August 17, 2001
Greetings:
Questions have been raised about America Online's (AOL's) recently announced Focused Beta Test for accessibility. Some people have asked about the National Federation of the Blind's position regarding this test in light of the Federation's lawsuit filed against AOL in November of 1999. Others have asked why, as beta test participants, they have to give AOL personal information such as credit card numbers, mailing addresses, etc.
Let me begin by updating you about the status of the Federation's lawsuit against AOL. In late July of last year, we agreed to withdraw the suit after receiving assurances from AOL of its commitment to improve the accessibility of its Windows client software (AOL 5.0 at the time). When AOL 6.0 was released in the fall of 2000, some marginal accessibility improvements were in fact included in the software--in particular, improvements in the ease of installation and in the use of email. However, it was clearly understood that AOL needed more time to complete its work. The Federation reserved the right to file another lawsuit against AOL after one year if, in its judgment, sufficient progress had not been made toward making the AOL client accessible to the blind but agreed to withdraw the lawsuit in the interest of harmony and cooperation.
AOL is now calling for testers to participate in what it calls a Focus Beta Test for Accessibility. To quote AOL, "The Focused Beta Test for accessibility is a call to Assistive Technology users to report on their AOL experience using Assistive Technologies such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, voice recognition, speech output, and alternatives to the standard keyboards and mouses." To our knowledge, this is the very first time that a major company of this type has conducted a beta test specifically targeted at users of assistive technology. Some people might argue that beta testing software that is known not to work well with assistive technology in effect places the cart before the horse. The reality is that without this beta testing and active participation from users of assistive technology, AOL will not be able to take the positive steps it must take to ensure that the next version of its client software will work for us as well as it should. AOL needs to receive concrete and widespread v
erification that either it is or is not doing the right thing in terms of making the next version of its client software accessible to everyone.
Anyone wanting to participate in the AOL Focused Beta Test for Accessibility needs to sign up as an AOL member; this requirement is true for anyone beta testing AOL software, issues of accessibility notwithstanding. However, once a person signs up for the beta test process, all membership fees are waived. In other words, other than your time, there is no cost to you to participate in AOL's focused beta test for accessibility. Once you have finished doing what testing you feel inclined to do, you can cancel your AOL membership.
The National Federation of the Blind supports this effort and encourages anyone who can to participate. This is a critical step toward the achievement of accessible software from America Online. The time to act is now. We urge anyone participating in AOL's Focused Beta Test for Accessibility to report each and every problem encountered in the use of the software. This is the best way for AOL's software developers to obtain the feedback they need to develop code that will truly work for everyone--blind and sighted alike.
Yours sincerely,
Curtis Chong, Director of Technology
National Federation of the Blind
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
Phone: (410) 659-9314, Extension 349
Fax: (410) 685-5653
Email: CChong@nfb.org
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