Online Communication Tools

Introduction

There are a variety of tools that are used in an online setting to communicate and collaborate. Because many of these tools are used in real-time settings, rely on different media (visual, auditory, etc.) and can have complex interfaces, they face a number of accessibility barriers.
The following resource introduces a few of the most popular technologies used to communicate on and over the web.

Forums

Online forums have several names: forums, bulletin boards, discussion boards, discussion groups, etc. They are basically a place for users to post questions or comments. Other users then reply to these posts to create an online discussion. The discussion posts are stored and sorted chronologically to form threads.
There are many programs that can be used to create forums, and the accessibility of these varies widely. PunBB is one example of a free forum tool that is quite accessible "out of the box." Make sure to test the accessibility of any forum before implementing it on a large scale.

Chats

Chats are real-time online text conversations. They are usually conducted in one of three ways:

• Web-based: These chats are accessed through a normal browser, such as the chat feature in Gmail. The screen, or a portion of the screen, will refresh regularly. This has the potential to be very accessible, since the output is HTML. Most older online chats were Java-based and most newer ones are AJAX-based.
• Instant messenger : Users communicate using a downloadable messaging program, such as MSN Messenger or AOL Instant Messenger. Most of the latest-generation instant messaging clients can be made relatively accessible.
• Internet Relay Chat (IRC): IRC is not so much a chat as a protocol (or set of rules) for internet chat. Users usually use a client (external program) to connect to an IRC server, so the accessibility of IRC depends, to a great extent, on the accessibility of the client. IRC tends to be used by a more technical audience.

Whiteboards

Many electronic whiteboards exist allowing users to draw, write and collaborate using an interface that simulates a physical whiteboard. Whiteboards are by nature full of accessibility barriers, many of which will be very difficult, or even impossible, to overcome.

Voice Over IP

Voice over IP, or VoIP, is a term used to describe a voice conversation that takes place over an internet connection instead of a traditional phone line. Many large organizations use VoIP in place of a conventional phone line, often without the user recognizing the difference.
VoIP calls can also be made over a computer, usually with a USB headset or handsets.
 Skype is currently one of the most popular VoIP programs. Very little accessibility information is available on Skype's site, but there are many reports of screen reader users that are able to use Skype very successfully. Skype does allow you to enable and customize keyboard shortcuts for simple tasks like calling someone or hanging up. To enable and modify these shortcuts, select Tools > Options > Hotkeys.