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I was banned from the hCaptcha accessibility account for not being blind (2023)

(michaels.world)
405 points blindgeek | 3 comments | 18 Nov 24 10:13 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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blindgeek ◴[18 Nov 24 10:14 UTC] No.42171168[source]▶
The author was essentially too smart to be blind.
replies(3): >>42171252 #>>42172706 #>>42179504 #
yorwba ◴[18 Nov 24 10:39 UTC] No.42171252[source]▶
I wonder whether talking about "looking at the javascript console" somehow made them think that this person cannot possibly be blind, since how could a blind person "see" the JavaScript console? (But "having my screen reader read the content of the JavaScript console to me" is a bit of a mouthful.)
replies(2): >>42171499 #>>42176415 #
blindgeek ◴[18 Nov 24 11:30 UTC] No.42171499[source]▶
You know, that's a good point, and it hadn't occurred to me. For the overwhelming majority of blind people, language like "looked at" is just metaphorical. I mean, all language is symbolic anyway. The map is not the territory and the menu is not the dinner. Some of us are taught very young to use common terms like look in that kind of a metaphorical way. Partially so that we fit in and are comfortable with the rest of sighted culture. And then once in a great while, we get condescended to for it. There's a really good example of this in the second season episode of DS9, The Alternate.

``` ODO It was a dilemma for me. I'd never seen anything like these creatures either.

     MORA
   "Seen" isn't really an appropriate 
   description.  He had no eyes per 
   se...

     ODO
   I was only trying to describe it in 
   simple terms...

     MORA
    (ignoring that)
   He had never perceived anything like 
   us before... go on...
```

I can pretty much guarantee that every blind person has had a condescending, patronizing douche canoe like Mora in their life at least once.

replies(4): >>42172846 #>>42172965 #>>42173056 #>>42179513 #
1. bluGill ◴[18 Nov 24 14:56 UTC] No.42172846{3}[source]▶
Even as a sighted person, "look at" is often metamorphic - you can interview an expert over the phone and say you looked into the subject even though the only looking was around the phone number.
replies(2): >>42173301 #>>42174312 #
2. ◴[18 Nov 24 15:33 UTC] No.42173301[source]▶
3. lagadu ◴[18 Nov 24 16:58 UTC] No.42174312[source]▶
When someone recommends me an album or artist I "take a look" at it: I listen to it. Though now that I think about it, I wouldn't say that in my other languages.