People With Disablities

[KE0SKN]

(I hope I posted in the correct Slot. If not I'm Sorry)

Disabale People:

I would like to take a pit your time and to point out a very serious topic: “Disable People” On this web-site Radio-Reference.com a good majority of us us have some type of physical or mental disability. With this in mine, We need to pay more attention to our members. Too see what type of state that person might be in before you post a bad comment or a administrate a forum punishment like a 72 hour band. The reason why I am making a post on this subject is that I my self and other members have been victims of forum abuse. So fare no one has brought any law suite against Radio-Reference.com Dealing with forum abuse to a disable person. We all need to protect Radio-Reference.com from being a target for a law-suit on this subject or any other subjects. This site is one of the best web-site out there for scanner hobbyist and amateur radio operators all around the world. Every one needs to understand that this site is a business and has to to follow federal and local law like for example The American With Disability Act (ADA) and the American With Disability Amendment Act (ADAA).

Not too long ago a friend of mine has been a target of forum abuse. People have made fun of him on his spelling, and on his grammar when he post. He can't help how the words come out when he is trying to get his point out. Sometimes his new post looks-like the same as one of his older post, but when you read harder then you notice is a different question and not same post. My friend also has a hard time understanding other people posting, because he can't understand a word you may have typed type. (A.K.A. BIG WORDS). A lot of people have good intentions and always points out or link to the forums rules. People with mental challenges can't always understand all rules and some-time need some-one to read them or just help them with the word or words they can't understand. I know its hard to know when a person is disable or not when your on-line. You can't see the other person on his computer. But there is settle hints in the post its self that can clue you that person might be disable or having difficulties posting in a forum.

We all need to think before we post, Read your own post over so that it don't look like it can be mis-read or interpreted wrongly by the receiver of that message. Ham Radio Operators like my self follow a good standing practices:

A.) We watch our languages. Not to say anything our mothers won't want to here us say.
B.) Listen! Take it easy and take your time before you act.
C.) Be polite. Do to others as you want other to do unto you.
D.) Help others that are having difficulties one the air or at home

This letter is my own option and in no-way shape or form reflect or accuse any member or staff of Radio-Reference.com. This letter is to point out a problem some member are having, but can't or are afraid too post there concerns to the members. There afraid they get into trouble and don't want to be in trouble. I believe that with letter posted on this site this will help us, help others better. Again I Thank You All for your time in reading my letter.

Sincerely,
Charles Ryan (KCØVGJ)

 

[WayneH]

I'm not trying to take anyone's side with this post. We, the moderation team or anyone representing the database, will never negatively target someone for having a disability. And for someone to get a ban it has nothing to do with grammar or spelling. But, it is common on ANY internet forum to find members who are going to point out spelling or grammar when it makes it difficult to understand a post; me, personally, it drives me crazy when I read poorly constructed posts. My recommendation is to put something in your signature pointing out a typing problem. Otherwise there's nothing we can do. People that post in this manner are in a very small group here so when it happens members are going to take it at face value. If there is a typing problem it needs to be advertised.

And to my knowledge there's nothing the ADA covers which defines rules this forum must follow. This forum is only a medium for conveying material. If at some time we're told that a member is targeting a disabled person we will act on it just the same as any other rule violation.

 

[KE0SKN]

Again! Thank you for reading my post. Also I am in no way accusing any one of wrong doing. Just pointing out a potential mess. I love Radioreference.com and would not like to see it go anytime soon, but with some people these day there sue happy. With law and courts these days, there a lot of gray areas the lawyers can always exploit. For me I personal don't care what other people think of me, because I know that I am a good person, But some people they take things to a different direction and can scare them. They can't help and are easily scared.I was asked to write a comment by a few people, and agree to post this letter.

any ideas for helping people will help. Thats why I posted.

 

[kayfox]

I kinda want to say that in a technical forum you have to expect a level of technical discourse that is different than other forums. In that when we are speaking of particular behaviors on a ASTRO trunked system there may be low level descriptions of ASTRO trunking behavior, right down to the wire level. I work in a profession where I, a person who often has difficulty putting things into coherent sentences, has to write paragraph after paragraph explaining technical issues to people. I don't really think that it should be expected that we refrain from technical talk because someone _might_ not understand it, it may be expedient for some of these explanations to be put out for someone other than the original poster to summarize, some technical people cannot summarize some issues at a level lesser skilled people can understand but then depend on someone in the community to bring it down so that others can understand it.

