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Re: Public vs. Private information

for

From: John Foliot
Date: Nov 21, 2006 3:20PM

Kilcommons,Cath wrote:
> Is it really that much different from a form where there are required
> and optional fields? Do you think it could be handled in a similar
> way as one would handle color categorized information? Indicate it
> with asterisk? * = Required to remain private information, or some
> variation like that? Maybe an asterisk could be confusing but how
> about something like square brackets around info that needs to stay
> confidential?

Well, visually they have "found" a solution, use bold or regular font face,
with bold (or rather: .public {font-weight:bold;}) items being public.
Visually this pretty much works, as the differentiation between the 2 is
fairly clear (and is further backed up with a text explanation). For screen
reading technology however, the solution is not apparent, as it is being
affected via CSS only. In fact, this is probably a perfect use-case
scenario for audio style-sheets, where a subtle voice shift would provide
the same differentiation that is being provided by the screen style sheet -
too bad AudioCSS is still a pipe dream.

Right now, the best option that has surfaced is to also add some text to the
dynamically generated output that reads "Private" (or some such), and style
it away from screen view by placing it left-of-screen
({margin-left:-999px;}). My concern however is that as more and more fields
are marked private that the audio clutter of hearing that phrase repeated
over and over will become an issue unto it's own.

Witness the following pseudo code from the wireframe prototype:

<div id="Profile">
<h3>Amber Oliver</h3>
<div id="CardView">
<dl>
<dt>Work phone(s):</dt>
<dd class="public">(650) 555-1234, (650) 555-1234</dd>
<dt>Email:</dt>

<dd><a
href="mailto:blah.stanford.edu">&lt;email&gt;@stanford.edu</a></dd>
<dt>Web page:</dt>
<dd class="stanford"><a
href="http://url">www.stanford.edu/people/aoliver</a></dd>
<dt>ID mail code:</dt>
<dd class="stanford">1234</dd>
<dt>Mobile phone:</dt>

<dd class="stanford">(650) 555-1234</dd>
<dt>Pager:</dt>
<dd class="stanford">(650) 555-1234</dd>
<dt>Email pager:</dt>
<dd class="stanford"><a
href="mailto:blah.stanford.edu">&lt;email&gt;@pager.stanford.edu</a></dd>
</dl>
</div>

<div id="FullInfo">
<h4>Stanford affiliation</h4>
<dl>
<dt>Affiliation:</dt>
<dd class="public">Administrative Systems, System Software
Developer</dd>
<dt>Email:</dt>
<dd class="stanford"><a
href="mailto:blah.stanford.edu">&lt;email&gt;@stanford.edu</a></dd>
<dt>Department:</dt>
<dd class="stanford">Department of Genetics </dd>
<dt>Work phone(s):</dt>
<dd class="public">(650) 555-1234, (650) 555-1234</dd>
<dt>Work fax:</dt>
<dd class="stanford">(650) 555-1234</dd>
<dt>Work address:</dt>
<dd class="stanford">255 Panama Street<br>
Stanford, California, 94305-1234</dd>
<dt>Profile:</dt>
<dd class="stanford">Blah blah blah fishcakes</dd>
</dl>

<h4>Home info</h4>
<dl>
<dt>Permanent phone:</dt>
<dd class="stanford">(640) 555-1234</dd>
<dt>Permanent address:</dt>
<dd class="stanford">123 My Street<br>
Anytown, CA 94305 </dd>
<dt>Mailing address:</dt>
<dd class="stanford">PO Box 123<br>
Palo Alto, CA 94500 </dd>
<dt>Temporary phone:</dt>
<dd class="stanford">(650) 555-1234 </dd>
<dt>Temporary address:</dt>
<dd class="stanford">2nd RV from South end of parking
lot<br>
Stock Farm Road<br>
Stanford, CA </dd>
</dl>
<h4>Names, SUNet IDs</h4>
<dl>
<dt>Other names:</dt>
<dd class="stanford">Amber Anna Alicia Oliver </dd>
<dt>Primary SUNet ID:</dt>
<dd class="stanford">aoliver</dd>
<dt>Other SUNet IDs:</dt>
<dd class="stanford">Amber.Oliver</dd>
</dl>
</div>

This is *one* profile entry - each member of the community has their own
profile. In this example however, 18 entries have been self-marked as
private (class="stanford") - remember as well that each profile owner has
control over what is private and public, so each entry is/can be unique.

The question then becomes, does hearing "Private" 18 times in this short a
burst have any negative impact? Will it become un-useable, unwieldy, or
frustrating? The distinction is important, but it is subtle at the same
time... All we really want to do is remind the user that it is private data
that should not be shared off campus - however the user has agreed to at
least share it at this level (you also have the option of not providing much
of the info - leaving the field blank if you choose - e.g.. Address info).
Does hitting the screen reader over the head with 18 "Private!" declarations
work? I think *I* would tire of it easily, but I really don't know. As I
mentioned earlier, a slight tonal shift via audio CSS would probably work
just right, but we don't have that as a practical option, so I am exploring
other possibilities.

So I re-pose another question: To daily users of Adaptive Tech, especially
screen readers, what think you? Thanks for any feedback.

JF