[blindeudora] Re: Accessibility of On-line Chat
- From: List Owner <blindeudora@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: blindeudora@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2005 16:15:29 -0500
Personally I don't give this article much credit sense it was done in 1998.
Accessible chat has come a long way such as IRQ is very useable with
clients like freedom chat http://www.themillionweb.com/
Here are just a few known voice chats.
AUDIO TIPS http://www.audio-tips.com
FOR THE PEOPLE http://www.for-the-people.com
VENTRILO http://www.ventrilo.com
SKYPE http://www.skype.com/
PALTALK http://www.paltalk.com
For users of YAHOO, and MSN MESSENGER you can find scripts for jaws
http://www.jfwlite.com
At the time this article was written AIM and YAHOO was the best for text
chat, because that is what I was using at that time, and only had problems
with yahoo.
At 08:47 PM 1/25/2005, you wrote:
>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
>
>
>List web page: //www.freelists.org/webpage/blindeudora
>Send all list problems or inquires to: blingeudora@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>to un subscribe:
>blindeudora-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject
> field
Tim
Blindeudora list owner.
List web page: //www.freelists.org/webpage/blindeudora
Send all list problems or inquires to: blingeudora@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
to un subscribe:
blindeudora-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject
field
Other related posts:
