Jan Maarten
@janmaarten.com
Inclusive designer, privacy advocate, writer, and future hermit. (he/him)
Please don’t add me to your starter packs.
Opinions are my own.
🌐 https://janmaarten.com
Please don’t add me to your starter packs.
Opinions are my own.
🌐 https://janmaarten.com
Pinned
Jan Maarten
@janmaarten.com
· Nov 15
a man in a suit is crying and says `` everyone '' .
Alt: A man maniacally shouting "EVERYONE!", enunciating and drawing out every ear-piercing syllable. Clip from the film The Professional.
media.tenor.com
Me, an accessibility designer losing his chill: If you do that, no one using assistive tech will be able to use this
Dev: Okay but is it really a problem if it isn't accessible?
Me: We need to make sure that everyone can access this
Dev: What do you mean everyone??
Me:
Dev: Okay but is it really a problem if it isn't accessible?
Me: We need to make sure that everyone can access this
Dev: What do you mean everyone??
Me:
Reposted by Jan Maarten
Reminder that if you still have FSA funds to spend this year, you can spend them at FSA store: fsastore.com - you can purchase menstrual products for example to donate to your local pantries and homeless shelters. I have $130 left and that's what I did yesterday.
FSA Store | Shop Over 2,500+ FSA Eligible Products & Services
Shop the largest online marketplace of guaranteed FSA eligible products. The easiest way to spend your funds with zero guesswork on thousands of items.
fsastore.com
December 29, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Reminder that if you still have FSA funds to spend this year, you can spend them at FSA store: fsastore.com - you can purchase menstrual products for example to donate to your local pantries and homeless shelters. I have $130 left and that's what I did yesterday.
Reposted by Jan Maarten
Remember:
When Tylenol was poisoned *by an outsider* and killed people, the company recalled all their products & redesigned them.
When Intel’s Pentium had a bug so obscure it affected 1 in _9 billion_ long division calculations, they recalled their chips.
ChatGPT was made deadly *by its team*.
When Tylenol was poisoned *by an outsider* and killed people, the company recalled all their products & redesigned them.
When Intel’s Pentium had a bug so obscure it affected 1 in _9 billion_ long division calculations, they recalled their chips.
ChatGPT was made deadly *by its team*.
i don’t see how any of the benefits of chatgpt and other consumer-facing LLMs can possibly outweigh their incredible ability to induce suicides
Adam Raine’s life hurtled toward tragedy soon after he began talking with ChatGPT about homework. Analysis of his ChatGPT account shows how the chatbot became a confidant as he planned to end his life.
December 28, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Remember:
When Tylenol was poisoned *by an outsider* and killed people, the company recalled all their products & redesigned them.
When Intel’s Pentium had a bug so obscure it affected 1 in _9 billion_ long division calculations, they recalled their chips.
ChatGPT was made deadly *by its team*.
When Tylenol was poisoned *by an outsider* and killed people, the company recalled all their products & redesigned them.
When Intel’s Pentium had a bug so obscure it affected 1 in _9 billion_ long division calculations, they recalled their chips.
ChatGPT was made deadly *by its team*.
Reposted by Jan Maarten
Buttons are back. Knobs are back. Dumb devices are back. Own-it-forever software is back. Print is back. Personal websites and chronological feeds are back. Touching grass is back. People keep saying 2015, but it’s not far enough. The entire 2010s were a mistake. We must retvrn to… 2009.
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses.
Rejoice! Carmakers Are Embracing Physical Buttons Again
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its…
wrd.cm
December 28, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Buttons are back. Knobs are back. Dumb devices are back. Own-it-forever software is back. Print is back. Personal websites and chronological feeds are back. Touching grass is back. People keep saying 2015, but it’s not far enough. The entire 2010s were a mistake. We must retvrn to… 2009.
Reposted by Jan Maarten
I hope those observing had a fantastic Christmas, that those observing have the most Kwanzaa blessings ever, and that you all have amazing New Years'.
Here's to a 2026 full of health, safety, care, inspiration, righteous doings, love, joy, connection and solidarity. ❤️🔥
And making meaningful change.
Here's to a 2026 full of health, safety, care, inspiration, righteous doings, love, joy, connection and solidarity. ❤️🔥
And making meaningful change.
December 26, 2025 at 6:11 PM
I hope those observing had a fantastic Christmas, that those observing have the most Kwanzaa blessings ever, and that you all have amazing New Years'.
Here's to a 2026 full of health, safety, care, inspiration, righteous doings, love, joy, connection and solidarity. ❤️🔥
And making meaningful change.
Here's to a 2026 full of health, safety, care, inspiration, righteous doings, love, joy, connection and solidarity. ❤️🔥
And making meaningful change.
