Katie Fenn
@katiefenn.bsky.social
She/her from Sheffield. Talks about tech and trans rights. Former NPM, Monzo, Canonical. Train, car & bike geek for ending car dependence. Greens for HS2 and LGBTIQA+ Greens. Co-organiser Front End North.
Pinned
Katie Fenn
@katiefenn.bsky.social
· Oct 10
Not only that, but we managed to interrupt a movie playing in the screen next door with the volume of the demo. It certainly woke us all up before heading off to the social. It sounded incredible! Watch the talk and find out more here:
heypresents.com/talks/around...
heypresents.com/talks/around...
Around the wwworld: Web MIDI, Web AUDIO and what the web does best
So, you don't use the Web Audio and Web MIDI APIs in your day job - does that mean they have nothing important to tell us about the nature of the Web? Think again! Katie Fenn takes us on a tour of the...
heypresents.com
Hey #WDC2025, if you want a talk to watch on the way home, my talk from @heypresents.com was published today!
I make some Daft Punk with a MIDI controller and a web browser.
I make some Daft Punk with a MIDI controller and a web browser.
Reposted by Katie Fenn
Announcing yourselves as “Your Party” and not using alt text
November 30, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Announcing yourselves as “Your Party” and not using alt text
Every so often cars get stuck at Park Square in Sheffield when they follow a tram and don’t realise it’s a traffic free area. That much is normal.
Just *how far* they get from there is what is interesting. This person has driven 100 metres over a narrow pedestrian footbridge.
Just *how far* they get from there is what is interesting. This person has driven 100 metres over a narrow pedestrian footbridge.
November 30, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Every so often cars get stuck at Park Square in Sheffield when they follow a tram and don’t realise it’s a traffic free area. That much is normal.
Just *how far* they get from there is what is interesting. This person has driven 100 metres over a narrow pedestrian footbridge.
Just *how far* they get from there is what is interesting. This person has driven 100 metres over a narrow pedestrian footbridge.
The irony is that the prototype interiors for HS2 trains include significant space for bikes to be stored, without hanging them vertically.
HS2 is better for cyclists as a railway line, because it’s the only way we’ll get capacity for bikes on trains again.
www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/fro...
HS2 is better for cyclists as a railway line, because it’s the only way we’ll get capacity for bikes on trains again.
www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/fro...
November 29, 2025 at 6:50 PM
The irony is that the prototype interiors for HS2 trains include significant space for bikes to be stored, without hanging them vertically.
HS2 is better for cyclists as a railway line, because it’s the only way we’ll get capacity for bikes on trains again.
www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/fro...
HS2 is better for cyclists as a railway line, because it’s the only way we’ll get capacity for bikes on trains again.
www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/fro...
Reposted by Katie Fenn
November 29, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Reposted by Katie Fenn
Another thing Musk has ruined.
With a translation:
This image shows the same star field as Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) without cleaning.
In just 15 minutes of acquisition, we counted 1,659 satellite trails (about 400 individual ones).
Words cannot describe the pollution of near space.
This image shows the same star field as Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) without cleaning.
In just 15 minutes of acquisition, we counted 1,659 satellite trails (about 400 individual ones).
Words cannot describe the pollution of near space.
3/4. En esta imagen se muestra el mismo campo estelar del Cometa C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) sin limpiar.
En solo 15 minutos de adquisición, contamos 1659 trazas de satélites (unos 400 individuales).
Sobran las palabras para describir la contaminación del espacio cercano.
En solo 15 minutos de adquisición, contamos 1659 trazas de satélites (unos 400 individuales).
Sobran las palabras para describir la contaminación del espacio cercano.
November 29, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Another thing Musk has ruined.
Reposted by Katie Fenn
Our indy web agencies are struggling. I know first hand the incredible quality of Set Studio’s work and I’d urge anyone who needs a bit of website love (or indeed a new one) to hit them up.
Likewise, if you’ve got a bit of learning budget kicking about, get yourself a piccalilli course.
