[BlindRUG] Accessible conference environments

[Liz Hare]

Thanks!

Do you know if Zoom has chat functionality that allows a person to partifcipate in more than one thread at a time?

They're hoping for an experience where people can interact with each other (by text; not necessarily with video) both inside and outside the sessions, so that people could also communicate between sessions. Does Zoom have options to move to different spaces and between them? The only Zooms I've done have been single tracks. I understand there are breakout rooms but I'm not sure if they could provide what they're looking for.

Have you done anything like a conference that has two or more tracks within one environment that holds it together?

Thanks so much for your advice,

Liz

Liz Hare, PhD
Dog Genetics LLC
doggene at earthlink.net
http://www.doggenetics.com

> On Oct 23, 2020, at 12:58 PM, Tim in 't Veld via BlindRUG <blindrug at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Dear Liz,
> 
> 
> 
> I think the consensus is that Zoom is the most accessible option. There are good reasons for wishing to stay away from the proprietary Facebook censorship and privacy violation potentate from Trumpland but I don't think any alternative comes close to Zoom’s accessibility. If I am wrong I hope someone chimes in.
> 
>  
> Teams and Skype work but have a lot of disadvantages. Whereby works quite well on iPhone but on the web version there is no way to know if the microphone is muted. I think a blind user will also manage to participate in meetings using the open source Jitsi meet software but have only limited experience with this platform. Again none of those options are as accessible as zoom.
> 
>  
> Hope this helps,
> 
> Tim
> 
> The best option to go with for accessibility is Zoom. I know it is not open source and there are good reasons to aviod the sonsosship potentate 
> Op 23-10-2020 om 18:27 schreef Liz Hare via BlindRUG:
>> Hi all,
>> 
>> I'm working on accessibility with the organizers of UseR! 2021.
>> 
>> We're trying to find an accessible, hopefully open-source, communication platform for the event. It would be a place to talk both within conference  presentations and outside them more generally. Features it needs:
>> 
>> - Screen reader accessibility
>> - usability for low vision and people with other issues (visual processing difficulties, epilepsy, etc)
>> - open source
>> - the ability to follow multiple threads (some of the simpler options like Google Chat don't let you have complex sets of communication areas.
>> 
>> We are looking at Mattermost, which I think will be pretty challenging, accessibility wise. But we would like others to look at that you might have had success with in organizing or attending conferences.
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> Liz
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Liz Hare, PhD
>> Dog Genetics LLC
>> 
>> doggene at earthlink.net
>> http://www.doggenetics.com
>> 
>> 
>> 
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>> More information and useful links about using R as a blind person can be obtained at:
>> 
>> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz
>> 
>> 
>> Look for help using R commands by reading the accessible e-book "Let's Use R Now" compiled by Jonathan Godfrey at:
>> 
>> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz/lurn/front.html
> 
> 
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> The list archive can be viewed at:
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> More information and useful links about using R as a blind person can be obtained at:
> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz
> 
> Look for help using R commands by reading the accessible e-book "Let's Use R Now" compiled by Jonathan Godfrey at:
> http://R-Resources.massey.ac.nz/lurn/front.html