At the SL UX Office Hours a couple of weeks ago, we had a discussion about how people with disabilities use Second Life. The discussion focused primarily on visually impaired users and some of the technologies that groups are working to develop to make it easier to use SL. Accessibility groups in Second Life have actually scripted canes, guide dogs, wheelchairs, and other assistive tools to help those with disabilities navigate inworld. It just goes on to prove the breadth of Second Life’s reach.
What is Accessibility?
Accessibility, as it pertains to computers, deals with the accessibility/usability of a computer system (hardware, software, etc.) for any person, regardless of disability.
Most of the time, when people here the term “disability”, they tend to think of those who are deaf or blind, but disability is far more wide-ranging that that, and includes other visual and auditory disabilities like color blindness, low-vision, and complete or partial-blindness, being hard of hearing or completely deaf. The term also encompasses cognitive impairments that can include things like Autism, Dyslexia, and ADHD. Finally, disability can also include motor or dexterity impairments like Cerebral Palsy or Repetitive Strain Injury.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, around 17% of the U.S. population, aged 16 and over, lives with some form of disability.
Personal Experiences
Accessibility is a subject near and dear to me for a couple of reasons. In previous jobs, I’ve spent time as an accessibility consultant, helping companies and government agencies develop and maintain accessible websites.
Secondly, and most importantly, is my husband. After suffering a serious back injury during a military training exercise over a year and a half ago, my husband now walks only with a cane and even then, experiences tremendous pain. These days, he is mostly confined to our home and, like so many other people living with a disability, has come to rely on computers and the Internet for many daily activities - personal or work-related.
An Accessible Second Life?
There were several meeting attendees participating in the discussion about Accessibility who questioned the value of introducing more accessible content both in the Viewer and on the grid. That’s a pretty ignorant view. After all, ignoring the accessibility community means ignoring almost one fifth of the U.S. population alone. Second Life is available globally, so consider the large percentage of the world’s population we ignore when we ignore accessibility concerns.
So over the past few weeks, I’ve spent time seeking out and talking to members of various disability and accessibility groups in Second Life. They are an incredibly bright and talented group who are continually pushing the limits of LSL and building in Second Life to provide great experiences for disabled SL users.
Government Mandates
Many web developers will remember the flurry of web activity and discussion that swirled around Section 508 of the Disabilities Act. This legal document required that all government agencies have websites that are accessible to all people, regardless of disability.
So this got me thinking. What do rulings like this mean for the future of Second Life? There are many government agencies setting up shop in SL today. As the virtual world becomes ever more prevalent, will new laws have to be written requiring government agencies to provide accessible virtual content?
Many questions have come to mind and I continue to think about them now:
- Can accessibility mandates be successfully applied to virtual worlds? How can it be employed on a global scale? Is it even possible?
- Is it possible to introduce standards to building and scripting in SL? Will this limit creativity?
- Can we introduce more accessibility controls and event responders to help disabled users navigate?
I plan to continue seeking out accessible tools and content in Second Life and will cover them here in future posts!
What is your view on accessibility and Second Life? How can we create a more accessible metaverse?
Tags: Accessibility
Posted in UX | Comments (3)
September 14th, 2008 at 5:25 am
This is a very interesting and timely topic of discussion. It will become increasingly relevant when companies more fully investigate SL for transactional purposes. I’m curious how the recent $6M settlement against Target Corp (Unruh Civil Rights Act of California) will impact matters of digital accessibility, and to what extent those efforts will penetrate virtual world technology.
On a related matter, I had the opportunity to meet with members of the DC Access Board this past June. I asked if virtual worlds (and specifically SL) were considered in the crafting of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 draft. The topic was certainly raised, but as of this writing I don’t know of any plans to formulate such standards.
You raise some great questions, which I’ll probably cover in a future blog post (crediting this post for inspiration).
May 26th, 2009 at 7:52 am
2nd life is great
so is this article.
August 28th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
As a disabled veteran myself, I’m not sure why someone would want to replicate his disability in SL. Part of the pleasure in using SL is being able to transcend that disability and interact “normally”. I want to get away from the need for wheelchair accessible entrances, ramps, curb cuts, guide dogs, and all the other things we associate with physical limitations. After all, in SL I can fly. Why would I want to create another world in which I can’t even get around without special accommodation?