Reposted by Jan Maarten
Reposted by Jan Maarten
We need to do something about this shit.
Props to @bennjordan.bsky.social for pressing this issue so much.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU1-...
Props to @bennjordan.bsky.social for pressing this issue so much.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU1-...
This Flock Camera Leak is like Netflix For Stalkers
YouTube video by Benn Jordan
www.youtube.com
December 22, 2025 at 9:41 PM
We need to do something about this shit.
Props to @bennjordan.bsky.social for pressing this issue so much.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU1-...
Props to @bennjordan.bsky.social for pressing this issue so much.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU1-...
Reposted by Jan Maarten
These cameras were not just watching cars or even license plates. They were zooming in on people's faces on the sidewalk, tracking people in parks, watching what they were looking at on their phone screens: www.404media.co/flock-expose...
December 22, 2025 at 4:41 PM
These cameras were not just watching cars or even license plates. They were zooming in on people's faces on the sidewalk, tracking people in parks, watching what they were looking at on their phone screens: www.404media.co/flock-expose...
Reposted by Jan Maarten
just great
This is 404 Media's @jasonkoebler.bsky.social waving at himself through a Flock camera; one of 60 we learned was left exposed to the open internet. Not only could anyone with a link livestream it, but some admin portals were open with no login credentials required.
www.404media.co/flock-expose...
www.404media.co/flock-expose...
December 22, 2025 at 7:15 PM
just great
Reposted by Jan Maarten
“‘My most daring idea is to refuse,’ she said to applause.”
Professor Warns That the Wealthy Are Trying to Use AI to Seize Control of Everything
Renowned sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom says that AI is a tool for the rich to cement control over society.
futurism.com
December 21, 2025 at 1:03 PM
“‘My most daring idea is to refuse,’ she said to applause.”
Reposted by Jan Maarten
People who claim mankind never made it to the moon want to erase Wallace and Gromit's achievements and I'm not fucking having it
December 21, 2025 at 4:51 PM
People who claim mankind never made it to the moon want to erase Wallace and Gromit's achievements and I'm not fucking having it
Reposted by Jan Maarten
Not in a box. Not with a fox.
I do not want it, Sam Am I.
I do not want your gen AI.
I do not want it, Sam Am I.
I do not want your gen AI.
I don't want gen AI in my browser
I don't want gen AI in my pc
I don't want gen AI in my art
I don't want gen AI in my games
I don't want gen AI in my music
I don't want gen AI in my movies
I don't want gen AI in my books
I don't want gen AI in my cart
I don't want gen AI in my life
I don't want gen AI in my pc
I don't want gen AI in my art
I don't want gen AI in my games
I don't want gen AI in my music
I don't want gen AI in my movies
I don't want gen AI in my books
I don't want gen AI in my cart
I don't want gen AI in my life
December 20, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Not in a box. Not with a fox.
I do not want it, Sam Am I.
I do not want your gen AI.
I do not want it, Sam Am I.
I do not want your gen AI.
“You can pry it from my cold (brain)dead hands” doesn‘t work as a defense anymore because the focus is too personal.
We gotta manufacture consent at the societal level if we’re gonna pull off the planet-wide datacenter all-wealth-to-the-billionaires heist.
We gotta manufacture consent at the societal level if we’re gonna pull off the planet-wide datacenter all-wealth-to-the-billionaires heist.
“Love it or hate it it’s here to stay” is a crazy thing to keep saying about a technology. If people don’t like using something it doesn’t have to stay we’re not talking about bad weather here
December 19, 2025 at 11:56 PM
“You can pry it from my cold (brain)dead hands” doesn‘t work as a defense anymore because the focus is too personal.
We gotta manufacture consent at the societal level if we’re gonna pull off the planet-wide datacenter all-wealth-to-the-billionaires heist.
We gotta manufacture consent at the societal level if we’re gonna pull off the planet-wide datacenter all-wealth-to-the-billionaires heist.
Reposted by Jan Maarten
Here's an example of how useless and frustrating internet laws to "protect kids" are in practice: When I'm in Ohio, where I am during the holidays, I can't use my Bluesky DMs—unless I hand over my ID to a company owned by Epic Games. Why? To protect kids, of course!
spitfirenews.com/p/why-i-have...
spitfirenews.com/p/why-i-have...
Why I have to give Fortnite my passport to use Bluesky
Age verification laws are as ineffective as they are dangerous.
spitfirenews.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Here's an example of how useless and frustrating internet laws to "protect kids" are in practice: When I'm in Ohio, where I am during the holidays, I can't use my Bluesky DMs—unless I hand over my ID to a company owned by Epic Games. Why? To protect kids, of course!
spitfirenews.com/p/why-i-have...
spitfirenews.com/p/why-i-have...
