February 3, 2009

Word Verification Wheelchair - WTF???



What is up with the man in the wheelchair that appears next to the text entry box on Blogger's word verification page??? (See image above.)

The first time I noticed this graphic was after receiving an error message because I typed in my word incorrectly, and was outraged that Google was making a connection between a typing error and being disabled. Hence the photo. This of course is not what they're doing--the little man is always there.

Now I'm just confused as to what this wheelchair-bound man is supposed to signify. Does anyone know? Has anyone else been baffled by this?

7 comments:

Lys said...

i think you can click on it and it will read the letters off to you. just in case you can't tell what some of them are.

actually i just clicked on it, and it read off a few numbers in a robotic voice through some gargling noises. really hard to hear. i'm going to stick with reading the letters...

Missa said...

Innnnnnteresting! Thank you! Now I'm back to thinking Google is crazy - what does the wheelchair have to do with either blindness or an inability to read the letters clearly??

themgt said...

Well if you think about it, you're probably not going to offend a blind person by using a given icon... ;)

Anyhow, according to google it's used because it's the 'well-recognized “wheelchair” icon for accessibility'

Maybe people should click on a Ray Charles picture instead?

Rob said...

I guess this discussion already took place back in 2006.

http://www.consumingexperience.com/2006/05/blogger-comments-audio-word.html

Excerpt from blog entry on May 7, 2006:

"But now, if you can't read the word verification captcha, you should be able to click on the little blue wheelchair icon next to the word verification box (why not a pic of ears though instead??)"

(Emphasis added).

I wonder if new bloggers will continue to independently comment on the "blue wheelchair icon" every few years, and then in 2050 we will find out that 900 people have been independently outraged by the same thing (and none of them will have been blind).

Eimi said...

I think I need that man to read the numbers off to me. Half the time on myspace or whatever I can't even read that crap. It annoys the crap out of me. Blogger, thank God, is always clear as day. Ticketmaster is another annoying one.

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