Likewise, if you’ve got a bit of learning budget kicking about, get yourself a piccalilli course.
A bit of a vulnerable post by me but we need your help to get us through what has been a more difficult period than 2020.
It would be really appreciated if you could read and share in your networks too 💛
bell.bz/its-been-a-v...
It would be really appreciated if you could read and share in your networks too 💛
bell.bz/its-been-a-v...
It’s been a very hard year - Andy Bell
Unlike a lot of places in tech, my company, Set Studio/Piccalilli has no outside funding. Bootstrapped is what the LinkedIn people say, I think. It’s been a hard year this year. A very hard year...
bell.bz
November 29, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Our indy web agencies are struggling. I know first hand the incredible quality of Set Studio’s work and I’d urge anyone who needs a bit of website love (or indeed a new one) to hit them up.
Likewise, if you’ve got a bit of learning budget kicking about, get yourself a piccalilli course.
Likewise, if you’ve got a bit of learning budget kicking about, get yourself a piccalilli course.
Our heat pump installation is now complete! The full thread from the past week is here.
Heat pump installation begins today!
The installation itself doesn’t begin until Monday. First, we’re having a firm concrete slab being laid to mount it on.
Heat pumps are generally very quiet, but they can be loud if their bearings are damaged by the unit leaning, so they need a solid foundation.
The installation itself doesn’t begin until Monday. First, we’re having a firm concrete slab being laid to mount it on.
Heat pumps are generally very quiet, but they can be loud if their bearings are damaged by the unit leaning, so they need a solid foundation.
November 29, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Our heat pump installation is now complete! The full thread from the past week is here.
Holy shit, this is huge. Wow.
An extraordinary thing, this.
A line up of stars performing at Wembley Arena to show their love and solidarity with the trans community and in aid of Good Law Project and Not A Phase.
Register now for tickets.
www.transmissionlive.uk
A line up of stars performing at Wembley Arena to show their love and solidarity with the trans community and in aid of Good Law Project and Not A Phase.
Register now for tickets.
www.transmissionlive.uk
Trans Mission - Wednesday 11th March
Mighty Hoopla and Olly Alexander team up for a Trans Mission: an all-star solidarity concert for the trans community at OVO Arena Wembley
www.transmissionlive.uk
November 28, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Holy shit, this is huge. Wow.
Very strange that the Guardian would publish an article about the “toxic power struggles” within Your Party, and not once mention MPs Iqbal Mohamed and Adnan Hussain leaving the party - widely believed to be over bitter arguments about trans rights.
November 28, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Very strange that the Guardian would publish an article about the “toxic power struggles” within Your Party, and not once mention MPs Iqbal Mohamed and Adnan Hussain leaving the party - widely believed to be over bitter arguments about trans rights.
Reposted by Katie Fenn
At #FrontEndSheff tonight for @andycarter.dev talking about Ulysses and the Very Hungry Caterpillar
November 27, 2025 at 6:36 PM
At #FrontEndSheff tonight for @andycarter.dev talking about Ulysses and the Very Hungry Caterpillar
Reposted by Katie Fenn
WORKSOP
6:30pm Thu 4th Dec
Queens Building, Potter Street
6:30pm Thu 4th Dec
Queens Building, Potter Street
November 27, 2025 at 8:05 AM
WORKSOP
6:30pm Thu 4th Dec
Queens Building, Potter Street
6:30pm Thu 4th Dec
Queens Building, Potter Street
Reposted by Katie Fenn
This is tomorrow! (Thursday 26th November) - Last #FrontEndSheff Meetup of the year:
🧩 Webcomponents time-traveller Jack Carey
🐛 Caterpillar and code-quality enthusiast @andycarter.dev
🎟️ www.meetup.com/front-end-sh...
🧩 Webcomponents time-traveller Jack Carey
🐛 Caterpillar and code-quality enthusiast @andycarter.dev
🎟️ www.meetup.com/front-end-sh...
