4 ms·
Having worked as a relay operator for the deaf and hard of hearing, I can not tell you how bad forms are in virtually all software. When calling a deaf person,
by jeffool 14y ago
Having worked as a relay operator for the deaf and hard of hearing, I can not tell you how bad forms are in virtually all software.
When calling a deaf person, you may need to call a relay or translation service, meaning two phone numbers. Virtually no company, even those with a "notes" area have an established protocol for this. And many just don't have even that.
And no notes is a huge pain. You know how it's a pain in the ass to get the cable/Internet guy to come at a convenient time? They often insist on calling first to ensure their trip isn't wasted. Now imagine you're deaf, and the guy calls every time, and he doesn't use a relay/translator, and never actually communicating... He never comes.
God it has to be annoying sometimes. It was for me and I was getting paid for those calls.
- jws 14y agoPerhaps some lost startup will pivot to providing single number relay service using twilio or similar. Each phone number would be unique to a relay/deaf customer pair.
- sadga 14y agoSeems the solution hear is Google Voice or some client software that receives the phone call on behalf of the user, and sets up the relay. Relay should be a "hook-in" feature of my phone, not a concern of the caller.
- drumdance 14y agoFood for thought when you're thinking about niches to target: at my last company (http://www.surveygizmo.com http://www.surveygizmo.com), the co-founder & lead designer was a big supporter of web standards and accessibility. Not because he was a disabled activist, but just because he likes to write good code. As it turned out, accessible surveys became a huge selling point to nonprofits that serve the disabled as well as governments, which often are mandated to be accessible. This gave the company an early boost as it was pretty much the only game in town for those markets.