Brian, Actually, numerous websites that manage crucial, private data do not use CAPTCHA, including investment brokers, major banks, bar associations and all the stores where I do business. Even Amazon, which other listers are criticizing right now, doesn’t make CAPTCHA universal (I for one have never encountered it there), and the company has made alternative access relatively simple for those who do. So no, CAPTCHA is not needed. At every stage of my life, I have benefited from those who insist that something can be done and that lack of accessibility is inexcusable. It’s unfortunate that there remain apologists for inaccessibility, especially among those who work with disabled people ostensibly toward achieving independence. Hardships are real and should be acknowledged, but obstacles must be resisted.
From: Brian Vogel [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2016 11:37 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: What is the issue with Captchas? Adrian, I am not, repeat not, dismissing the concerns expressed here nor the entirely legitimate frustration and anger. What I am trying to do is to make people aware of the intent and purpose of Captchas, how they came about, and the fact that they were a resounding success at achieving what they had as their intention to achieve. That does not remove the fact that they are a barrier and substitutes need to be found. There also seems to be a lack of awareness on the part of many who hate Captchas that replacements have to be developed, and that takes time. Even if the very first person who complained against Captchas was heard, loud and clear, the reason that they are used is legitimate, and the damage that resulted before they were invented was significant enough that a "cost-benefit" analysis comes out in favor of keeping them, even as they pose a barrier until their replacement can be phased in. No sane company is going to re-open itself to the kind of bot attacks that these worked so brilliantly to thwart. There are actually considerations other than accessibility that have equal or greater weight at times. I am more than willing to be pilloried for saying that. Even as someone who works with and advocates for individuals with visual impairments, this was/is one of those times. This, too, shall pass, and is passing. But no company should be expected to go back to throwing open the gates; that's just not realistic, and that's the sad truth even if absolutely no workaround exists. Brian