As for the subject of this discussion, the courts have generally rejected the notion that the ADA requires editorial intervention to reduce the level of discourse to that understood by people with reading disabilities. In general most of the litigation I have seen on the ADA application to websites has been centered on accessibility under technical measures, such as screen readers and navigation. It can also be argued that this site is a private club and thusly exempt from the ADA to a level, as a large amount of ADA litigation involves probably public places such as supermarket websites and common carriers such as airlines.

As for the second branch of the subject of this thread, name-calling and abuse because of the flaws in someone's communications should be discouraged as it does not contribute well to the level of discourse. But as much as it should be reviled, it should be taken as an indication for that person to improve in those areas, there are a large number of technical measures one can take to avoid problems, as even web browsers incorporate spell checkers and the like. And someone who is genuinely disabled should not take that as an opportunity to lay idle and not seek to improve to a level where their disability is no longer an issue.

 

[mancow]

Law suit ?!?! Da fuq?

This isn't a Government agency or a business storefront. It's a web site. What the hell? I surely hope nobody here here would wish ill upon anyone with a disability but in the same sense it's private property. Even if they did...do they/should they not have the right to do as they wish with their own property?

 

[rapidcharger]

Yeah I think this was about a wisecrack I made in regards to a misspelling of a particular word. The rest of the grammar and spelling was perfect. I thought it was just someone taking shortcuts to type on their mobile device or someone who spilled soda on their keyboard and the "o" stopped working. I never would have guessed they had any disability and I certainly didn't do it to be nasty. Believe it or not, I'm a civil rights activist so being a cyber bully isn't really my thing.

There's been others on the forum that get railed on because of their practically unintelligible spelling and grammar. I never participated in that but the thread that I did was nothing like that at all.

Anyway, I've been using the internet and message boards since 1995, migrated over from BBSes. I'm even a moderator of a high profile forum. And I have never, ever run across the that kind of thing before. This is my first time seeing anything like that and forgive me for not know how to handle it.

It's thread number 266881, reply 15. Feel free to delete my reply, issue me an infraction and I'll be on my way.

 

[DaveNF2G]

I sympathize with folks who have a legitimate problem.

However, in real life, handicapped people are among the rudest individuals I know. Those who have one particular disability (I won't say which one) have been inclined, every time I have ever had dealings with any of them, to use it as a club to get their way.

ADA lawsuit threats are another form of bullying, IMO. As someone already pointed out, it is highly unlikely that this service is even covered by ADA any more than it is regulatable under the Civil Rights Act or the U.S. Constitution. It is not a governmental entity or funded by taxpayers.

 

[WB4CS]

I appreciate the original poster's thought and would like to offer my own suggestions as well.

When it comes to spelling and grammar mistakes and being corrected by "grammar Nazi's" all I can say is "welcome to the internet." Regardless of what forum or website on the internet you use there will be people who will point out grammar mistakes. I myself am a grammar Nazi. When a person posts a comment they expect the readers of that comment to engage them in conversation. If what a person writes is written so poorly that the meaning of the post is not clear, how can people be expected to respond? Same thing in verbal communication, if you speak to me in slang I am going to ask you "In English, what did you just say?" If someone has a disability that makes it difficult to type, I would recommend typing your posts in a word processing program such as MS Word. Then correct everything that has red or green squiggly lines in it, then copy and paste it to the internet. You will then have a post that is spelled correctly and should be close to grammatically correct.

Radio is a technical hobby. There is a certain amount of jargon that is associated with radio and RF communications that make it almost impossible to speak in Layman's terms. If someone (disability or not) does not understand the technological terminology they should either research the words on their own or ask others what it means. I've spent hours and hours researching words and electrical theories just from one forum post that I did not understand, or took a chance and asked the forum members to explain it to me.

One other suggestion would be for people with disabilities to ask for assistance from the people they know personally. I fully understand that people with disabilities strive to be independent and I support that fully. However, the few people I've known that have disabilities still have to have some kind of assistance. For example, if someone with a disability wants to program their scanner but they are having a hard time doing it on their own and they cannot understand the advise they have received on this forum, they could ask a friend or caregiver to read the forum responses and help program the scanner together. Again, I fully understand the need to be independent but everyone, including people without disabilities, needs help from time to time.

Thanks,

 

[fxdscon]

On this web-site Radio-Reference.com a good majority of us us have some type of physical or mental disability.

Just out of curiosity, can you provide any facts, figures, and sources of information that led you to make the claim that a "good majority" of "us" people on Radio Reference have a physical or mental disability?

