[games_access] my response.

[Reid Kimball]

Moving to another list because this is an announcements email list.
Sorry for the inconvenience.

Reminder, please use the game_access at igda.org list for announcements
only. Thanks,

-Reid

On 3/19/07, Eelke Folmer <eelke.folmer at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi ,
>
> Thanks for some people's support.
>
> The mailinglist thing, it is kind of fishy that both my email adresses were
> removed. Fact now is that this discussion is now held in a small group of
> which many support michelle. So I doubt whether it is
>
> I'd like to respond to some of the things that were said back and forth
> because I think some of the things said were unjust and frankly below the
> belt.
>
> Michelle, about the "threaten to punch you incident", how you try to convert
> that into: "eelke is someone who kicks someone when they are down" doesnt
> make sense.  I have asked 3 times during GDC nicely whether or when we could
> talk, (even at the time slot scheduled for SIG meetings). First time you
> were to busy with lunch, second time you told me no other SIG does anything
> and the last time (hours before I left) you threatened to punch me in the
> face. Sadly I don't have a radar in my head that tells me what mood you are
> in. I don't know how to interpret that you trying to blame your mood on your
> disability. You were sick/tired/stressed that friday morning, but how much
> of that mood was caused because you were partying out late at the dutch
> party on thursday? I'm not denying your right to party, but if you are
> sick/tired/disabled wouldn't it have been a good idea to go to bed early?
> Using your disability as an excuse for your behavior just doesn't feel right
> to me and hurts people's respect for people that are disabled. If you can
> party and drink all week, carry around heavy suitcases, give interviews all
> the time, I'm sure you can be a professional for 5 minutes when people ask
> you a simple question. I also don't know how to interpret:  " -- some of us
> are here because we know that we are part of the target audience--"  So you
> are saying you are more likely to do a better job because you are disabled?
> Isn't disabilities all about being equal? People with disabilities should
> and want to be treated the same as people without, not less but certainly
> not more. The only reason for someone to do a better job than you would be
> because they are better qualified, regardless of being disabled or not. I
> have never heard of disabilities preventing anyone from just listening to
> other people. I don't think someone who has cancer is interested whether the
> person inventing a cure for cancer has cancer themselves, they just want a
> cure.
>
> I keep hammering on results, because to me that is the most important thing,
> and I'd like to know what has this SIG achieved in its four years of
> existence? Hundreds and hundreds of commercial games have entered the market
> in those four years. Not one has been made more accessible because of this
> SIG. In those four years have you not been able to talk to one game designer
> and asked them to implement something simple such as closed captioning or
> reconfigurable controls? What has been done except some of us promoting
> themselves?
>
> The missing extension-plugs and bad scheduling does not explain the low
> turnout at our events. I am not buying your excuse and frankly I think no
> one in this SIG does. The lack of promoting our events to game developers
> does. Ow there was lots of promotion alright you spend a significant time in
> front of local TV camera's, but honestly has that led to one more visitor to
> any of our events? Will it lead to more accessible games? I doubt it....  I
> talked more people in 5 minutes before AI started. I have been criticized
> for going out to other events, but I merely looked at things that work and
> tried to spread the word on accessibility as best as I could. We are at GDC
> --where thousands of game developers meet--if the game developers don't come
> to our meetings, well than we maybe it is time that we should go to theirs.
>
> Michelle, you make running this SIG sound like you are building the chinese
> wall all by yourself. But frankly I don't think it is that much work. It
> could already start by focussing on things that are relevant and that lead
> to successes like I tried to suggest in my accessibility 2.0 plan. Less
> focus on self promotion and more focus on getting results. This SIG has
> become too much the "michelle and richard" show. It is both of your names on
> everything that is organized and the rest of us has no influence over what
> we do and who will be involved. I think there are numerous people in this
> group that deserve way more credit but they are modest and don't push
> themselves in the picture as much as the two of you. Why is half of the game
> accessibility wikipedia page about things that the two of you do? maybe you
> should compare your page with the web accessibility wikipedia page, that
> actually consists useful information rather than self promotion. Ask
> yourself if you are a game designer browsing the wikipedia on game
> accessibility wouldn't it be more useful to learn something on game
> accessibility rather than on the both of you and the projects you are
> involved in? Numerous people have contributed to web accessibility, do they
> have their own wikipedia pages? No! because they put other interests in
> front of themselves.
>
> This SIG is not some sort of "happy friends" club where you can hang out
> with your overseas friends, You can have all the glitter and glamour you
> want as soon as we start seeing some accessible games. Game accessibility
> does not need a mother theresa or recognizable names, it needs results. And
> then you both have the nerve to criticize Robert and his video to be too
> self centered. Are you guys too afraid that someone who is really disabled
> steals away some of your precious air time? Robert could do more to promote
> game accessibility by just driving around at GDC than any of the events you
> have organized. If you must use him as a puppet for your events, at least
> show him some respect --he deserves that much.
>
> You have created your own little circle by deciding what kind of games
> people with disabilities should play, maybe you should talk to some kids
> with disabilities and find out that they want to be able to play mainstream
> games like Gears of War. Now unless you both get your asses of the plush and
> out of the spotlight, and use some of your "famousness" to hand  game
> developers such as Cliffy B (though I doubt you know who he is) a small
> flyer with 10 little accessibility tips (without any self promotion on that
> flyer, remember this SIG is not about you) ..... then we might actually
> start seeing some results.
>
> Cheers Eelke
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Eelke Folmer                                          Assistant Professor
> Department of Computer Science &       Engineering/171
> University of Nevada                         Reno, Nevada 89557
> Game Quality
> usability|accessibility.eelke.com
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> games_access mailing list
> games_access at igda.org
> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/games_access
>
>