>FYI:
>>From: John Rae thepenguin@rogers.com
>>
>>Visual Verification Boxes: The Obnoxious Obstacles
>>
>>By Wes Derby
>>AssociatedContent.com, February 13, 2007
>>
>>The Internet and the Blind II
>>
>>Visual Verifications are an obstacle for blind computer users
>>
>>We've all encountered them. You're trying to register for a site or service,
>>or trying to make a purchase, and it hits you; "Please enter the text you
>>see in the box". I understand site owners claim to use these to prevent
>>automated sign-ups to their sites, but as a blind computer user, I have to
>>say that they're a huge disservice to the blind and visually impaired
>>community. The problem isn't so much the graphical text boxes themselves,
>>which our screenreaders will not read, but the lack of assistance provided
>>by some sites.
>>
>>Some sites genuinely do offer assistance to blind and visually impaired
>>individuals in signing up for their sites. Some examples of these include:
>>
>>Yahoo.com: They provide a link so that, if you can't see the text, you can
>>hear it through your computer's speaker system, and then type what you hear.
>>
>>Opieanthony.net: You can email the site administrator and he will assist you
>>in the sign-up.
>>
>>Wahm.com: They don't officially offer an alternative, but I e-mailed the
>>administrator, and she took care of my sign-up.
>>
>>Garageband.com: They require you to enter the text from the box each time
>>you review a song. I contacted them and explained that I am blind, and they
>>were able to turn this feature off permanently for me.
>>
>>Thos are some of the good sites. Now, however, I will focus on some of the
>>not-so-good sites. I'm not trying to imply that these sites are
>>intentionally trying to make it difficult for the blind; they simply may not
>>know they're doing so. Some of them, however, seem unteachable.
>>
>>The site I have the biggest beef with in this regard is Earthlink.net. In my
>>day job, part of my job is to handle the incoming email to our library's
>>general account. Earthlink has a set-up which allows users to only receive
>>email from senders they approve. The approval process is pretty
>>straightforward. I reply to the message, and Earthlink sends a message back
>>to me, telling me to click a link and fill in the form with my name, email
>>address, and if I want, my reason for emailing the person. They provide a
>>text box with some letters and/or numbers, and you have to enter those in
>>the edit box. They offer a link for the visually impaired to click on for
>>assistance, but the assistance you get is nonexistent. The link takes you to
>>a live chat session with Earthlink tech support. In the two times I chatted
>>with someone, instead of receiving help, I was told by the reps that I
>>should just call the person instead of emailing, to let the person know I
>>was replying to their email. This is bad advice for two reasons. First, I
>>didn't have phone numbers for either person. Second, even if I did,
>>Earthlink should not offer the link for assistance if they do not plan to
>>provide such assistance. In these cases, I've had to call a sighted coworker
>>over to read me the text. Earthlink gets an F- in my book.
>>
>>Next is Ticketmaster. In my ticket buying experiences, their site requires
>>this same visual verification of entering the text from the box. Their
>>advice for assisting the blind? Buy your tickets at a Ticketmaster outlet or
>>by phone. This is great for general ticket-buying, but is not feasible for
>>buying through internet presales offered by some of our local radio
>>stations. In those cases, again, I have to ask a sighted friend or family
>>member to assist by reading the box. Since Ticketmaster offers a solution
>>that is workable in most situations, I give them a D; slightly better than
>>Earthlink, but not much.
>>
>>The final site I'll mention here is Myspace. They have one of these visual
>>verifications during the sign-up process, and no link for the visually
>>impaired or anyone else who can't see the text. I've contacted Myspace about
>>this a couple of times, and have never received a response. Again, I call a
>>sighted person over to help me. Once signed up, however, Myspace is mostly
>>accessible, though in my follow-up article on the internet and the blind, I
>>plan to discuss an accessibility issue at Myspace. Though the sign-up
>>process is inaccessible in that particular step, the rest of the site works
>>pretty well with a screenreader. I give them a C+.
>>
>>I could go on and on for pages with sites who use these visual text boxes,
>>but I think you, the intelligent reader, get the picture. This is a problem
>>which can be solved, as I've mentioned above; site owners simply have to
>>want to assist in this process. We may be a minority in the population, but
>>blind and visually impaired people in general tend to be very tech savvy
>>people, and use the internet as much as our sighted counterparts, and our
>>issues need to be taken seriously by site owners/administrators. If anyone
>>from any of the sites I mentioned above, or any other website administrator
>>who uses these visual verification systems, read this article, I would
>>implore you to consider your blind visitors when setting up your sites.
>>
>>www.associatedcontent.com/article/139895/visual_verification_boxes_th
>>e_obnoxious.html
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