27th Nov '25: Standards, Web Components & Quality Code with a Hungry Caterpillar, Thu, Nov 27, 2025, 6:15 PM | Meetup
Same room as last month: 12.5.08 at the **Charles Street Building**, Sheffield Hallam University, 120 Charles St, Sheffield, S1 2NE
Look for the FES signs up into the lift
www.meetup.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:24 PM
This is tomorrow! (Thursday 26th November) - Last #FrontEndSheff Meetup of the year:
🧩 Webcomponents time-traveller Jack Carey
🐛 Caterpillar and code-quality enthusiast @andycarter.dev
🎟️ www.meetup.com/front-end-sh...
🧩 Webcomponents time-traveller Jack Carey
🐛 Caterpillar and code-quality enthusiast @andycarter.dev
🎟️ www.meetup.com/front-end-sh...
Reposted by Katie Fenn
Labour leadership loathes democracy
"Coronation": the latest thinking on how to overcome the fact the Labour membership would never choose Wesley.
November 26, 2025 at 7:04 AM
Labour leadership loathes democracy
Reposted by Katie Fenn
My latest work project is the calculator in this, we're starting to do more of these smaller custom component projects and it's really exciting. Kudos to everyone for how quickly this came together.
Britons brace for highly uneven impact of Rachel Reeves’ ‘stealth tax’
[FREE TO READ] Use the FT’s interactive calculator to understand how a further freeze to income tax thresholds could affect you
on.ft.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:19 AM
My latest work project is the calculator in this, we're starting to do more of these smaller custom component projects and it's really exciting. Kudos to everyone for how quickly this came together.
Not a movie.
I'd force Alton Towers to build the cross-valley terrain coaster they had planned at one point.
I'd force Alton Towers to build the cross-valley terrain coaster they had planned at one point.
November 25, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Not a movie.
I'd force Alton Towers to build the cross-valley terrain coaster they had planned at one point.
I'd force Alton Towers to build the cross-valley terrain coaster they had planned at one point.
To any journalists who have their name in bylines reporting on trans issues:
Your name will be against those bylines forever. Your professional conduct will either make or stain your reputation for the rest of your careers.
I hope you can live with that.
Your name will be against those bylines forever. Your professional conduct will either make or stain your reputation for the rest of your careers.
I hope you can live with that.
November 25, 2025 at 6:23 PM
To any journalists who have their name in bylines reporting on trans issues:
Your name will be against those bylines forever. Your professional conduct will either make or stain your reputation for the rest of your careers.
I hope you can live with that.
Your name will be against those bylines forever. Your professional conduct will either make or stain your reputation for the rest of your careers.
I hope you can live with that.
Reposted by Katie Fenn
In the span of a hour, they stealth edited the article from trans woman to "biological male who identifies as a woman." The BBC isn't fit for purpose.
It looks like that BBC page has been updated in the last few minutes, so that's no longer the last sentence. I think part of it has been moved to this paragraph in the middle of the article, and the age is no longer mentioned:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
November 25, 2025 at 1:36 PM
In the span of a hour, they stealth edited the article from trans woman to "biological male who identifies as a woman." The BBC isn't fit for purpose.
Look - I agree that, broadly, the BBC is a force for good in this world, and privatising it or losing it would be a net loss for us all.
And then I see performative cruelty done in the name of the public interest, and I just do not give a fuck.
Fix it. Then we’ll talk.
And then I see performative cruelty done in the name of the public interest, and I just do not give a fuck.
Fix it. Then we’ll talk.
Truly grotesque that the BBC chose to describe the *victim* of Graham Linehan's *crime* for which he was *convicted* in these terms. I can only conclude that this is now standard BBC editorial practice for referring to trans people, regardless of context. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
November 25, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Look - I agree that, broadly, the BBC is a force for good in this world, and privatising it or losing it would be a net loss for us all.
And then I see performative cruelty done in the name of the public interest, and I just do not give a fuck.
