ffConf 2023
Tags: ffconf, conference, frontend, webdev
Published: 2023-11-24 08:18:10

---
title: ffConf 2023
published: true
description: Notes from 
tags: #ffconf, #conference, #frontend, #webdev
# cover_image: https://direct_url_to_image.jpg
# Use a ratio of 100:42 for best results.
# published_at: 2023-11-24 07:45 +0000
---
On Friday two weeks ago, I spent the day in Brighton at [ffConf](https://2023.ffconf.org/), a long-running front-end web development conference. It was my third time, and again, I absolutely loved it. It’s such a cosy and friendly conference; it’s rare that I feel relatively ok surrounded by strangers. I did have to fight my homebody instincts, but it was so worth it.

The first talk was about imposter syndrome by [Amber Shand](https://2023.ffconf.org/). I have mixed feelings about imposter syndrome, but Amber addressed many of them. I like that she pointed the audience to an [article that urges people not to keep telling women they have imposter syndrome](https://hbr.org/2021/02/stop-telling-women-they-have-imposter-syndrome). The other key thing for me was the suggestion to keep track of your wins. I wonder how many times I need to hear that advice before I actually put it in action 🙈

The second talk was one I was very intrigued by before the conference. ffConf usually announces topics of the talks without speaker names, and only later on introduces the speakers. When I saw the initial announcement, I was a little disappointed that there was no avoiding a talk on AI, but when I saw it was to be given by [Maggie Appleton](https://maggieappleton.com/), I got excited. That is someone I do want to hear talking about AI. And she didn’t disappoint.

I’m in awe of Maggie’s presentation skills. She articulates complex thoughts so well that they almost seem simple and linear. I’m sure it’s helped a lot by her amazing illustrations that always accompany them. I didn’t leave the talk less of an AI sceptic. It just made me more convinced that people like Maggie, who put so much care and thought into what they do, should be leading AI, not the ones that currently do. I thoroughly enjoyed the talk, but will have to go back to it to properly digest it.

[Angela Ricci](https://gericci.me/)’s talk about the state of the modern web was music to my ears. I haven’t worked in tech for very long, so I doubted my own thoughts about what the front-end is like and why. Hearing Angela lay out very similar conclusions and suggestions for improvement to mine, as someone who’s been working on the web practically since it started, was so validating and comforting. It felt like I was on the right track, for once.

I couldn’t agree more with the frustrations and the views that HTML is absolutely fundamental to the web. Really, it **is** the web. And somehow, along the way, most of us have forgotten it. Drowning in frameworks and tooling that is often more complex and annoying than helpful, despite the aim being a superior “developer experience”, we forget that what gets in front of the user is HTML (with CSS and JavaScript on top). Which gives us so much for free, with minimal effort, and we take it for granted. Sometimes, we almost fight for the chance to make it worse, ending up with a div soup spiced by countless utility classes that serve nobody. Thanks, Angela, I needed to hear that 🙂

The next talk followed on really well. It was about how web accessibility is not **just** about HTML, by [Ire Aderinokun](https://ireaderinokun.com/). In a similar vein to Angela’s talk, the main point was that HTML is accessible by default — if used correctly. And our decisions and various approaches in using CSS and JavaScript can either enhance that or take it away. Ire then showed us many examples of both what to do and what to avoid to improve access for our users.

After lunch, [Steve Goodwin](https://www.marquisdegeek.com/) brought us back with a story about Ada Lovelace and the first computer program. It was interesting and entertaining, even though the technical parts went well over my head. At the end, Steve mentioned there are people online questioning Ada Lovelace as the first programmer (not that it surprised me), and I appreciated his argument against it: if a man did and wrote everything Ada did, those same people would be unlikely to doubt his contributions and avoid calling him a programmer.

Remy, one of the conference organisers, introduced the following talk about neurodiversity using the term “neuro-spicy”. It makes me so happy to see it used more often 😁🌶️

[Jonathan Fielding](https://www.jonathanfielding.com/) walked us through his personal neuro-spicy journey and the concepts of neurodiversity and some of the conditions included in it. A big part of the talk was focused on reframing the negatives and stereotypes of the conditions’ traits and what strengths we can find in neurodivergent people, especially in a workplace setting.

It’s excellent to see this topic being talked about more often. Although I would love to see it less focused on how a workplace can benefit (which more often than not means exploit) neurodiverse employees and more focused on how a workplace can support their neuro-nonconforming staff and their colleagues, which Jonathan thoughtfully included.

Afternoon breaks at ffConf belong to ice cream, if you fancy a sweet treat. Afterwards, [Ana Rodrigues](https://ohhelloana.blog/) reminded me of a band I have not thought of in many years, even though I listened to them a lot as a teenager: The Rasmus. They inspired her to build her own karaoke machine with the Web Speech API. I was excited about the potential of FREE speech recognition in the browser, but, as I suspected, there are too many limitations for the use case I immediately thought about (subtitles for life, in my pocket). Either way, Ana showed us how to use the API if you want to sing along to your favourite song and see if you got the lyrics right.

Similarly to last year, the day ended with a high-energy, fun talk. [Salma Alam-Naylor](https://whitep4nth3r.com/) entertained us with examples of what she streams on Twitch, what it looks like, and what she did before she started in tech. There was so much! Previously, the idea of watching a coding stream didn’t appeal much to me, but after Salma’s talk, I’m tempted to check out her community.

As a shy, low-energy introvert who can struggle in social situations (and absolutely cannot stand “networking”), I am always surprised at how much I enjoy the post-conference social. I interpret this as a sign of how friendly and inclusive the ffConf community is. You get a chance to chat with brilliant, kind and funny people. Even if, like me, you feel out of place and are terrified at first. Chances are there are others, so you can find them, or someone will introduce themselves or include you in a conversation.

And if it gets a bit much, you can always pop out for some fresh air and either find a group of lovely nerds in the beer garden or take a couple of dozen steps to the sea and listen to the waves for a while.

I’m still so happy that I got a ticket in the scholarship programme four years ago, as otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to get involved in such a special and well-organised event. Even if you can’t make it yourself next year, consider donating towards the fund or convince your employer to buy a scholarship ticket, as it can help early career and underrepresented techies so much — there are always a few of us around to tell you how. Thank you, Julie, Remy and the team, for another great day!