AOL Progress Report

AOL Progress Report

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The Braille Monitor–February, 2001 Edition

AOL Progress Report

by Marc Maurer

On November 4, 1999, the NFB filed a lawsuit against America Online (AOL) demanding
that AOL make its computer information service accessible to the blind. At that
time AOL had nineteen million subscribers throughout the world. Its system of
presenting information was fast becoming a standard to be used by the computer
industry, and this de facto standard was completely unusable by the blind.

Marc Maurer

The day the lawsuit was filed, AOL representatives indicated to the press that
AOL had been working hard on accessibility issues for the disabled for some
time. The assertion was a brave statement, but a number of blind people were
inclined to regard it primarily as a way for AOL to save face. Requests for
AOL to make itself accessible to the blind had been ignored for years.

Negotiations between counsel for the National Federation of the Blind and
lawyers for AOL commenced shortly after the filing of the lawsuit. In July,
2000, an agreement was reached to suspend the suit because AOL indicated that
it would have accessibility provisions built into its computer information service
within a few months. If the accessibility provisions were inadequate, AOL agreed
to fix them. By April of 2001 they would have an accessible system, they said.
If the Federation didn't think the system adequate to meet the needs of the
blind, it should explain why. If the defects had not been repaired by the end
of July, 2001 (one year from the suspension of lawsuit), the Federation would
then be free to ask the courts to settle the matter.

Because active cooperation always achieves more than determined opposition,
the Federation accepted the agreement. In addition to other things, AOL promised
it would work with Federation representatives to make CompuServe and Netscape
accessible as well as the primary AOL service. This is how matters stood in
July of 2000.

By December AOL convened a gathering to report to the disabled on the progress
it was making. Representatives from many, many groups were present along with
senior personnel from AOL. The gathering occurred at the AOL installation in
Northern Virginia. Representatives from the company began by showing us the
real estate.

AOL operates three data centers. The building housing the one we toured contains
235,000 square feet of floor space, 90,000 of which is used for computer rooms.
Altogether AOL manipulates information using 25,000 computers. The facility
we toured contained a battery backup system to operate computers in case of
a power failure. Four thousand lead-acid batteries, weighing 1,000 pounds apiece,
can run the data center for approximately fifteen minutes. Nine diesel-powered
generators provide backup to the batteries. When power to the data center is
interrupted, the generators start automatically within fifteen seconds. Forty
thousand gallons of diesel fuel stored on site can run the generators for two-and-a-half
days.

In one sense the computers operated by AOL are similar to those used by many
other entities. However, the size is greater than I had anticipated, and I found
the tour impressive. Curtis Chong, on the other hand, had been employed to assist
in the management of the data center for American Express. He said that American
Express had data management equipment that is more extensive than AOL's. He
did not say "been there, done that," but his attitude expressed the
sentiment.

In the afternoon AOL presented information about its new products and its
work regarding accessibility to those who had been invited to attend. AOL 6.0,
the current release, can to some extent be used by the blind; and we are told
that a future version of the software will be even more accessible. This indicated
significant progress. However, other products are being developed by AOL that
are scheduled for release in the near future which are not yet accessible.

One of the corporate vice presidents for the company indicated that work on
accessibility to AOL products had been underway for two years. However, the
director of product development for AOL TV (AOL will soon be providing a product,
it says, which will permit subscribers to get at the AOL information system
through their televisions) indicated that AOL TV had been initiated eighteen
months earlier, and the accessibility provisions for AOL products had, therefore,
not been included. The television service is not accessible to the blind.

An interactive telephone service is also being created. E-mail and other computer-based
information can be gathered by using a touch-tone telephone. AOL anticipates
providing sports and weather by phone. There is some talk about using the telephone
to browse the Internet, but representatives of the company indicated that much
work would need to be completed before this service would be ready for distribution
to the public.

After presentations about new products on the drawing board and plans to include
accessibility provisions, AOL representatives accepted a question or two from
participants in the meeting. In-depth exploration could not occur, but some
of the questions elicited useful information.

Where do we stand on AOL at the beginning of 2001? It is a bit early for a
definitive answer. However, a number of AOL representatives have visited the
National Center for the Blind, and programmers for AOL are in communication
with us regularly. By the time this report appears, a meeting to discuss accessibility
to CompuServe and Netscape will have occurred. Furthermore, the currently distributed
version of the AOL access system is, in many respects, usable by the blind.
In other words, progress is being made. A great deal of work remains, but much
has been accomplished.

Is it likely that the de facto AOL standard will become a model of accessibility?
Who can say? We would prefer to work in partnership with AOL to assist in bringing
information to the blind. Whether we will be able to do this or not depends
on the actions and attitude of AOL. However, we will do what we can to build
the partnership--a partnership that offers greater accessibility to information
for the blind and an additional market for AOL.

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