Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
@frank.computer
Assistant Professor of Data Science @ Cal Poly SLO
Accessibility, tool-making, visualization 📊
PhD from @hcii.cmu.edu. Prev: Adobe, Highsoft, Apple, Visa.
Move slo and repair things.
Disabled & making a ttrpg.
www.frank.computer
Accessibility, tool-making, visualization 📊
PhD from @hcii.cmu.edu. Prev: Adobe, Highsoft, Apple, Visa.
Move slo and repair things.
Disabled & making a ttrpg.
www.frank.computer
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
Hah! Such a great question. I am being obtuse here, really.
The reason "sociotechnical" as a term is helpful is typically because it opens the eyes of optimistic technology-builders to see and realize that their technologies (all technologies) are socially and culturally situated. (continued...)
The reason "sociotechnical" as a term is helpful is typically because it opens the eyes of optimistic technology-builders to see and realize that their technologies (all technologies) are socially and culturally situated. (continued...)
September 17, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Hah! Such a great question. I am being obtuse here, really.
The reason "sociotechnical" as a term is helpful is typically because it opens the eyes of optimistic technology-builders to see and realize that their technologies (all technologies) are socially and culturally situated. (continued...)
The reason "sociotechnical" as a term is helpful is typically because it opens the eyes of optimistic technology-builders to see and realize that their technologies (all technologies) are socially and culturally situated. (continued...)
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
September 17, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
This is great, thanks for sharing your reflections! Worth noting that this is a growing community and literature about aligning HCI against reinforcing hegemonic power.
Human-Computer Insurrection: Notes on an Anarchist HCI
The HCI community has worked to expand and improve our consideration of the societal implications of our work and our corresponding responsibilities. Despite this increased engagement, HCI continues t...
arxiv.org
September 15, 2026 at 7:30 PM
This is great, thanks for sharing your reflections! Worth noting that this is a growing community and literature about aligning HCI against reinforcing hegemonic power.
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
@bmitra.bsky.social is also doing some wonderful organizing on the Information Retrieval side that is quite intersectional to HCI.
Recording of my invited talk at @patlabucc.bsky.social last month on "Emancipatory Information Retrieval"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK-n...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK-n...
September 15, 2026 at 7:30 PM
@bmitra.bsky.social is also doing some wonderful organizing on the Information Retrieval side that is quite intersectional to HCI.
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
As both an academic and a writer, I am repelled by the "this looks like a long document. Would you like me to summarize it for you?" that seems to appear at the top of every pdf viewer now.
NO. The *entire point* of good writing (either books or journal papers) is that every sentence has a purpose.
NO. The *entire point* of good writing (either books or journal papers) is that every sentence has a purpose.
September 10, 2026 at 6:39 PM
As both an academic and a writer, I am repelled by the "this looks like a long document. Would you like me to summarize it for you?" that seems to appear at the top of every pdf viewer now.
NO. The *entire point* of good writing (either books or journal papers) is that every sentence has a purpose.
NO. The *entire point* of good writing (either books or journal papers) is that every sentence has a purpose.
huge
After years of company stalling, Blizzard workers win mega-contract that applies to all unionized teams
aftermath.site/blizzard-union...
aftermath.site/blizzard-union...
September 9, 2026 at 3:50 PM
huge
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
"And I honestly wouldn’t like ideation, as this quintessentially human act, if I only ever did it alone or with a machine that simply confirms my biases and listens to my instructions."
I recommend this text by @frank.computer to any creator, not only prototypers: www.frank.computer/blog/2026/03...
I recommend this text by @frank.computer to any creator, not only prototypers: www.frank.computer/blog/2026/03...
On genAI: Was prototyping really a bottleneck?
I keep hearing folks claim that the fact we can ‘prototype’ so quickly now is a good thing (thanks to modern genAI). But what if the slow parts about prototyping are actually what make it worth doing?
www.frank.computer
September 3, 2026 at 3:17 PM
"And I honestly wouldn’t like ideation, as this quintessentially human act, if I only ever did it alone or with a machine that simply confirms my biases and listens to my instructions."
