Reading in the dark - Accessibility and democracy in Second Life
[Recent Entries][Archive][Friends][User Info]
|
12:12 pm
[Link] |
Accessibility and democracy in Second Life
Kes: Note how the article on accessibility in Second Life unpacks assumptions about who is playing MMOs and thereby adding some more questions to the connection between online personae and identity, particularly in relation to feeling included within or excluded from communities. These questions are becoming more important as other sorts of social interactions, including education and job recruiting, move into Second Life. Another article which frames the social rules of MMOs is
Cory Doctorow's latest InfoWeek column, which asks the
question, "Is it possible to have a democratic online game?"
http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199100026
Soaring Beyond Physical Challenges in Virtual Worlds
By Tom Peters and Lori Bell
Computers in Libraries
04/15/07 4:00 AM PT
For the subpopulation with mobility and dexterity challenges, "Second Life"
is a very interesting world indeed. There is a group of people in "Second
Life," for example, who have experienced strokes in real life. While in
their "first life" they often experience mobility challenges, in "Second
Life" their avatars can fly, walk, jump and communicate via facial
expressions with ease.
Recently, 3-D online multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs) have become very
popular. In these online worlds, users have avatars (digital surrogates)
that move around within the virtual world, interact with others and the
virtual environment, build things, etc. The Wikipedia article on MUVEs
lists "Second Life", There.com, "Activeworlds" and "Neverwinter Nights" as
the most popular existing MUVEs. Within the related universe of MMORPGs
(massively multiplayer online role-playing games), "World of Warcraft" has
more than 8 million users.
During the past year, the number of registered avatars in "Second Life" has
mushroomed from a few hundred thousand to well over 3.3 million, and the
number of avatars active in-world in the past 60 days exceeds 1 million.
Clearly, many people are spending time in MUVEs.
Because MUVEs are so popular, rumors swirl that several major new, improved
MUVEs will be launched soon. In a sense, all of the avatars currently in
"Second Life" soon may be "MUVEin' on up to the East Side" to experience
some brave, better virtual world.
Questioning Accessibility
Whenever any computer or information technology becomes popular, we ask the
following basic question: Is this new technology accessible? Too often, game
developers and other vendors do not think of accessibility when designing
and building a product. What sorts of accessibility challenges and
opportunities does this new technology pose? It is important to examine both
sides of this coin -- the challenges and the opportunities. When it comes to
accessibility, new technologies are not necessarily all bad and
exclusionary.
To begin examining these basic accessibility questions, let's consider the
users of the new technology. Because the prevailing wisdom appears to be
that we live in a youth-oriented culture, often we assume that it must be
the "young'uns" who are taking a shine to any popular new technology.
Surely, we assume, the early adopters and the first wave of popular users
must be young people, with a possible sub-assumption that young males are
driving the bus.
However, that's not necessarily true. The estimated average age of "Second
Life" users is 35, and about 50 percent of users are female. When the
Alliance Library System started library services in "Second Life" in April
2006, we assumed most of the users would be 20- or 30-something.
Surprisingly, there are many 40-, 50- and even 80-somethings using "Second
Life." The population is increasingly diverse in terms of cultural
backgrounds. Before Linden Lab loosened credit card requirements for "Second
Life," most users were U.S. residents. Now almost half the users are outside
the U.S.
Are MUVEs Accessible?
In order to make sense of what appears to be a simple, straightforward
question (Are MUVEs accessible?), it often is helpful to categorize the
subpopulations for whom physiologically based accessibility is a key
concern. (Learning disabilities is another important accessibility challenge
not addressed in this column.)
A common classification scheme identifies three subpopulations:
? Users who are blind or visually impaired;
? Users who are deaf or hearing-impaired; and
? Users who have mobility or dexterity challenges.
While this classification scheme is simple and generally useful, it is not
without controversy. For example, recently, a blind person communicated to
us that he does not understand why blindness and visual impairments are
lumped together, because usually the assistive technologies that a blind
person uses, such as screen-reader software and a Braille keyboard, are
different than those used by a person with low vision.
If we look at the accessibility issues and opportunities of MUVEs through
this tripartite classification scheme, several interesting things emerge.
Because "Second Life" is the MUVE we know best, it will serve as our
example. For the deaf and the hearing-impaired, "Second Life" currently may
be the best of all possible worlds, because audio currently is not
well-developed and integrated into "Second Life." Most information is
presented visually, and most communication is done via text chatting and
instant messaging. Most sounds tend to be nonessential background noises.
For people with hearing problems, "Second Life" is much closer to a level
playing field than is real life. This situation, however, may deteriorate
for the hearing-impaired as more audio technologies and options are
introduced.
Beyond 'First Life'
For the subpopulation with mobility and dexterity challenges, "Second Life"
is a very interesting world indeed. There is a group of people in "Second
Life," for example, who have experienced strokes in real life. While in
their "first life" they often experience mobility challenges, in "Second
Life" their avatars can fly, walk jump and communicate via facial
expressions with ease. As with the hearing-impaired, for this group, MUVEs
are perceived more in terms of an opportunity than as a set of accessibility
challenges.