Or is that just an opinion on your part?

Again, just curious......


.

 

[WB6WQF]

It's unfortunate that the OP has a mental or physical disability, or both, but I don't understand why there are so many handicapped people who think that the rules just don't apply to them, or that they are entitled to have more rights and privileges than a person without a handicap.

And, a lawsuit against this website or any member for violating the ADA? Oh please. This site is not subject to the ADA.

As to the OP's typing difficulty, has he heard of a spelling / grammar checker? That's not directed just to the OP, but to anyone who posts. You are just being lazy and making it difficult for others when you submit a post full of spelling and grammatical errors.

My best friend when I was growing up had a handicap - he was blind. However, he never wanted to be treated differently than anyone else, and he never asked for any special treatment. I remember calling him on the phone one evening and asking what he was doing. His rely was "watching TV"; he didn't reply "listening to TV". Yes, we had to make certain accommodations at times, such as helping him get around at school, but he was always one of us.

Let's put this "I'm feeling sorry for myself" attitude to rest.

 

[fxdscon]

Every one needs to understand that this site is a business and has to to follow federal and local law like for example The American With Disability Act (ADA) and the American With Disability Amendment Act (ADAA).

"The Rules and Guidelines for Forum Post Content" for Radio Reference forums seem to disagree with your assessment of how this forum should operate.

Quote.. "This is a private forum; we determine your rights."

from... http://forums.radioreference.com/fo...0729-rules-guidelines-forum-post-content.html


.

 

[mmckenna]

I can certainly appreciate what the original poster is saying. Having tolerance in your dealings with other human beings is common decency. Jumping on someone else's case due to spelling, grammatical errors, etc. is just rude and ignorant on many levels. Having been temporarily disabled (paralyzed) and having a wife that has some physical disabilities has taught me to understand that everyone is different and there are a lot of people out there that are dealing with issues that we cannot see from our own points of view.

While it can be argued to death, the basic principal is to be tolerant, helpful, kind and supportive to those around us, next to us, or on the other side of the computer. All very good ideas.

 

[KE0SKN]

Again, Your all are assuming this is about me. Your not seeing the whole pitcher. For me yes I'm in a wheelchair - No I do not have any mental issues. But again this is not about me, Like I said I was asked to wright a letter to this post so I did.

 

[fxdscon]

Again, Your all are assuming this is about me. Your not seeing the whole pitcher. For me yes I'm in a wheelchair - No I do not have any mental issues. But again this is not about me, Like I said I was asked to wright a letter to this post so I did.

Then let me re-phrase my question that I asked above - (post # 9 in this thread).

Regarding the statement contained in your first post:

On this web-site Radio-Reference.com a good majority of us us have some type of physical or mental disability.

Just out of curiosity, can the person who made that statement provide any facts, figures, and sources of information that led him/her to make the claim that a "good majority" of "us" people on Radio Reference have a physical or mental disability?

Or is that just an opinion on his/her part?

Again, just curious......


.

 

[nd5y]

My recommendation is to put something in your signature pointing out a typing problem.

Some of us have signatures and avatars disabled because they waste space and too many of them are stupid. I have a better solution but I'm afraid I would be banned if I suggested it.

 

[maalox]

nd5y is not the reason we have a tavern for.......

 

[Ronaldski]

I programmed a 396XT previously for a blind fellow and he has to feel the buttons for what they pertain to. He use the program Jaws to have it speak the words off the screen, aka a screen reader.
JAWS for Windows, Computer software for the blind, computers for the blind

 

[KE0SKN]

To: fxdscon, I may of used a wrong word but i can tell you that 10 people in my area have been made fun of.

An as far I'm proving my point as this thread keeps continue.

Point made 1.------
"However, in real life, handicapped people are among the rudest individuals I know."
^^^This is called Discrimination.^^^ You don't know every disable person in the world. You don't know me ether. So how can you Profile me? theres laws against this.

Point Made 2.------
"It's unfortunate that the OP has a mental or physical disability, or both."
Again i ask.. How do you personal know me. How do you know my psychical and mental state? By posting this you made you self into a bully... And there laws on this...
.
So far some people are digging deep wholes...

 

[KE0SKN]

To: WayneH
I love your comment and will take that information to the person that is having the problem. Again thanks for that idea.

 

[KE0SKN]

To: WB4CS
I appreciate your input, and suggestion, This is the type of input i was looking for. And you understand the point i was trying to put out there.

Thank you both for understanding and not taking this out of apportion like others has. Again thank you all.