I recommend this text by @frank.computer to any creator, not only prototypers: www.frank.computer/blog/2026/03...
I recommend this text by @frank.computer to any creator, not only prototypers: www.frank.computer/blog/2026/03...
Lol. Lmao, even.
Opinion | Postdocs Aren’t Burger Flippers: Why Unionization Is a Bad Idea
Unionization disrupts the bespoke mentor-mentee relationships that are central to the advancement of science. By Evan D. Morris: https://bit.ly/3Sus7fa
#EDUSky #AcademicSky #HigherEd
Unionization disrupts the bespoke mentor-mentee relationships that are central to the advancement of science. By Evan D. Morris: https://bit.ly/3Sus7fa
#EDUSky #AcademicSky #HigherEd
August 28, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Lol. Lmao, even.
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
Repair Day is coming up in Oct; I was asked to review my various Places articles on the subject over the past decade. It's nice when an accidental series emerges over time, when a single thread slowly braids itself with others — and you can continually reflect and revise your thinking.
August 27, 2026 at 1:58 PM
Repair Day is coming up in Oct; I was asked to review my various Places articles on the subject over the past decade. It's nice when an accidental series emerges over time, when a single thread slowly braids itself with others — and you can continually reflect and revise your thinking.
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
“New 🇪🇺 #EU rules have come into force designed to encourage consumers to #Repair rather than replace products to tackle the estimated 35 million tonnes of waste the premature disposal of consumer goods generates across the bloc.”
www.rte.ie/news/busines...
#RightToRepair
www.rte.ie/news/busines...
#RightToRepair
New EU-wide product repair rules come into force
New EU rules have come into force aiming to tackle the 35 million tonnes of waste the premature disposal of consumer goods generates across the bloc.
www.rte.ie
August 25, 2026 at 9:41 AM
“New 🇪🇺 #EU rules have come into force designed to encourage consumers to #Repair rather than replace products to tackle the estimated 35 million tonnes of waste the premature disposal of consumer goods generates across the bloc.”
www.rte.ie/news/busines...
#RightToRepair
www.rte.ie/news/busines...
#RightToRepair
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
Strong contender for most Orwellian headline of the year.
State Department to Partner With Palantir, Anduril on Free Speech Initiative
The Freedom Tech Excellence Program also includes the Bitcoin Policy Institute and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
foreignpolicy.com
August 23, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Strong contender for most Orwellian headline of the year.
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
Never let a writer help you move
August 21, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Never let a writer help you move
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
universities are not run by leftist profs they are run by corporate profiteer board members siphoning public $$ to tech partnerships
"An Inside Higher Ed analysis of SEC filings turned up dozens of presidents paid handsomely for sitting on corporate boards."
www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...
"An Inside Higher Ed analysis of SEC filings turned up dozens of presidents paid handsomely for sitting on corporate boards."
www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...
August 20, 2026 at 11:44 AM
universities are not run by leftist profs they are run by corporate profiteer board members siphoning public $$ to tech partnerships
"An Inside Higher Ed analysis of SEC filings turned up dozens of presidents paid handsomely for sitting on corporate boards."
www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...
"An Inside Higher Ed analysis of SEC filings turned up dozens of presidents paid handsomely for sitting on corporate boards."
www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
Fortnite's Audio Visualizer was an accessible mainstay. In April, Epic removed the crucial feature from Competitive, and in June, heavily nerfed the option in standard. Now, disabled players are left struggling to play. Read my latest @mothership.blog story here:
www.mothership.blog/fortnites-au...
www.mothership.blog/fortnites-au...
Fortnite's audio visualizer is gone, leaving disabled gamers in the lurch
The visual wheel became popular with disabled and non-disabled players
www.mothership.blog
August 19, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Fortnite's Audio Visualizer was an accessible mainstay. In April, Epic removed the crucial feature from Competitive, and in June, heavily nerfed the option in standard. Now, disabled players are left struggling to play. Read my latest @mothership.blog story here:
www.mothership.blog/fortnites-au...
www.mothership.blog/fortnites-au...
