[Resolved] Not suitable for people with blindness?

[Paul Biderman]

Anyone care to explain this highly discriminatory statement?  I'm visually impaired.  Don't want my money?  Can you refund my Airbus purchases then?  Obviously I find this pretty insulting.

[Lefteris Kalamaras]

Dear Paul,

this statement is not meant to offend - it's informative so that people who are visually impaired will then make their own decision. Obviously, the choice is always yours as a customer, but we felt that due to some limitations in the user interface, we needed to let people know ahead of time.

We thank you for being a customer and we obviously appreciate that you've found ways to make it work for you.

 

[Norman Blackburn]

10 minutes ago, Paul Biderman said:

Anyone care to explain this highly discriminatory statement?  I'm visually impaired.  Don't want my money?  Can you refund my Airbus purchases then?  Obviously I find this pretty insulting.

Hi Paul,

Its very simple and certainly not intended to be discriminatory.  As somebody who is visually impaired I assume you will know about screen reading software?   I've had the good fortune in meeting both pilots and virtual controllers online over the years - including you - who have faced various challenges and had nothing but admiration in the way that they use the software to enjoy their chosen hobby.

Unfortunately as noted during feedback from some visually impaired users, these screen readers are unable to work with our products.  Whilst of course the extent that one needs such assistance can differ however.  Case in point being you with your existing Airbus products.  Maybe you could enjoy the Concorde in the same manner but its not something we can possibly know nor support or guarantee.

As always thank you!

[Paul Biderman]

Screen readers are pretty advanced these days.  I know completely blind pilots (I am not completely blind) who are able to use software to help them fly advanced aircraft with little trouble.  But my problem wasn't even in the fact that you were warning people that they may have trouble.  My problem is with the phrase you used, which basically sounds like "If you're blind you can't use this".  May I suggest a re-wording?  "Note to visually impaired users:  This product may not be compatible with certain screen reader applications"?

[Lefteris Kalamaras]

Done!

Thank you for the suggestion.