lynx-dev form/TEXTAREA for mailto: and potential downsides for blind users

[asgilman]

>   
>On Sat, Feb 13, 1999, Leonid Pauzner (address@hidden) said:
>|
>| I got an idea that mailto: built-in interface looks ugly
>| and may be replaced with form-based menu with TEXTAREA
>| which now integrated with editor due to recent changes.
>
>That's certainly one alternative.
>
>| This may be not a wonderful thing for blind users
>| but nice for others.
>
>How/why would it (the use of a TEXTAREA) be any worse than the current
>interface?

[AFAIK]

Most likely evaluation: no better, change causes retraining pain, hence pain.

But it doesn't have to be worse.

But Leonid is right to say "Ah hah; I am proposing a form implementation,
I should watch out that this doesn't cause problems for the blind user."
It is easy in a web form to make it harder for blind users to use.  Not 
necessary, mind you, but too easy.  To be more specific involves a scientific
usability study which AFAIK has yet to be done [and needs to be].

The full solution where mail can be handled by the user's favorite mailer, 
as you discussed, would probably be welcomed as a solid step forward by 
most blind users.  

Al

PS: the matter of dropping the cc: on the floor is a bug that IIRC has been 
fixed in the development version.  But I get bit with it all the time.
t