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Erik Kroes 👀

@erikkroes.bsky.social
454 followers 276 following 596 posts

💡 Boundless maker: 3D printing, 3D modeling, Lego, photography, code, DIY, anything. ☀️ Nature lover. 🫶 Accessibility and Design Systems professional 👤 he/him www.erikkroes.nl

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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I'm not a wildlife filmer, but I wish everybody could see the goldfinches I can see right now. The riches of working from home! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_gold…
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I don't like how unpredictable AI can be. What if that's because I'm used to (understanding) how tech works? What if, for many people, AI is just as unpredictable as any software? Would that be a complaint about how bad non-AI software is?
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
When you hear drumming outside, it's not always the neighbours. youtube.com/shorts/Z8aqkXWhpvk A woodpecker is adjusting the opening of a birdhouse.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
How would you approach building towards a 5K when your joints and muscles are the biggest challenge? www.erikkroes.nl/blog/ive-tried-c25…
erikkroes.nl
I've tried C25k 4-5 times already. What would you do for the next shot?
TL;DR: I've got a bad balance but I want to run 5k. How can I make it to the end despite this?
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
In ±4hours, ID24 will start. A free "conference" with a new interesting speaker every hour. Follow it online! inclusivedesign24.org/2026 We've got a "watch party" on Discord: A thread to share your notes, observations or just chat with other like-minded people! discord.com/invit
inclusivedesign24.org
Inclusive Design 24 (#id24)
A free 24-hour online community event on accessibility and inclusion
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
My website has contrast issues. Can I add a button for high contrast? Yes. But now you have to build, maintain and test 2 versions your website. And if you "just" fix the original, everybody benefits!
An example of a button to enable high contrast.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I wanted my kid to hear the difference between tiny speakers, and some better ones. So I played the first minute of A Place for My Head by LinkedIn Park. And I'm so sorry honey if I overstimulated you 😬
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
My youtube-feed is filled with AI-dooming. Please mock AI for me.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Ask an oddly specific question, and get a reply from somebody else with a traumatic brain injury. The web is pretty good sometimes!
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
So much in IT is working with or around legacy. There's always a lot of things that have been built already, and now they need to be made accessible. Upside? Because so much is being rebuilt all the time, something new is starting as well! "We just started redoing our branding/logo/chatbot/forms!
It states "don't you love legacy?" and shows an assumed old sink in a sort of carved-out crevice in a tiled wall.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I am sorry. AI-tools poop out sentences like "You don't just identify problems. You understand the systems that produce them, and you know how to change those systems." and I find it hard to not smile and nod.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Behold. Changing my profile picture all over the place. I'm a person again!
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I let others do the thinking, therefore I am not
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
No. I do not think every obscure website with a login needs to send me an email with a confirmation code.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Years of apps not being responsive for accessibility/WCAG. Now Apple introduces the Duo with a foldable screen. Let's see how that changes things! 🧠 Be ahead. Build for accessibility.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Accessible colours feel like a common myth I notice often. A bit of an explanation. www.erikkroes.nl/blog/accessible-co…
erikkroes.nl
Accessible colours don't exist
I often see claims about "accessible colours". Colours can play a huge role in accessibility. Colours also stand out for me when they're the cause of issues. They're very visible! (Or sometimes, it's actually the lack of visibility). But there is no such thing as an accessible colour.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
How much are you allowed to spend? And how is that working out for you?
What is your monthly AI budget?
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
"I noticed the frontpage of your website is over 400MB. Is it also available as a CD-ROM?"
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
"we are WCAG 2.1 AA compliant" The marquee on your website gives me a different impression. As does the low contrast text. Maybe it's American sue-sensitivity rubbing off on me, but I'm always cautious when claiming accessibility.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Dressing up for a meeting, only for it to get cancelled!
Three buttons on dark fabric. One with an HTML-logo, another with a CSS-logo, and the third has a JS-logo but it's crossed out.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Plant giant sunflowers. - Educational (how the.. does that fit in a seed?) - Pretty when they flower - Get bees when they flower - Get birds after they flower - Get seeds to do it again next year!
±4m tall sunflower in front of a building, with a door for scale
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
This is a lesson I keep running into. www.erikkroes.nl/blog/reusability-d…
erikkroes.nl
Reusability determines value
The difference between a user base of 1 and more than 1 is vast.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
How do you know the correct spelling of a word, when Google no longer shows the number of search results?
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Nearly instant replies stating "after careful consideration" are wrong.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
On the subject of AI: I can wholeheartedly confirm that the A is consistently correct.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
