Support Universal Subtitles -- Allow Everyone to Watch Online Videos!
Increasingly, the internet is becoming our global commons: more than a billion people use the web to learn, innovate, trade, befriend and play. With roughly 25 million videos uploaded to the internet, hundreds of different languages are spoken online. Yet, despite this rich catalogue we are unable to overcome language barriers and share content across cultures. What if there was technology that would make it possible for anyone, anywhere to subtitle any video they see online, regardless of it being hosted on YouTube, Vimeo or other hosts?
The Universal Subtitles project will improve online video by making it easy to subtitle online content and share video creations across languages and cultures. Like all Mozilla Drumbeat projects, the Universal Subtitles project by the Participatory Culture Foundation, seeks to make a better web by keeping it open. Subtitling internet video opens up the world for everyone, allowing us to explore otherwise inaccessible information, use our own language skills and enjoy the most creative content from anywhere in the world.
Sign the petition to urge all online video hosts to support universal subtitles and open the web to everyone.
Dear [Online Video Host],
Increasingly, the internet is becoming our global commons: more than a billion people use the web to learn, innovate, trade, befriend and play. With roughly 25 million videos uploaded to the internet, hundreds of different languages are spoken online. Yet, despite this rich catalogue, we are unable overcome language and accessibility barriers. If anyone, anywhere could create subtitles for every online video, we could solve this problem.
[Your comment will be inserted here]
Universal subtitles bridge linguistic and physical barriers and make it possible for anyone, anywhere to share their story. For many people subtitles are not an option, but a necessity, for watching video. Despite their indispensability, subtitles are not well standardized or prevalent online.
Subtitling across languages and for accessibility is an outstanding opportunity for internet crowdsourcing and collaboration. Natural human desires to bridge cultures and support the disabled are very powerful and the results of subtitling are both tangible and of benefit to everyone.
It is our responsibility to guard the open nature of the internet and build technology that creates and inclusive and participatory online experience for everyone. As a prominent online user, I urge you to help open the world to people who cannot fully experience the web and start supporting universal subtitles.
