[blindlaw] LinkedIn Has Been Made Inaccessible To The Blind

E.J. Zufelt lists at zufelt.ca
Sun Aug 8 01:10:25 UTC 2010 

Although I use Webvisum pretty much daily, and appreciate it, I don't think that it is a legally suitable solution to the problem of CAPTCHAs.

I don't see how my ability to access a commercial web-site should be dependent on a free service (which may or may not be available at any given time).  That being said, CAPTCHAs are often a necessary tool to filter certain content on high traffic web-sites, where manual filtering would be inefficient or highly expensive.  I'm not sure what a better solution would be, as any solution accessible to the blind / deafblind would by necessity be accessible to robots.  Logic questions can be useful, but are not always effective at reducing unwanted content from being published to a site, some logic based CAPTCHAs (which aren't actually technically CAPTCHAs, as they are not completely automated), can also cause challenges for persons with cognitive impairments..



Everett Zufelt
http://zufelt.ca

Follow me on Twitter
http://twitter.com/ezufelt

View my LinkedIn Profile
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ezufelt



On 2010-08-06, at 10:58 PM, <ckrugman at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> The use of Web Vizum would work for a deaf blind person because the captcha that is read is then pasted on to the clipboard and copied before sending. I would also assume that a deaf blind person would be using a Braille display to follow the process.
> Chuck
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue1 at sbcglobal.net>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 5:43 PM
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] LinkedIn Has Been Made Inaccessible To The Blind
> 
> 
>> Hello Charles and everyone,
>> 
>> And what if this person is both blind and deaf? The folks who develop these
>> CAPTCHA solving solutions need to consider this population too.
>> 
>> Peter Donahue
>> 
>> 
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: <ckrugman at sbcglobal.net>
>> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 7:17 PM
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] LinkedIn Has Been Made Inaccessible To The Blind
>> 
>> 
>> as long as there are alternatives to solve the captcha such as audio captcha
>> or use of other services such as Solona or Web Vizum they are not breaking
>> the law. As blind professionals we need to look toward using alternatives to
>> solve these types of problems and the alternatives are out there for us to
>> use.
>> Chuck
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Ladis" <tom at tomladis.com>
>> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 8:54 AM
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] LinkedIn Has Been Made Inaccessible To The Blind
>> 
>> 
>>> Derek,
>>> 
>>> Interesting that they even make it a random test.  There are other sites
>>> that do this type of thing and it is not fair appropriate for any of them
>>> to do so.  This needs to change, for the sake of all blind people.
>>> 
>>> Are they breaking the law by doing this test?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Tom
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Derek Wilson" <dwilson.lists at gmail.com>
>>> To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 1:13 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] LinkedIn Has Been Made Inaccessible To The Blind
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> If you are wondering why sometimes LinkedIn prompts you with a captcha
>>>> and
>>>> sometimes not, you may want to read on:
>>>> 
>>>> QUOTE
>>>> 
>>>> Security Verification Prompts
>>>> Why am I sometimes prompted for my password or to type in characters from
>>>> an
>>>> image shown on the security verification screen?
>>>> 
>>>> LinkedIn is committed to protecting the privacy and security of our
>>>> members'
>>>> information and maintaining the mutual trust we share with our community.
>>>> 
>>>> As part of our proactive efforts to keep our members and community safe
>>>> from
>>>> real and perceived threats, we vigorously monitor site activity. At
>>>> various
>>>> points in the LinkedIn site, you may be prompted to re-enter your
>>>> password
>>>> or you may be asked to type in distorted letters or numbers presented in
>>>> a
>>>> security challenge. CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to
>>>> tell
>>>> Computers and Humans Apart) is a security method commonly used by
>>>> websites.
>>>> This feature helps to distinguish human attempts to access the site from
>>>> automatic, computer-generated attempts to access the site, a technique
>>>> typically used by spammers.
>>>> 
>>>> At various times, you could experience an increase in CAPTCHA prompts. To
>>>> reduce the number of times you see the security challenge during the day,
>>>> you might consider the following actions:
>>>> 
>>>>  1. Enable cookies on your browser. (See your browser's help section.)
>>>>  2. Ensure that you don't sign out each time you use LinkedIn during the
>>>> day. We will remember your last login for a period of time which will
>>>> allow
>>>> you to bypass the login sequence (including the CAPTCHA prompt). We do
>>>> recommend that you sign out at the end of each day.
>>>> 
>>>> If you have difficulty distinguishing a particular CAPTCHA image, you can
>>>> click on the "Try a different image" link. Audio CAPTCHA is also
>>>> available
>>>> by clicking the audio icon found on the "Security Verification" page.
>>>> Source:
