[games_access] Fwd: interesting discussion about making SecondLife accessible to the blind

[d. michelle hinn]

Yes, this is true -- and actually since it's a "place of business" 
for some that even Reuters international news service is following it 
puts them into even more danger according to several US laws. SL is 
not a game but an online world that allows users to create games...or 
businesses...or classes...

And since users *can* (and I'm not saying will) make real money off 
of their ventures...it places it into interesting legal territory. 
Although...with SL really pushing their product at gaming 
conferences, it makes them into a (sorry for the geekiness of 
this...) a shape-shifter of sorts, allowing them to align themselves 
as whatever form (business and concept-wise) is valuable to them at 
whatever point in time.

The game versus simulation should tie up the courts a bit -- and SL 
needs to clarify whatever position they intend to defend themselves 
with. Whatever angle they go with...that will be on the legal books 
for some time in the US (unless/until overturned).

Michelle

>Thanks for this! I've already posted my 2eurocents. Maybe we do need to keep
>in mind that many consider Second Life to be "a simulation instead of a
>game" (to quote Margaret Robertson of Edge Magazine). While this may seem
>like a futile detail at the moment (games vs. simulation discussion), it can
>make all the difference in the world - legally.
>
>Greets,
>
>Richard
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "d. michelle hinn" <hinn at uiuc.edu>
>To: <games_access at igda.org>
>Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 1:09 AM
>Subject: [games_access] Fwd: interesting discussion about making SecondLife
>accessible to the blind
>
>
>>  Forwarding this for Eelke...interesting timing, as I'm about to guest
>>  blog about accessibility of MMOGs on Terra Nova.
>>
>>  Hey the American Blind Federation sued AOL...this was bound to happen
>>  to online games eventually, especially since they are being used in
>>  classrooms.
>>
>>  Michelle
>>
>>>ate: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 14:28:11 -0800
>>>From: "Eelke Folmer" <eelke.folmer at gmail.com>
>>>To: "d. michelle hinn" <hinn at uiuc.edu>,
>>>          "Richard Tol van" <r.van.tol at bartimeus.nl>
>>>Subject: Fwd: interesting discussion about making SecondLife
>>>accessible to the blind
>>>
>>>Hey I sent this one yesterday to the games access list but it wasn't
>>>featured in today's
>>>mail.
>>>
>>>cheers Eelke
>>>
>>>
>>>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>>From: Eelke Folmer <eelke.folmer at gmail.com>
>>>Date: Jan 9, 2007 3:46 PM
>>>Subject: interesting discussion about making SecondLife accessible
>>>to the blind
>>>To: games_access at igda.org
>>>
>>>
>>>http://www.it-analysis.com/blogs/Abrahams_Accessibility/2006/11/second_life_class_action.html?mode=full&hilite=13287#CM13287
>>>
>>>People seem to have some radical opinions about the subject matter
>>>(especially with regard to the class action suit):
>>>
>>>"Don't get me wrong; I'm all for supporting the rights of the
>>>disabled, but this is beyond insane. What's next? Should they sue the
>>>Anderson Window Company for not making windows that verbally describe
>>>what's going on outside. I mean, really, those windows only work for
>>>people who can see, right? That's discrimination, right"
>>>
>>>Interesting is the response from Joshua Linden (founder linden labs)
>>>about how Lindenlabs is trying to do their best to follow the W3C
>>>guidelines but rather decided to make the Second life viewer open
>>>source so people can write their own viewers which support alternative
>>>input and output mechanisms such as screen readers. However I believe
>>>this will only work if accessibility features are supported on the
>>>server side. E.g. how do you classify & describe an object in
>>>Secondlife? (e.g. its the same problem with adding meta information to
>>>images on the word wide web see http://www.espgame.org/)
>>>
>>>~ Eelke
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>--
>>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>Eelke Folmer                            Assistant Professor
>  >>Department of Computer Science & Engineering/171
>>>University of Nevada               Reno, Nevada 89557
>>>Game Quality         usability|accessibility.eelke.com
>>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>
>>>--
>>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>Eelke Folmer                            Assistant Professor
>>>Department of Computer Science & Engineering/171
>>>University of Nevada               Reno, Nevada 89557
>>>Game Quality         usability|accessibility.eelke.com
>>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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