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
I’ve bookmarked a lot of really interesting and useful resources relating to making 📊 Data Visualisations more #Accessible and #Inclusive.
A round-up a few of these resources that might be of interest and use to others. ⤵️
A round-up a few of these resources that might be of interest and use to others. ⤵️
August 19, 2026 at 10:05 AM
I’ve bookmarked a lot of really interesting and useful resources relating to making 📊 Data Visualisations more #Accessible and #Inclusive.
A round-up a few of these resources that might be of interest and use to others. ⤵️
A round-up a few of these resources that might be of interest and use to others. ⤵️
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
As the Trump administration ordered agencies to eradicate “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, we identified more than 1,000 nonprofits that removed such language from the mission statements in their tax filings.
(Published Dec. 2025)
(Published Dec. 2025)
Under Trump, More Than 1,000 Nonprofits Strip DEI Language From Tax Forms
As the Trump administration ordered agencies to eradicate “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, we identified more than 1,000 nonprofits that removed such language from the mission statem...
www.propublica.org
August 18, 2026 at 11:33 PM
As the Trump administration ordered agencies to eradicate “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, we identified more than 1,000 nonprofits that removed such language from the mission statements in their tax filings.
(Published Dec. 2025)
(Published Dec. 2025)
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
In this sense a lot of accessibility tech is actually conservative, in the sense described here by Joseph Weizenbaum
August 18, 2026 at 1:12 PM
In this sense a lot of accessibility tech is actually conservative, in the sense described here by Joseph Weizenbaum
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
If you have an election results chart, the alt text needs to communicate the results. "Election results" is not enough. The same rules apply for alt text for images of weather charts. "Weather chart" doesn't cut it and doesn't convey what the chart is actually saying to users.
August 15, 2026 at 10:37 PM
If you have an election results chart, the alt text needs to communicate the results. "Election results" is not enough. The same rules apply for alt text for images of weather charts. "Weather chart" doesn't cut it and doesn't convey what the chart is actually saying to users.
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
You'd have to read to the thirteenth paragraph to discover the pull quote for the title was from Marcus Siding, a 23-year-old Swedish man living in Sweden that wanted to become a cop, but his ADHD diagnosis at the age of 12 barred him by law from becoming a Swedish cop
Seems relevant
Seems relevant
August 3, 2026 at 7:32 AM
You'd have to read to the thirteenth paragraph to discover the pull quote for the title was from Marcus Siding, a 23-year-old Swedish man living in Sweden that wanted to become a cop, but his ADHD diagnosis at the age of 12 barred him by law from becoming a Swedish cop
Seems relevant
Seems relevant
Yet another reminder why inaccessibility impacts everyone. If ads followed standards, then close buttons would be obvious to perceive, clear how to operate, and easy to press.
August 3, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Yet another reminder why inaccessibility impacts everyone. If ads followed standards, then close buttons would be obvious to perceive, clear how to operate, and easy to press.
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
2027 will be the year of the linux desktop
Linux's market share in North America has breached 10% for the first time, says StatCounter
The start of something big, or is something else affecting the numbers?
www.xda-developers.com
August 2, 2026 at 3:58 PM
2027 will be the year of the linux desktop
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
I am making it a habit to always look for the labor story behind these nasty scandals.
The consumers are almost never the only ones being harmed.
The consumers are almost never the only ones being harmed.
The Diarrhea Lettuce Company Has Been Linked to Forced Labor
The lettuce-producing Taylor Farms was linked to the widespread use of prison labor before its involvement in a cyclospora outbreak.
futurism.com
August 2, 2026 at 1:19 PM
I am making it a habit to always look for the labor story behind these nasty scandals.
The consumers are almost never the only ones being harmed.
The consumers are almost never the only ones being harmed.