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Accessibility and Assumption

A quote from a client got me thinking:

“[In a web form on our site] we have noticed that the Gender box gives people the option of ‘Other’. Would it be possible to remove this, and leave people with the option of selecting only Male or Female? I assume that most people are either one or the other!”

Yes, that’s a fair assumption, but it’s incorrect. If you want everyone to be able to use your website, you need to be smarter than that. But what I’m talking about is fundamentally alien to many people that I have contact with. Here’s what I mean:

Accessibility

Accessibility is important. I can assume that most people can see, but we still make all our websites accessible to the vision impaired. You can assume that most people have credit cards, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have alternate means of transaction in your online commerce site.

Getting back to the gender issue, the Gender Center Inc. (Sydney, Australlia) points out:

“Gender is a fundamental part of who we are: we perceive ourselves and others through the lens of gender much of the time. Because gender is assumed to be fixed and fundamental, it can be very challenging to people when a person explores different ways of expressing or experiencing gender, or changes gender altogether. Many people experience emotional distress as a result of their own gender issues.”

And even the Australian Bureau of Statistics is (kind of) starting to open its eyes:

“27. A person’s sex may change during their lifetime as a result of procedures known alternatively as Sex change, Gender reassignment, Transsexual surgery, Transgender reassignment or Sexual reassignment. Throughout this process, which may be over a considerable period of time, sex could be recorded as either Male or Female. In clinical settings, diagnosis codes should include the appropriate ICD 10 AM code(s) that clearly identify that the person is undergoing or has completed such a process.”

In Other Words

In other words, sometimes it’s completely appropriate to include an “other” box.

By Adam Braimbridge
February 13, 2007

4 comments

Identity, Recognition and Appreciation

I’ve always held that there’s very little difference between recognition and appreciation. Whether it’s something we’ve evolved (some kind of neurological synesthesia) or perhaps learned (an infant recognizing its mother will surely feel a sense of appreciation), we’re all guilty of getting the two mixed up.

For Example

Have you ever, while listening to the radio and a song begins so play, thought “Oh, I love this song,” only to realize moments later that in actual fact you hate it? That’s what I’m talking about. You got recognition and appreciation mixed up.

This Matters Why?

People use this phenomenon to sell you crap. That’s what branding is. You’ve heard the term “brand recognition” – they’re hacking into your brain to tap your appreciation reserves. That’s why companies have logos, jingles, official colors (did you know that Cadbury’s has a patent on the color purple?*) and all that. Of course, sometimes it’s impossible to do this if the product’s too awful; you soon begin to subconsciously equate the branding with the poo. Which is why TV companies change their catch-cry every year. To renew the recognition-appreciation bond.

You have yourself to blame.

If you’re not aware of this, and you go out and buy a crap album that’s on high rotation on [insert commercial radio station here], you’re being duped. That’s fine – sometimes we don’t mind other people doing our thinking for us – but you should be aware of it, all the same.

Justification

I have no intention of exploiting your mixed up brain for my benefit. So I have no obligation to imprint you with branding or whatever. So I’ll change the theme, interface, even the title of my blog whenever I feel like it. So that’s why i have no problem renaming this site from “Distance Over Time” to “Interesting Developments.”

________________________________________________________

* I just made that up. But Toblerone does have a patent on that triangle box of theirs.**

** Probably.

By Adam Braimbridge
February 11, 2007

1 comment

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By Adam Braimbridge
February 4, 2007

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