Communication from scratch: towards accessible open source information systems

This paper is intended to provide an overview of a unifying and inclusive approach to open source information systems. In this respect the paper matches the fundamental aims of the Open Source Systems (2005) Conference. This approach can be characterised as communication from scratch. Firstly, we will provide an explanation of our approach to inclusive design and consider emerging perspectives on the nature of accessibility in the wider sense. Secondly, we will introduce the concept of communication from scratch and provide an explanation of the benefits of a convergent gradualism. Thirdly we will explain how these ideas have helped to shape our understanding of open source information processing, a concept which encompasses several of the conference themes and provides a unifying interface to our earlier work on accessible system design. Lastly, we will provide some concrete examples of the communication from scratch approach (crossing several domains) and introduce, for the first time, information about the AccessibleXOOPS initiative.