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
