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samizdat@tiac.netMy own little mailing list Internet-on-a-Disk (which I maintain by hand rather than by Listserv) would have ranked #26 a month ago (with 4600 subscribers). And with the 700 new subscribers, it would rank #23.
Of course the numbers are misleading, because of the nature of the Internet. Any interesting item gets forwarded and posted and reposted many times. (Based on the responses I get from people who receive my newsletter in roundabout ways, I estimate my own readership at over 100,000). But still, with an estimated 30 million people with email access to the Internet, I would have thought that a direct subscriber list of around 5000 was miniscule. Strange.
Out of curiosity, I did a breakdown of my subscriber list by domain and country. About half are definitely in the US. About a quarter are probably in the US, but could be anywhere in the world. About a quarter are definitely outside the US. About half are definitely in education. About a quarter are definitely commercial. If you'd like a more detailed breakdown, send email to samizdat@world.std.com and ask for "domain.txt". If you'd like us to forward to you John Buckman's list, ask for "listserv.txt."
We see today -- while it is still in its early stages -- that the Internet enables new behavior and new ways for people to interrelate. If we are indeed products of our environment, will this new environment shape us in new ways? Might human nature "progress"?
Personally, I doubt that our basic human nature is "perfectible." Rather, I believe that the human potential for good and ill, for creativity, for reason, and for random senseless violence remains relatively constant over the centuries. But there are aspects of human nature which may never have been exercised before because there never before existed the technical means for their expression.
In other words, the human potential for the exercise of mass destruction existed before the invention of the weapons that made it possible. The potential for people to temporarily submerge their identity and their individual reason in large-scale crowd hysteria existed before the invention of mass communication media. And the potential for large-scale reasoned discourse, for thousands or even millions of people to arrive at mutual understanding and consensus through dialogue existed before there was any means to allow ideas to be spread instantaneously in a global forum where they could compete on the basis of their merit.
I contend that the Internet today reveals positive aspects of human nature, and in particular the nature of people working together as a unit on a global scale, that we have never seen before. It isn't likely to change the nature of man; rather it allows us to express aspects of our potential which previously were hidden from us.
Before the coming of the Internet, the only image we had of large numbers of people working together was the image of the crowd and the crowd-like mass hysteria that can be induced by modern one-way mass communication, where one person's nightmare becomes projected onto the many and becomes their nightmare as well.
We had come to presume -- from the examples of history and the writings of novelists and philosophers --- that an individual in isolation -- Thoreau alone on a hillside -- is more likely to be good and rational than any large group of people. People together become a crowd, enforce conformity, and sometimes become an unreasoning mob that acts out wild unconscious impulses that the isolated individual could have kept under control. We see the boys in Golding's Lord of the Flies working themselves into a savage frenzy, and we are dramatically led to recognize the beast which is in us all.
As Robert Penn Warren once said, "Things exist in you without you knowing it." But those unknown "things" may be good as well as evil. And today the culture of the Internet reveals vast and unexpected human potential for unselfish collaboration.
Now, thanks to the lobbying efforts of people concerned about this issue, Microsoft has made a commitment to design future products to be far more accessible to the blind, and to make it easier for software developers to do likewise. Attached is a note we just received from Jamal Mazrui reporting on this event, and the full text of the letter from Microsoft to the National Council on Disability.
From: "Jamal Mazrui" <JAMAL@ksgdfs.harvard.edu>
To: B+R Samizdat Express <samizdat@world.std.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Feb 1995 09:43:39 EST
Subject: Re: Microsoft letter to NCD
Yes, you may publish my note and the letter. I am quite familiar with your publication, having received it since the beginning. You may remember me as a blind computer user who complimented you on the editorial you ran in that recent issue concerning accessibility of the Internet.
I'm not sure which note of mine you mean though. I assume it is the one that prefaces the letter. Let me share them both again as follows:
Since arranging a meeting at Microsoft headquarters in August 1994, the National Council on Disability--a federal advisory board appointed by the President--has been diligently advocating for improved access to the Microsoft Windows operating environment, particularly for people who are blind or visually impaired. Marca Bristo (the chair), Bonnie O'Day (an appointee), and Billie-Jean Hill (a staff person) deserve particular credit for this work, which--combined with the efforts of others--seems to be achieving substantive results.
In January 1995, NCD received a responsive letter from a senior vice president at Microsoft. With NCD's permission, I am sharing it here.