"What are Americans surprisingly good at that people don’t give them enough credit for?" "Together, we must remove the physical barriers we have created and the social barriers that we have accepted. For ours will never be a truly prosperous nation until all within it prosper." - George HW Bush
Screenshot from reddit. Top level reply: "ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act". Reply on that: "George HW Bush said signing that was one of the best things he ever did while he was president, since he helped him so much later in life when he couldn’t get around as well anymore." And a reply on that: "Oh hey turns equity helps everyone!"
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Blokkeer je agenda. 6 oktober doen we weer een borrel! Block your calendar. We're meeting October 6th! www.meetup.com/inclusive-design-acc…
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Let's say you go for a walk to get some ideas. After ±100m your head is full of ideas. Do you go back, or continue walking?
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Not sure if I've ever been so happy with a light/dark-mode toggle as yesterday. I'm sorry, but coolify in darkmode was nearly impossible to use for me. Hint: there are text fields in this screenshot
Screenshot with bits of the coolify interface. Dark on darker and darker.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I am in the process of moving websites to European hosts. Today I moved an Eleventy website which now builds and deploys using a github-action. www.erikkroes.nl/blog/going-european
erikkroes.nl
Going European
I'm moving one service after another to European companies.
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Reposted by Erik Kroes 👀
inklusivo @inklusivo.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
We have moved our website to european systems. Our domain is registered through OVH and we're now hosted by Hetzner Code is still hosted at GitHub (from which it's deployed with an action 💚) Just like with accessibility: changes can be improvements, even when the end goal hasn't been reached yet!
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Building a product start to finish. Design: looking at Brutalism. A bit of Rationalist, International Style & New Objectivity. Prairie School? Those periods really resonate If I take Neobrutalism, mix in more accessibility... what other input should I consider? What did you just think of?
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I built a deck. What have you all been up to? www.erikkroes.nl/blog/i-built-a-deck
erikkroes.nl
I built a deck
Making stuff is fun. I never made anything like this but now I know: I can build a deck.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
1 domain/website moved from 1 host, but now I've got a true European cloud-based VPS! That 1 was responsible for almost 50% of cost. So hurray! (I also discovered I have more websites than I thought 👀) Also tomorrow, I'll probably be designing buttons!
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
yesterday I did design, development, project management and some 3d printing today I'm doing server management, organizing a meetup and working on a knowledgebase suggestions for tomorrow?
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
7 domains spread over 5 hosts and github. Can I bring them all together at one host (in Europe)? 🥁
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
dark mode cheat sheets are disconnected from their roots
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
I fail CAPTCHAs quite often. Now what?
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I have a skills-section on my resume with "AI and emerging technology". Can I put "programming for the TI-84" in that section?
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
How many drill bits for stone is a reasonable amount to own, when you have a house made of wood? 🤔
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
email: enjoy the summer! people with multiple sclerosis: Did you know over 60% of people with MS are sensitive to heat? Thanks Dominique for educating me! - Image by Studio Lernert & Sander
A chocolate bunny about to meet a heating iron.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Contributions much appreciated 🙏🏿 Curious to hear what you learn from these examples!
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Did you know any digital service can be accessible? "The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect," - Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web." The web is accessible by default. Inaccessible means it broke
"For the better, right?" meme with 4 panels from star wars featuring Anakin and Padme.  Panel 1, Anakin: We're doing digital transformation for all our services Panel 2, Padme smiling: For the better, right? Panel 3, Anakin zoomed in and stoic: silence Panel 4, Padme, concerned: for the better, right?
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Punching bags also make great storage for clothes 👀
A grey onesie for kids with a bit of a monterous look covering a punching bag
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
You may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. - You're absolutely right and that's on me. I should not have done that.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Who should be reading this? Please share. This writing is the most valuable thing I've done this year.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
How to have a green lawn when it's hot and dry
A huge green tarpaulin covering a lawn.
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
What do you need to improve 10%, 1%? Are there resources you need? Knowledge to aqcuire? Tools you miss? Reply, and I'll help you further.
What do you need today, to be more accessible tomorrow?
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
every source on the internet: you sleep in cycles of ±90minutes garmin: no you don't. (Image shows I did all my "deep sleep" at the start, and all my "REM" at the end of my night)
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Erik Kroes 👀 @erikkroes.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Sounds friendly right? And very considerate? Accessibility is about equitable opportunities. It is about autonomy. And this friendly gesture does not offer more autonomy. Ask yourself: What you do for accessibility, does it improve autonomy? (sorry, I assume your intent was well 💚)
On the back of a restaurant menu:  Not all ingredients are listed on the menu.  Do you have an allergy? Please let us know.
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