A Dedicated Chatroom for the Deaf Community
Posted Jul 1st 2008 7:01PM by Laura Peterson
Filed under: Announcements
The News
I'm pleased to share that my friends on the AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) social media team have created a custom chat room for the deaf community. You can access this room conveniently within AOL Desktop or via an external browser. All you need is an AOL or AIM screenname to chat.
The room is called "Deaf Friends". Here is the link: http://chat.aim.com/chats/people/deaf-friends
Below are two screenshots; one shows the lobby area before you enter the room, and the second shows the Deaf Friends room and chat experience itself:
The Background Story
Several weeks ago, I was reviewing the AOL Desktop feedback submitted by AOL members, and I came across quite a few comments and questions regarding the lack of an official AOL chatroom for the deaf and hearing-impaired.
Gene, from Ohio, phrased the problem particularly eloquently:
"I'm a hearing impaired person and would like to have a chat room set up for people with hearing problems. It would be nice to be able to talk to others like myself and have a support room. Put yourself in a room full of friends or co-workers and plug your ears so you can't hear a word and try to communicate... This is what we live with every day. Can AOL step up to the plate and give us a full time chat room for the deaf?"
I forwarded this and other requests to Karri, a product manager on the AIM Chat team. Having also received similar requests from her own feedback channels, Karri was already in the process of creating the dedicated Deaf Friends chat room.
Making a Difference
We product managers appreciate everyone who submits their feedback to us at AOL. Our members can and do make a difference!
I'll close with Gene's perspective on why the Deaf Friends chat room is so important:
"Most deaf people are like survivors in small boats floating in a wide and vast ocean of hearing people. We do the best we can to adapt but it is hard for the hearing to understand what it is like for us to cope with everyday life. We do not ask hearing people to adjust to our life, but we do our best to adjust to theirs.
"I would like to thank you for heling us tie our small boats together so we can communicate with each other."
Once again, visit the Deaf Friends room at http://chat.aim.com/chats/people/deaf-friends to meet others in the deaf and hearing-impaired community.
Cheers,
Laura
Other useful links:
AOL Accessibility
AIM People Connection Blog
___
Laura Peterson
Product Lead, AOL Desktop
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About The Team
Laura Peterson is a Principal Product Manager in AOL Products and the lead product manager on the AOL Desktop software. She works with AOL Product Development, Product Design, Quality Assurance, AOL Beta, Marketing, and AOL Help to create, talk about, launch, and support the AOL software! She also responds to as much member feedback and questions as she can via email, IM, and, of course, the blog itself. Walking the hallways of AOL since 2003, her previous assignments include work on the AOL 9.0 Optimized toolbar, AOL's voice services products, and other software releases such as 9.0 VR and the first AOL Mail and AIM Gadget.
Doran Butuche is the lead product manager on Desktop Gadgets, those cool mini-applications that live in the Vista Sidebar, where he is responsible for product definition and management.
Summer is a Sr. Manager for AOL Member Communications. While she has no ties directly to the product development team, she has been a contributor to many AOL blogs over the last few years and is excited to bring a non-product team perspective to the Desktop blog.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1. i cannot send messages...need to get the puzzle to release same help....
Posted at 12:56PM on Jul 10th 2008 by harve weltman
2. Harve, you're looking for this: challenge.aol.com/spam.html
Go to that page and sign in with your screenname. Just complete the puzzle that you see in the little field below the puzzle, then click submit. You should get an acknowledgement that you can now send email again.
Posted at 1:48PM on Jul 10th 2008 by Laura Peterson