Jamal Mazrui
jamal@ksgdfs.harvard.edu
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
January 25, 1995
Ms. Marca Bristo
Chairperson
National Council on Disability
1331 F Street, N.W. -- Suite 1050
Washington, D.C. 20004-1107
Dear Ms. Bristo:
Thank you for your letter to Bill Gates concerning blind
accessibility to Microsoft Windows and other products. I am
sorry to be so long in getting back to you. As you can imagine,
we've been very busy ensuring the upcoming release of Windows 95
does the best job possible addressing the issues that you raise.
I want to emphasize Microsoft is very committed to making
computers easier to use for everyone, including individuals with
disabilities. Personal computers are powerful tools that enable
people to work, create, and communicate in ways that might
otherwise be difficult or impossible. The vision of enabling all
people can be realized only if individuals with disabilities have
equal access to the powerful world of personal computing.
That said, I would like to share with you some of the areas we
are focusing our resources on for Windows 95:
* New API's (Application Programming Interface) and "hooks"
are being developed to allow Independent Software Vendors
(ISVs) to develop third-party accessibility aids, especially those
which allow blind individuals to use Windows by
way of a screen reader. These include the ability to access both
low-level graphics operations as well as higher level graphics
information, methods to retrieve window focus change and system
carat location information, and methods for screen readers to bypass
system criteria dialog boxes and messages. By providing documented
and supported interfaces to this information, it allows the
ISV community to be innovative in their own accessibility products
for Windows.
* We're also developing a Windows 95 tutorial for blind users
to better introduce the rich set of functionality now available, as well as
the ability for the computer to read text to a user ('text to speech') and
the ability for a user to tell a computer what to do ('voice command').
* For people with limited vision, we've designed the Windows
95 visual interface to be very easy to customize. This includes
a customizable mouse pointer, high-contrast color schemes, high
contrast mode, and customizable windows titles, scroll bars,
borders, and menu text. In addition to be easy to customize,
we're working on utilities for users with limited vision such as
a screen enlarger.
* We're integrating and improving the features from the Access
Pack which compensate for difficulties some individuals have
using the keyboard mouse. These features include
'stickkeys' (allows users to type with a single finger or
mouthstick), 'filterkeys' (allows users to brush against keys
without any ill effect, and when the user gets a finger on the
proper key, they can hold the key down until the character prints
to the screen), 'repeatkeys' (allows users to adjust the speed at
which the keys repeat), 'bouncekeys' (instructs Windows to ignore
unintended key strokes), and 'mousekeys' (allows users to control
the mouse pointer using the keyboard).
* Aside from the above features, we're also developing an
on-screen keyboard for users who have difficulty navigating with
a keyboard.
* We're providing additional visual feedback for users who are
deaf or hard-of-hearing, including 'showsounds' (allows Windows
to tell applications to show audible information, akin to 'close
captioned' television broadcasts), and 'soundsentry' (tells
Windows to send a visual cue, such as a blinking title bar or
screen flash whenever there is a system beep).
* We will be making Windows 95 documentation in an accessible
format.
Since your meeting here on campus in August, we have assembled a
sizable group of employees who are working to devise a means of
making all of our products more accessible. I know that Windows
95 has been of particular concern. As indicated above, Windows
95 will have improved support for blind access techniques over
Windows 3.1, as well as the many other features mentioned. Some
features may not ship in the initial release of Windows 95, but
we will find a way to include these additional features as soon
after the initial release as possible. We have also stepped up
our efforts to work with accessibility software vendors and to
provide them with better technical access, so that they can
address the limitations of current software. To provide this
opportunity, we will be holding an "Accessibility Summit" where
software vendors will be invited to participate in an exchange of
ideas and experience creating products for people with
disabilities. We won't, however, rely solely on software vendors
to do all the work. Some additional utilities we'll build
ourselves.
We are continuing to hear, from a variety of sources, about the
problem that graphical interfaces, and Windows in particular,
present to individuals who are blind. We understand the need to
address these shortcomings as soon as is feasible and are
committed to making Windows the most accessible operating system
available. To adequately ensure each issue is addressed, we are
initiating an internal research effort on making graphical user
interfaces more accessible for the disabled. We're also
investigating establishing an independent effort for
accessibility criteria for all Windows-based applications.
We hope that in the interests of greater accessibility for blind
computer users we can enter into a productive dialog with the
National Council on Disability and with other disability
organizations to reach our common goal. In fact, we are in the
process of setting up an advisory board and are eager to involve
you if possible. I would personally like to meet with you to
discuss these issues. A member of my team will contact you in
the near future to set up a meeting where we can begin working
closely together.
Sincerely,
Brad Silverberg
Senior Vice President
Personal Systems Division
cc: Bill Gates
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