Often with mobility challenges, the right hardware or assistive technology
can make the difference and provide access. Because many people are unaware
of current assistive technologies, librarians can provide a valuable local
resource by listing contact agencies for accessible technologies, such as
independent living and assistive technology centers.
Last August, there was an interesting discussion thread on SLED, the "Second
Life" Educators' discussion group, about supporting visually impaired users
in "Second Life." The issues and potential solutions are complex. "Second
Life" is a visually oriented virtual world in which objects can be
metaphorically touched, but not really touched, usually with a mouse click.
It would require a tremendous amount of Alt tagging and/or audio describing
to make the rich and evolving virtual world of "Second Life" intelligible,
useful and enjoyable to blind and low-vision users.
'Second Life' Responds
On Jan. 8, Joshua Linden added a comment in response to a blog post that had
suggested that a class action lawsuit within "Second Life" may be an
effective way to "force" "Second Life" to become more accessible to blind
and low-vision users. Because his response touches on several key issues and
recent developments, it is worth quoting in its entirety:
"Hey there -- I'm Joshua Linden from Linden Lab, one of the folks who help
create the 'Second Life' platform. (The world, of course, is created by the
residents.) We are deeply committed to making 'Second Life' usable by
everyone. A large number of 'Second Life' residents have 'First Life'
disabilities and enjoy the freedoms that a virtual world offers - from
communication to movement. However, we're still a very small company and
have limited development resources, so we have not been able to do
everything we want to -- yet! That includes standard interfaces for
accessibility tools.
"We have recently done a substantial rework of our keyboard focus code to
make things more predictable. As a benefit that was clearly in mind at the
time, this will make it easier to eventually hook up focus-based screen
readers (which typically work by interrogating the active application for
changes in the displayed text) and support alternative input technologies.
This is a much longer term project than simply saying 'we support the W3C
WAI,' since accessibility hooks are built into many Web browsers already,
whereas the 'Second Life' viewer is a stand-alone application. (Long-term,
one could hope that content creators in-world can tag their creations in
such a way as to be more accessible once the viewer is fully accessible!)
"Speaking of opening up, today (Jan. 8) we announced that the 'Second Life'
viewer source code is available under an open source license. See
http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/01/08/embracing-the-inevitable/
for the
announcement and links. We strongly encourage other developers to take on
projects such as interfacing the 'Second Life' viewer to work with
alternative input and output mechanisms such as screen readers. Don't just
wait for us to do it!"
Game Accessibility Efforts
Although MUVEs are not really games, efforts to provide greater
accessibility to electronic games may prove beneficial to the efforts to
improve the accessibility of MUVEs. Several groups are working on
accessibility and gaming. One is the Game Accessibility SIG (special
interest group) of the IGDA (International Game Developers Association).
This group was formed to "help the game community strive towards mainstream
games that are universally accessible to all, regardless of disability."
Other pertinent organizations include AudioGames.net and the Game
Accessibility Project and Forum.
Too often, a hot technology is made accessible because the particular
population that wants to participate forces the adoption and integration of
accessibility features. There is no easy or inexpensive solution. Which
games are accessible now to blind and low-vision users? According to Thomas
Westin, multiuser dungeons (MUDs) and some other text-based games are
accessible to the visually impaired. Some Braille games exist, as well as
audio-only games and some with hardware or software accessibility.
Taking Action
What can librarians do? Most librarians do not allow gaming or access to
games in the library, so why should they be interested in the accessibility
of MUVEs and MMORPGs? Here's a first step: Librarians need to be aware of
the options and point people with questions in the right direction. Many
states have a department or division that assists those with disabilities in
getting computer and adaptive technology access. Librarians can use these
referral services to do outreach to people who cannot come to the library.
In 2007 and beyond, because librarians will be looking at outreach to
enhance their services for all users, they must provide information
concerning accessibility.
The "Second Life" Consumer Health Library, funded by a grant from the
Greater Midwest Region of the National Network/National Library of Medicine,
strives to provide "training programs, outreach to virtual medical
communities, important consumer health resources and one-on-one support to
'Second Life' residents." Library staff members are aware that many
residents are finding ways to interact in this MUVE that are difficult or
impossible in real life. One staff member is a family friend of brothers who
are quadriplegic and are able to communicate via tongue-driven cursors. With
assistance from her, the brothers visited "Second Life" -- and flew. Though
exciting, their participation was limited to these mobility activities;
unable to respond if greeted, the brothers' involvement remains rudimentary.
The story sparked awareness and action by the Consumer Health Library.