Fix it. Then we’ll talk.
And then I see performative cruelty done in the name of the public interest, and I just do not give a fuck.
Fix it. Then we’ll talk.
Reposted by Katie Fenn
Help us go out with a bang and join on a journey through new techniques, accessibility, web animation, and human connection in a world of increasingly weird and wonderful AI.
ti.to/hey-presents...
ti.to/hey-presents...
November 25, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Help us go out with a bang and join on a journey through new techniques, accessibility, web animation, and human connection in a world of increasingly weird and wonderful AI.
ti.to/hey-presents...
ti.to/hey-presents...
Introduce yourself with four spaceships.
November 25, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Introduce yourself with four spaceships.
Watch them use this to justify raising the minimum age for transition to 32.
At some point, the minimum age is gonna overtake me.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
At some point, the minimum age is gonna overtake me.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Four pivotal ages in your brain's development revealed in new scientific study
Brain scans on thousands of people reveal the dramatic shifts the brain goes through between birth and death.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Watch them use this to justify raising the minimum age for transition to 32.
At some point, the minimum age is gonna overtake me.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
At some point, the minimum age is gonna overtake me.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Katie Fenn
it is really astonishing that npm has not even publicly acknowledged the potentially ongoing credential-stealing worm attack. what is going on in there
November 25, 2025 at 10:19 AM
it is really astonishing that npm has not even publicly acknowledged the potentially ongoing credential-stealing worm attack. what is going on in there
Reposted by Katie Fenn
I'm speaking at @frontendsheff.bsky.social this Thursday evening with my 'Ulysses versus The Very Hungry Caterpillar' talk that I recently presented at TechMids. Come and join me to learn the impact our code has on the brain using two literary classics as analogies.
Last (non-drinky) #FrontEndSheff of the year THIS WEEK(!): www.meetup.com/front-end-sh...
Jack Carey & @andycarter.dev bringing the noise with web components, code quality and… caterpillars? 🐛 #Meetup #Sheffield #WebDev
Jack Carey & @andycarter.dev bringing the noise with web components, code quality and… caterpillars? 🐛 #Meetup #Sheffield #WebDev
27th Nov '25: Standards, Web Components & Quality Code with a Hungry Caterpillar, Thu, Nov 27, 2025, 6:15 PM | Meetup
Same room as last month: 12.5.08 at the **Charles Street Building**, Sheffield Hallam University, 120 Charles St, Sheffield, S1 2NE
Look for the FES signs up into the lift
www.meetup.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:50 AM
I'm speaking at @frontendsheff.bsky.social this Thursday evening with my 'Ulysses versus The Very Hungry Caterpillar' talk that I recently presented at TechMids. Come and join me to learn the impact our code has on the brain using two literary classics as analogies.
Reposted by Katie Fenn
Last (non-drinky) #FrontEndSheff of the year THIS WEEK(!): www.meetup.com/front-end-sh...
Jack Carey & @andycarter.dev bringing the noise with web components, code quality and… caterpillars? 🐛 #Meetup #Sheffield #WebDev
Jack Carey & @andycarter.dev bringing the noise with web components, code quality and… caterpillars? 🐛 #Meetup #Sheffield #WebDev
27th Nov '25: Standards, Web Components & Quality Code with a Hungry Caterpillar, Thu, Nov 27, 2025, 6:15 PM | Meetup
Same room as last month: 12.5.08 at the **Charles Street Building**, Sheffield Hallam University, 120 Charles St, Sheffield, S1 2NE
Look for the FES signs up into the lift
www.meetup.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Last (non-drinky) #FrontEndSheff of the year THIS WEEK(!): www.meetup.com/front-end-sh...
Jack Carey & @andycarter.dev bringing the noise with web components, code quality and… caterpillars? 🐛 #Meetup #Sheffield #WebDev
Jack Carey & @andycarter.dev bringing the noise with web components, code quality and… caterpillars? 🐛 #Meetup #Sheffield #WebDev