Reposted by Jan Maarten
Whatever make it 10 factor authentication.. I don't want to be able to sign into anything ever again
December 18, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Whatever make it 10 factor authentication.. I don't want to be able to sign into anything ever again
Reposted by Jan Maarten
I’m pissed that we’re all going to have a shitty 10-15 years economically because a dozen techboys believed that it was possible to write code to the point that the program could write better code and eventually either kill us all or make us immortal, and so they spent $1.5tn for $41bn in revenue
December 18, 2025 at 7:57 AM
I’m pissed that we’re all going to have a shitty 10-15 years economically because a dozen techboys believed that it was possible to write code to the point that the program could write better code and eventually either kill us all or make us immortal, and so they spent $1.5tn for $41bn in revenue
Reposted by Jan Maarten
It's so jarring to see how truly out of touch executives and upper management are, not just with what the public wants and expects, but with what their organizations actually even do
1/ At bargaining yesterday, @propublica.org management said that they should have 100% discretion to replace workers with AI and would not commit to labeling future AI-generated content.
December 17, 2025 at 7:31 PM
It's so jarring to see how truly out of touch executives and upper management are, not just with what the public wants and expects, but with what their organizations actually even do
Reposted by Jan Maarten
Me using a vibe-coded UI:
December 17, 2025 at 6:19 AM
Me using a vibe-coded UI:
Reposted by Jan Maarten
Anytime the Trump admin says they are doing some design thing, here is what they are doing: removing accessibility.
Designs that work for fewer Americans is their explicit goal.
Designs that work for fewer Americans is their explicit goal.
"The existing NDS sites therefore behave more like billboards than public infrastructure. ... What makes this shift hardest to justify is that the federal government already had ... [an] office whose job was to actually make government UX work better. From 2014 to 2025, that work lived inside 18F."
www.archpaper.com
December 14, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Anytime the Trump admin says they are doing some design thing, here is what they are doing: removing accessibility.
Designs that work for fewer Americans is their explicit goal.
Designs that work for fewer Americans is their explicit goal.
Reposted by Jan Maarten
Wrote a piece for the @zeroheight.com blog on annotating design system components for accessibility: zeroheight.com/blog/how-to-... #a11y
How to annotate design system components for accessibility - zeroheight
Geri Reid shares how accessibility annotations for design systems help teams document components, create reusable specs, and build inclusive products.
zeroheight.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Wrote a piece for the @zeroheight.com blog on annotating design system components for accessibility: zeroheight.com/blog/how-to-... #a11y
Reposted by Jan Maarten
You can always restart masking. It doesn't matter if you haven't been, or you've previously said you don't think it is important. You can just...do it.
Traveling soon? Stay protected during the COVID-19 surge by wearing a high-quality mask in crowded or indoor spaces like an N95, KN95 or KF94. Learn more: www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID...
December 13, 2025 at 7:24 PM
You can always restart masking. It doesn't matter if you haven't been, or you've previously said you don't think it is important. You can just...do it.
At last, the person of the year is not a person. Smash that glass ceiling! Smash that power consumption record! Smash that atmospheric carbon threshold! Smash that capacity to think and create something that your descendants can be proud of! Smash that memory of what it's like to even be alive! 💖
December 12, 2025 at 8:05 PM
At last, the person of the year is not a person. Smash that glass ceiling! Smash that power consumption record! Smash that atmospheric carbon threshold! Smash that capacity to think and create something that your descendants can be proud of! Smash that memory of what it's like to even be alive! 💖
Reposted by Jan Maarten
Join @eva.town on 18 December to learn more about how a website like hypertext.tv is possible!
December 12, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Join @eva.town on 18 December to learn more about how a website like hypertext.tv is possible!
Reposted by Jan Maarten
are we still on about em dashes and ai. imo human writers should just use the em dashes even harder. we should be out here pummeling out those em dashes like we're emily dickinson
December 10, 2025 at 3:22 AM
are we still on about em dashes and ai. imo human writers should just use the em dashes even harder. we should be out here pummeling out those em dashes like we're emily dickinson
Reposted by Jan Maarten
TIL about a memorial ceremony in Iceland in 2019 to mark the end of a glacier, changing the place name from Okjökull to Ok (jökull = glacier). Uncompromising wording on the bronze plaque:
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".
December 7, 2025 at 5:17 PM
TIL about a memorial ceremony in Iceland in 2019 to mark the end of a glacier, changing the place name from Okjökull to Ok (jökull = glacier). Uncompromising wording on the bronze plaque:
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".