i agree Colin. I work in a big organisation where 11 thousand out of the 23 thousand workers are all on facebook. And their friends are on it too. And their friends. And their business partners. And so on.
When something as culturally significant as Facebook comes along, we have to shout loudly or at least send emails so that visually impaired people become a force and are remembered.
...Damon----- Original Message ----- From: "Colin Fowler" <col.fowler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, June 10, 2007 4:18 PMSubject: [access-uk] Re: facebook.com - an amazing, yet partially inaccessible, tool for blind people
Nar! Personally, we'd be better off being included in all spheres of society, and not allowing organisations to use the verification system to inadvertently exclude a proportion of society that can not use an inaccessible authentication system.Colin Colin Fowler Disability Consultant Tel: 01582 483 283 Text/mobile: 07901 573 570 E mail: col.fowler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx www.social-model.org.uk disability@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx----- Original Message ----- From: "Christopher Hallsworth" <chrishallsworth@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, June 10, 2007 4:08 PMSubject: [access-uk] Re: facebook.com - an amazing, yet partially inaccessible, tool for blind peopleI personally think we're better with an alternative yet very accessible service, Zone BBS. There are no graphical verification thingies, you can do everything that it has to offer without sighted assistance, and, well, it's just another choice for those like you and me who can't socialize very well. You can sign up at http://www.zonebbs.com. Hope that helps. On Sun, 10 Jun 2007 15:49:39 +0100, "Damon" <damon.rose@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> said:HI all. Are there any Facebook members among you? It's a really amazing social networking site. I got myself on it lastweek - but had to ask someone to help me with the verification graphic inorder that I can setup an account. Now that I'm in, it's quite good. It only currently gives limited accessibility for visually impaired people though. Various important things you can do, such as Add Friends, send email, have conversations on the groups you choose to be part of, are all inacccessible now because they have recently added verification graphics for these things too. Interestingly, if you are in the US or Canada you can get rid of theverification graphics by giving it your mobile phone number to verify youare a real human being and not just a spammer. But it doesn't work withUK phones yet. I am thinking of calling up a mate in the US and asking ifshe'll allow me to use her mobile number - though not entirely sure thiswaves all verification graphics away. If anyone has any insight into thisI'd appreciate hearing from you. In the meantime, you can add to your list of friends by sitting back and waiting for them to add you. And you can post on peoples' walls. The key to social networking is to build those networks as they are importantfrom friendships, business and finding like-minded people. Oh and you canalso, of course, look for partners if that's your thing. But it's a way of opening up networks, letting your friends see your mates friends and business acquaintances.You can also create and join networks. So, using a valid email address atthe company I work for, I'm now a member of their Network. I also belong to the London network. All these things are accessible. I think this tool could be amazingly useful to blind people, especially as we find it so hard to network when at big conferences and at parties.I believe visually impaired people are lobbying Facebook to have an audioalternative to the captcha graphic put in place. I'm going to get more details about this. I urge you to check it out. www.facebook.com The other thing to mention is that, interestingly, everyone in my officehas become a member of Facebook and are networking like mad. So, the factthat I can't leaves me at a disadvantage. There is currently only semi access for me but I have chosen to jump on board because it's better to be partially in than out in my circumstances. Get an account. Get looking round. It's a fascinating site. The longer you're on it, the more friends you collect, the more you get it. ...DamonChristopher Hallsworth E-mail: chrishallsworth@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Skype name chrishallsworth7266 ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
