OpenGates Checklist

A reference checklist of things to help you avoid gatekeeping in your dev posts, articles, videos, talks, presentations, podcasts, sites, and in any other content.

Anti-gatekeeping Checklist

The checklist is not in order of importance. It is broken down into sections to help us understand how each item helps us promote inclusion and avoid gatekeeping.

Jump To:

• Inclusion
  • Gender
  • Culture
  • Disability
  • Race
  • Ethnicity
  • Age
• Welcoming
  • In-Person Events
• Accessibility
  • Safety
  • Perceivable
  • Operable
  • Organized

Inclusion

• Images should vary in age, ability, race, nationality, gender, body types (ref)
• Example names should be different from the status quo (ref)
• Lists of people should not be homogenous (ref)
• Can everyone who might view this to see someone like themselves represented in it? (ref)
• Are any stereotypes being perpetuated? (ref)
• Who is missing or excluded? (ref)

Gender Inclusion

• Avoid using gendered words and colloquialisms (ref)
• Have you used “man”, or “men” or words containing them to refer to people who may not be men? (ref)
• Have you used “he,” “him,” “his,” or “himself” to refer to people who may not be men? (ref)
• If you have mentioned someone’s sex or gender, was it necessary to do so? (ref)
• Do you use any occupational (or other) stereotypes? (ref)
• Do you provide the same kinds of information and descriptions when writing about people of different genders? (ref)
• Do make use of “they” as a gender neutral option? (ref)

Cultural Inclusion

• Avoid cultural appropriation (ref)
  • not Guru → expert, teacher (ref)
  • not Spirit animal → personal mascot (ref)
  • not Pow-wow → if you meant “meeting”, look up some synonyms). (ref)
  • not Tribe → refrain from use, or replace it with a term without appropriation like “close group of friends” (ref)
  • not Totemic animal → refrain from use (ref)
• Avoid culturally offensives terms and phrases
  • not “Too many chiefs, and not enough Indians” → refrain from use (ref)
  • not “Circle the wagons”, “Hold down the fort”, “On the warpath” → refrain from use (ref)
  • not “Indian giver” → refrain from use (ref)
  • not “Indian time”, “Indian summer” → refrain from use (ref)
  • not “Gypped/Jewed” → scammed, ripped off (ref)
  • not “Gypsy” → refrain from use (ref)
  • not “Karma” → comeuppance

Disability Inclusion

• Avoid “inspiration porn” (ref)
• When discussing a product, indicate what makes it accessible
• Avoid ableist language (ref), (ref)
  • not normal → common, typical, frequent (ref)
  • not Crazy, nuts, spaz, insane → bizarre, enormous, unfamiliar (ref)
  • not Sanity Check → confidence check, temperature check (ref)
  • not Moron, idiot → refrain from use (ref)
  • not Dumb, stupid → unreasonable, odd (ref)
  • not Derpy → ridiculous, foolish, silly (ref)
  • not R_tard*, *tard → refrain from use (ref)
  • not Lame, crippled → disabled (ref)
  • not Psychopath, lunatic, maniac → refrain from use (ref)
  • not Junkie → aficionado, fiend, enthusiast (ref)
  • not Midget → Use the person’s name, short person (ref)
  • not Stand Up → regular, sync, meeting (ref)
• Have you used medical diagnoses when not talking about actual medical things? (medical appropriation)
  • not Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) → conscientious, meticulous, thorough (ref)
  • not ADD/ADHD → unfocused, distracted (ref)
  • not Bipolar → unpredictable, flippant (ref)
  • not Tone deaf → insensitive, in bad taste (ref)

Race Inclusion

• Ensure capitalization of “Black” (ref)
• Avoid racial appropriation
  • Refrain from digital Blackface (ref)
• Avoid racially offensive terms and phrases
  • not Grandfathering → legacy, historical (ref)
  • not blacklist / whitelist → block/allow, deny/trust, exclude/include (ref)
  • not Master / slave → primary/replica, trunk/branch, parent/child (ref)
  • not Colorblind, “I don’t see color” → refrain from use (ref)
  • not Savage, barbaric → cruel, cold-blooded (ref), (ref)

Ethnic Inclusion

• Ensure you have used Latina, Latino, Latinx and Hispanic correctly (ref)

Age inclusion

• Ensure explanations will make sense to the age of your audience (ref)
• Avoid assuming in-depth computer or technical knowledge
• Avoid ageist language (ref)
  • not So easy Grandma could do it → refrain from use
  • not Entitled [insert generation] → refrain from use

Make People Feel Welcome

• Warn before discussion/images of triggering/traumatic topics (ref)
• Avoid using words that make things sound easy (e.g. simple, just, straightforward, etc) (ref)
• Qualify the difficulty: “This may be easy if you already know [this thing].” (ref)
• State required knowledge up front. (e.g. “We’re assuming your familiar with concepts a, b, and c”)
  • If concept knowledge is assumed, offer a place to learn those concepts
  • Did you include anything beyond basic math (+ - * / )? If so, mention that there is a specific math prerequisite
• Explain things in ways so it will be relatable to as many people as possible (ref)
  • Ensure technical terms are explained simply for less technically knowledgable audiences
• Give things descriptive names. Avoid x, foo, bar, baz etc (ref)
  • Where single letter variable names are common practice (e.g. i, k, v, etc), explain what they stand for (ref)
• Did you say something is simplified? Demonstrate what was simplified

For In-person Events

• Discuss Code of Conduct (CoC) on event pages and in opening announcements
  • Include event organizer or CoC team contact info if harassment takes place
• Have “no photos” stickers available at badge pickup
• Have pronoun stickers available at badge pickup
• Avoid sexually explicit branding and humor
• Designated sensory-friendly quiet space
• Alcohol should never be the main part of the social hour
  • Ensure audience members don’t feel pressured to drink
  • Similarly, don’t shame or demand explanations from members for not drinking
• Warn before discussion/images of triggering/traumatic topics AND allow people to leave (ref)

Accessibility (a11y) is a right

Accessibility is a right. Yes, literally it is the law in some countries. See Web Accessibility Laws & Policies for details on the accessibility and anti-discrimination laws in your country. In many cases, the accessibility laws follow WCAG 2.0 standards or a derivative. Below are some important considerations to ensure your systems are inclusive and accessible to diverse audiences:

Safety

People with sensory sensitivities or conditions such as epilepsy should be able to engage while avoiding triggers

• Warn for rapidly-flashing lights (ref)
• Warn for loud noises
• Warn for anything that could make someone dizzy or “motion sick”
• Include timestamps for where to skip to to avoid warned content

Perceivable

People should be able see and read even with impaired vision

• Images have Alternative Text (ref)
• Tested with Screen Reader (test here) (ref)
• AA or AAA level color contrast ratios (test here)
• Avoid “fancy lettering” and odd capitalisation (ref)
• Include transcripts for audio content (ref)
• Include subtitles for video content (ref)
• Don’t rely on bold/italics/strikethrough to convey meaning (ref)
  • In HTML, use semantic elements such as <strong> and <em> to assist screen readers and assistive technology (ref)
• Use relative units like rem and em instead of px (ref)

Operable

People who require certain methods of interacting or need different forms of access should be able to engage

• Keyboard navigation works (ref)
• Responsive design (ref)
• Works on different devices and browsers (ref)
• Works with Assistive Technology (ref)

Organized

Content is arranged in a way that makes sense and uses language that most people understand

• Headings used appropriately (ref)
• Avoid overly technical or domain-specific knowledge where possible, opt for common language that all audiences can understand