me mandate to move forward with a plan. To put a timeframe on it, > essentially, I'll probably have some feeling for which way this will likely > go in a few days, maybe a week. > > In a separate email, I will discuss some more details of my meeting at Avid. > Please be aware that I won't engage in a debate on the merits of any given > approach. I'm tired of defending and explaining things. Politicians usually > have a staff to handle such things. Please don't occupy my bandwidth with a > whole bunch of suggestions that will require loads of my time to respond to. > This is a public forum and everybody's entitled to express themselves but, > just as I am required not to take things personally, don't take it personally > if I don't engage in a debate about the merits of a particular approach. I > believe what I'm doing is right and that, every step of the way, I've made > good choices. > > I have a short session in about a half hour so the email about the meeting > will follow in the afternoon. > > Thanks, > > Slau >