Volunteers were solicited via TechSoup, and this small group held its first
meeting. The Consumer Health Library identifies its several roles in this
newborn initiative as coordination, resource identification and information
access. Carolina Keats (Carol Ferryman in real life) has approached members
of IBM (NYSE: IBM) at "Second Life" to propose their involvement in
assistive technology identification and adaptation, including programming
and scripting. Possibilities include real-world Web pages with in-world
information; in- and real-world promotion of resources; and mentor programs
so that individuals and caregivers can find welcome and support on either
side of the real-world/in-world divide.
As more higher education takes place in MUVEs (currently there are 60 to 80
academic institutions in "Second Life" and some in Activeworlds), educators
must create accessible solutions for students taking classes. Librarians in
the MUVEs will need to know the options for getting material to the
students. For each disability, the technology or software solution may be
different.
MUVEs as they currently exist and are experienced are a boon to two of the
three main subpopulations (i.e., the hearing and mobility challenged), but
they are still a bust to blind and visually impaired users.
© 2007 Computers in Libraries. All rights reserved.
© 2007 ECT News Network. All rights reserved.
Current Location: aerye
Current Music: WAAF
Tags: accessibility-second life, cory doctorow, participatory culture, virtual worlds
|
|
| |
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/93194978/1511936) | | From: | ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) cvirtue |
|---|
| Date: | April 17th, 2007 04:23 pm (UTC) |
|---|
| | | (Link) |
|
Interesting -- thanks for posting.
One minor quibble with the quoted article: there aren't really facial expressions in Second Life. One's avatar can be made to have a facial expression, but it's very awkward, so mostly the avatars cycle through stances and facial expression with no basis in what is being said/expressed.
I was interested in what you said about the age-profile of Second Life users. I can't use Second Life myself, because its memory requirements make my computer come over all weak and wobbly, but I tried to join IMVU, and I couldn't help noticing how difficult it is to make one's avatar appear anything outside the range 18-30. With no children and no grey hairs it looks like a gated community for the beautiful people - even besides other accessibility issues.
This may not be true for Second Life, though I'd be interested to know.
| | From: | cvirtue |
|---|
| Date: | April 17th, 2007 06:34 pm (UTC) |
|---|
| | | (Link) |
|
You can choose to have grey hair, wrinkles, be fat, and other non-beautiful-people features if you so wish, in Second Life.
Someone who wanted to get around in a wheelchair or on crutches could likewise make those things. I sometimes wear my own adaptive technology in Second Life, even though in SL, I don't need it! (That being glasses; I'm 20/400+ without.)
cabell and I touched upon a related subject recently when she wrote this post http://cabell.livejournal.com/503234.htmlabout a City of Heroes (COH) character she created which she calls, I believe, "Dead Sister," based on the unfortunate sibling from the ballad "Twa Sisters" (she has also contributed a lot of material to the Wiki entry on the same ballad). In my response http://cabell.livejournal.com/503378.htmlI pointed out that it is incredibly difficult to make characters which do not fall within a very restrictive description of "normal bodies," which is really ironic considering how these characters are supposed to be "heroes," or non-normative: ...this description of a character's physical appearance is the closest I have heard to a disabled character--yes, I know, sometimes a zombie is just a zombie--but it got me thinking: if it is difficult enough to find a female avatar body which looks like a uh, normal female body, is it at all possible to create an avatar with an obvious disability? And, given this question, what are your thoughts on how such erasure of disability from representation in MMOs perpetuates or reaffirms the patriarchal stereotype of the most physically perfect body as the most able and powerful body? You should realize, Imet cabell at WisCon when she presented a paper on the stereotypical female body in MMOs, the title of which was something like "Do these tits come any smaller?" so she and I have this ongoing discussion of what bodies are portrayed as normal/desirable to have in MMOs. There are some interesting responses to my question, and at least one replies much as my game designer husband alexx_kay has told me, which is that the game designers are limited by time and budget, and even the avatars which seem to vary only vary in small ways, as creating entirely unique skins is outside of time/budget restrictions. Of course, those of us who are involved in advocacy recognize the "limited resources" explanation as something of an attempt to put off actually addressing the issue, namely, that yes, these avatars do reaffirm what "normative bodies" are supposed to look like. My hope is that, like the idea of accessibility, management will come around once they realize that the demographic is much larger than they realized, or that they themselves are in this demographic of aging (=non-normative) players. It's really ludicrous that older bodies are considered non-normative, but there you go, argh. And hey, could you email me offline? I attempted to send you an email recently but it bounced, but there was something I wanted to talk to you about.
| From: | (Anonymous) |
|---|
| Date: | April 17th, 2007 09:41 pm (UTC) |
|---|
| | | (Link) |
|
It is possible to create gimpy-looking bodies in SL. Amanda Baggs writes about her desire for non-normative avatar in her Ballastexistenz blog (http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/index.php?s=avatar). The first version looks most like her RL self: fat, bald, White, seated woman (http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j127/ambavs/myavatar.jpg). A second version was a pearshaped Tom Bombadil, down to the yellow boots. The latest version is a fat cat vrooming around in a kitty wheelchair.
Jesse the K
|
|