>>>> http://linkedin.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/linkedin.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_
>>>> faqid=3065
>>>> 
>>>> The catch is, at least for me, that I cannot find the audio icon.  This
>>>> means I cannot accesss my account - even with a password.  This issue
>>>> will
>>>> persist - especially for the totally blind - until it is addressed by
>>>> LinkedIn.
>>>> 
>>>> END QUOTE
>>>> 
>>>> If you are on Twitter, I encourage you to pressure @LinkedIn to get their
>>>> act together. See: http://ow.ly/2lKvs & http://ow.ly/2lKxU
>>>> 
>>>> Regards,
>>>> Derek
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>>> Behalf Of Peter Donahue
>>>> Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 12:37 PM
>>>> To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
>>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] LinkedIn Has Been Made Inaccessible To The Blind
>>>> 
>>>> Hello Chris and everyone,
>>>> 
>>>>   Upon reading the posts about this I checked for myself and was
>>>> automatically logged in. Linked-In worked as it always does.
>>>> 
>>>> Peter Donahue
>>>> 
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Chris Danielsen" <cdanielsen8 at aol.com>
>>>> To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2010 5:13 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] LinkedIn Has Been Made Inaccessible To The Blind
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> I wonder if this is only a problem with new accounts or only happens
>>>> sometimes? Someone else on this list raised this issue last week but I
>>>> was
>>>> able to log into my own account with no problem.
>>>> 
>>>> Chris
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>>> Behalf Of Mike Freeman
>>>> Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2010 11:34 AM
>>>> To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
>>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] LinkedIn Has Been Made Inaccessible To The Blind
>>>> 
>>>> Can you hit Control to silence JAWS?
>>>> 
>>>> Ah, the advantages of an external synth!
>>>> 
>>>> Mike
>>>> 
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Tom Ladis" <tom at tomladis.com>
>>>> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2010 8:09 AM
>>>> Subject: [blindlaw] LinkedIn Has Been Made Inaccessible To The Blind
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> Hello All,
>>>>> 
>>>>> I received an invitation to connect to colleagues from the past through
>>>>> www.LinkedIn.com.  I have used LinkedIn in the past and been able to get
>>>>> around with only a few problems.  It appears that they have added
>>>>> real-time verification to the login process on top of the normal
>>>>> username
>>>>> and password.  They do offer the ability to have the image that they
>>>>> present for real[-time verification, but the text is spoken at the same
>>>>> time that JAWS announces the popup window.  This seems to me to be a
>>>>> barrier and was not there the last time that I logged in to my account.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Does anyone else on here use LinkedIn?
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> Tom
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> blindlaw mailing list
>>>>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>>> blindlaw:
>>>>> 
>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/k7uij%40panix.com
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> blindlaw mailing list
>>>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>> blindlaw:
>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/cdanielsen8%40aol.
>>>> com
>>>> 
>>>> __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus
>>>> signature
>>>> database 5345 (20100805) __________
>>>> 
>>>> The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
>>>> 
>>>> http://www.eset.com
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus
>>>> signature
>>>> database 5345 (20100805) __________
>>>> 
>>>> The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
>>>> 
>>>> http://www.eset.com
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> blindlaw mailing list
>>>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>> blindlaw:
>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/pdonahue1%40sbcglo
>>>> bal.net
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> blindlaw mailing list
>>>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>> blindlaw:
>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/dwilson.lists%40gm
>>>> ail.com
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> blindlaw mailing list
>>>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>> blindlaw:
>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/tom%40tomladis.com
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> blindlaw mailing list
>>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> blindlaw:
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/ckrugman%40sbcglobal.net
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> blindlaw mailing list
>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> blindlaw:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/pdonahue1%40sbcglobal.net
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> blindlaw mailing list
>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/ckrugman%40sbcglobal.net 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> blindlaw mailing list
> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blindlaw:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/lists%40zufelt.ca

More information about the BlindLaw mailing list