[SATLUG] Seeking robot immunity in my feedback form

[Brad Knowles]

At 10:01 AM -0600 2/5/07, Greg Willden wrote:

>>  Except if their audio doesn't work, etc....
>
>  What are you talking about?
>  A visually impaired person whose audio doesn't work?
>  Just how are they using the computer then?

I know some people who are severely visually challenged, but not 
completely blind.  However, they also have some hearing issues.

They do use a screen, but it's the biggest CRT that money can buy 
(27" or bigger), and it's set for 640x480 resolution, and even that 
is very tiring to use for long periods of time -- especially since 
they need very high contrast in order to be able to see the 
characters, so most of the time they're working in B&W mode.  I think 
a visual CAPTCHA in that environment would not be likely to work very 
well.  Of course, they'd have issues with the audio CAPTCHA, too.

Moreover, tests have shown that even simple audio tests are 
frequently failed by a large portion of the populace, so I'm not sure 
it's a good baseline to begin with.

>  Now if someone is both deaf and blind then that's different.  They
>  could interact with a braile keyboard/screen reader and that would be
>  a problem for them if you use CAPTCHAs.

Screen readers would definitely be a problem.

-- 
Brad Knowles <brad at shub-internet.org>, Consultant & Author
Co-author of SAGE Booklet #15 "Internet Postmaster: Duties and 
Responsibilities"
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