[blindeudora] Accessibility of Online Chat
- From: "Christopher B. Bailly" <blndpg@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Eudora Mailing List for Blind <blindeudora@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2005 18:47:23 -0700
Since there has been some discussion of chat and accessibility, you may be=
=20
interested in the following article that I found with the help of Google:
Accessibility of Online Chat Programs
WebAIM - Web Accessibility in Mind
www.webaim.org
Accessibility of Online Chat Programs
Author: Jared Smith
Date: 2002
Minor updates: Sept. 2004
Online chats and instant messaging will soon account for more personal and=
=20
corporate communications than the telephone. Nearly 800 million instant=20
messages
are being sent each day. By 2004, that number will increase to 4.4 billion=
=20
(See "
Instant Gratification").
The accessibility of these communication tools to all users is important.=20
When individuals with disabilities are blocked from using online chat=
programs,
they are cut out of one important communication channel.
This article will evaluate the accessibility of three types of popular=20
synchronous communication tools:
List of 3 items
1. IRC - Internet Relay Chat was an early communication technology. It=20
allows users to send and receive messages from the central server using=20
client software.
2. Web-based Chats - These typically use Java to display and control a chat=
=20
interface within a Web page. No additional software is required.
3. Instant Messengers - Software for managing and communicating with=20
others. The most popular are ICQ (I Seek You), AOL (American Online)=20
Instant Messenger,
MSN (Microsoft Network) Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger.
list end
IRC
To participate in an Internet Relay Chat, you need an IRC program, commonly=
=20
called a Client. There are a wide variety of IRC programs available, with=20
varying
levels of accessibility to those with disabilities. The most popular=20
Macintosh IRC client is
Ircle.
The best Windows based IRC client is
mIRC.
These clients are primarily command based, meaning that the user must=20
manually enter text commands into the interface to go to different chat=20
areas, change
preferences, and chat with others (for instance, '/JOIN #mychat' would log=
=20
you into a room named 'mychat'). The accessibility of IRC clients varies and
accessibility programs have been developed to work with Ircle, mIRC, and=20
others, but most are outdated and do not work with newer IRC clients.=
Because
of the limitations of IRC and the difficult to learn and use interfaces, it=
=20
is not as frequently used as other chat tools.
General sources of information on IRC include:
List of 2 items
=95 http://www.newircusers.com/ircchat.html
=95 http://cws.internet.com/irc.html
list end
Windows IRC Clients
List of 2 items
=95 mIRC -
http://www.mirc.com/
=95 PIRCH98 -
http://www.pirch.com
list end
Macintosh IRC Clients
List of 2 items
=95 Ircle -
http://www.ircle.com/
=95 Snak -
http://www.snak.com/
list end
IRC and Accessibility for Blind and Low Vision users
List of 1 items
=95 Ronolog -
Ronolog uses Microsoft Agent technology to read mIRC chat sessions out=20
loud. It is free to people who are blind or visually impaired.
list end
Web-based Chats
The use of synchronous communications through a Web page interface is quite=
=20
powerful. Most Web-based chats use the programming language
Java
to create an updateable region of the screen that can be used for chatting=
=20
with other users that are at the same Web page. Because most users already=
have
a Java-enabled Web browser, there are no other software downloads or=20
installs. Unfortunately, the implementation of Java inside the Web browser=
=20
is not
very accessible. Unless the Java programmer has specifically designed the=20
chat interface to work with screen readers, the screen reader will not be=
able
to use the interface. Newer versions of Jaws are currently the only readers=
=20
capable of reading Java output, however the author is unaware of any Java=
chat
interfaces that have been developed for them. For users with disabilities=20
other than vision problems (cognitive, motor, hearing, etc.), there are=
design
principles that can make Web-based chat interfaces more accessible, such as=
=20
use of clear/consistent navigation, not relying on audio for content, and=20
easy-to-use
interfaces.
Some Web-based chat programs have been developed to output HTML (HyperText=
=20
Markup Language) only. These chats can be quite accessible to screen=
readers,
because no additional software is required and the output is easily read by=
=20
the software. HTML chats are also cross compatible and work with all new web
browsers. HTML chat programs must allow the user to control how new=20
messages are displayed - if new messages are automatically displayed, then=
=20
the user
may become confused. HTML chat windows must be automatically or manually=20
refreshed to view new messages, which can be tedious or confusing to users.
Accessible HTML Chats
List of 2 items
=95 Acropolis Chat -
http://acropolis.usu.edu/chat
=95 WAPD Chat -
http://www.wapd.org/chat/index.html
list end
Java Chats
List of 2 items
=95 ParaChat -
http://www.parachat.com/
=95 Chat Forum -
http://chat-forum.com/
list end
Instant Messenger Chats
In general, Instant Messenger chat tools seem to be reasonably accessible,=
=20
although there are compatibility issues between versions of assistive=20
technology
and versions of IM tools. The Jaws screen reader was designed to work with=
=20
versions of AOL Instant Messenger and has been used with each of the major=
=20
instant
messengers with varying levels of success. The user in many cases must=20
learn to 'trick' the IM program into working with their assistive program=20
and must
learn how to control and manipulate the program which is not inherently=20
accessible. IM settings can be changed to make the program more accessible,=
=20
such
as viewing one message at a time, keeping the IM window from automatically=
=20
opening, and designating sounds for various notifications.
Instant Messengers
List of 4 items
=95 AOL:
http://aim.aol.com/
=95 ICQ:
http://web.icq.com/
=95 MSN:
http://messenger.msn.com/
=95 Yahoo!:
http://messenger.yahoo.com/messenger/
list end
Conclusions
Despite the wide-spread use of chat programs, few are fully accessible to=20
those with disabilities. Though the situation is not satisfactory at this=
time,
most chat interfaces could easily be made accessible with a few=20
modifications and design changes. If you are designing, implementing, or=20
looking for a
chat program, these are a few questions to ask:
1. Is the interface accessible through the keyboard only?
2. Does the program work with common screen readers?
3. Can the user control the scrolling and/or refreshing of messages?
4. Does sound alone convey important information?
5. Are the controls easy to use and clear?
6. If Java is being used, is it designed to work with Jaws and other screen=
=20
readers?
To learn more about accessible chats and other accessibility tips, please=20
visit the
webaim.org
site or
contact the author.
Copyright (c) 1998-2005 WebAIM (www.webaim.org). All rights reserved.
Terms of Use: This document may be reproduced and distributed in print or=20
electronic format only if it is offered at no cost to recipients and as long=
as
full credit is given to WebAIM, including a link to the WebAIM Web site,=20
and as long as this Terms of Use notice remains intact.=20
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