A Typical Day in the Life of a “Participant”
Morning: Notice that someone has reported a bug against the Orca screen reader. (It seems that Orca is not properly announcing the name of a combo box in the sound-juicer media player. In addition the combo box is not in the Tab order.) Confirm the problem and provide additional information which will help those troubleshooting.
Lunch time: Decide you want to troubleshoot yourself. Grab a copy of sound-juicer’s source code. Identify where things have broken. Attempt to fix the code yourself. Verify that you can now Tab to the combo box and that Orca is now reading the combo box’s name. Attach your proposed patch to the bug for others to examine.
Mid-afternoon: Participate in discussion related to how Orca should best handle such situations on its end. Try the improved version of your patch proposed by Sun’s Rich Burridge and confirm that it works. Bow humbly** to Rich’s three decades’ worth of computer industry experience. 
Late afternoon: Notice that Rich has transferred the bug, along with the patch which fixes the sound-juicer problem, to the sound-juicer guys for their consideration. Marvel at the turn-around time between the identification of an accessibility problem and the implementation of a fix in the mainstream product in which the problem lies. Smile at the fact that the entire process took place in the open so that anyone interested in the problem could participate in developing its solution. Consider that this is what “open communication and the shaping of accessible technology” is actually all about.
- This sounds much more sarcastic than it is. Rich is a veritable wealth of information, and he is more than happy to share what he knows. Much of what I am able to do today as a “participant” is a direct result of his ongoing, patient tutelage. Thanks Rich!!