Comments on: Hello Oslo, This is Emacs Calling

By: MJ Ray

MJ Ray — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 23:17:09 +0000

reCaptcha offers an audio alternative, but my hearing is imperfect too! Adding a second physical ability test does not make the first one accessible.

According to nhs.uk, in the UK’s 61.4 million people, there are two million with serious sight problems, over five million with refractive errors and almost nine million hearing impaired, so I can’t be anything like the only computer user who fails both eyetests and hearing tests. Also, as you can see from the numbers, more people have hearing problems than sight problems, so offering a hearing test instead of an eyetest is like offering a maths test instead of a general knowledge question – fine for some, but still not really accessible.

If you want to block spam, test submissions for spam. Don’t test eyesight or hearing!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:42:15 +0000

Why does reCAPTCHA’s audio alternative not address your concern about disabled users? Yes, it’s still a hoop to jump through, which is a different objection (and one I have some sympathy for), but AFAICT it at least seems like an accessible hoop.

By: Dmitrijs Ledkovs

Dmitrijs Ledkovs — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:02:50 +0000

Yes, it means a lot to hear all of the countries prolong results announcement by congratulating participants and praising organisers……. Give the points =))))))

I can never beat reCaptcha

By: Luke Faraone

Luke Faraone — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:59:58 +0000

Doesn’t reCAPTCHA also offer an audio version?

By: MJ Ray

MJ Ray — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:52:35 +0000

Well, it was possible to use it from the command-line with the linphonec client instead of the GTK+ one, but that meant having its own terminal open all the time.

By: Andy Cater

Andy Cater — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 07:36:26 +0000

EMACS – once again, the universal operating system that’s in need of a decent editor
However, this does mean that someone visually impaired / using text only for some other reason now has a decent telephone application.