evolution cannot type messages

[Eemil Lagerspetz]

Something similar seems to be happening again now. I cannot type messages in evolution since the very latest update. Other fields work but trying to type in the main email box doesn't work. I get a popup about something having gone wrong with webkitgtk, and it sent some bug report about it.

[Eemil Lagerspetz (eemil-lagerspetz)]

I cannot type messages in evolution since the very latest update. Other fields work but trying to type in the main email box doesn't work. When trying to type for a minute, the window goes blank and shows an error bar with "Something has gone wrong with typing the message". I get a bug report popup about something having gone wrong with webkitgtk. I sent the report about it, but I'm not sure how to access that.
I have these versions of webkit stuff:

ii gir1.2-webkit2-4.0:amd64 2.20.3-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 amd64 Web content engine library for GTK+ - GObject introspection data
ii libqt5webkit5:amd64 5.212.0~alpha2-7ubuntu1 amd64 Web content engine library for Qt
ii libqtwebkit4:amd64 2.3.2-0ubuntu13 amd64 Web content engine library for Qt
ii libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37:amd64 2.20.3-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 amd64 Web content engine library for GTK+
ii python3-pyqt5.qtwebkit 5.10.1+dfsg-1ubuntu2 amd64 Python 3 bindings for Qt5's WebKit module

And these versions of evolution stuff:

ii evolution 3.28.1-2 amd64 groupware suite with mail client and organizer
ii evolution-common 3.28.1-2 all architecture independent files for Evolution
ii evolution-data-server 3.28.3-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 amd64 evolution database backend server
ii evolution-data-server-common 3.28.3-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 all architecture independent files for Evolution Data Server
ii evolution-data-server-online-accounts 3.28.3-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 all evolution database server (transitional package)
ii evolution-ews 3.28.1-1 amd64 Exchange Web Services integration for Evolution
ii evolution-plugin-bogofilter 3.28.1-2 amd64 standard plugins for Evolution (bogofilter)
ii evolution-plugin-pstimport 3.28.1-2 amd64 standard plugins for Evolution (pstimport)
ii evolution-plugins 3.28.1-2 amd64 standard plugins for Evolution
ii libebackend-1.2-10:amd64 3.28.3-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 amd64 Utility library for evolution data servers
ii libebook-1.2-19:amd64 3.28.3-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 amd64 Client library for evolution address books
ii libebook-contacts-1.2-2:amd64 ...

[Eemil Lagerspetz (eemil-lagerspetz)]

The freeze / inability to type seems to occur only after selecting a bit of text with the mouse, then typing to replace that text. After a while if I persist trying to type, the window goes blank as shown in the attached screenshot.

[Eemil Lagerspetz (eemil-lagerspetz)]

I have figured out the culprit:
The "Screen reader" accessibility setting was turned on for some reason, and if I turn it off, this problem goes away. Steps to reproduce this problem:

1. Turn on screen reader
2. Right click an old email in evolution, choose Edit as new message
3. Paint some text with the mouse, start typing to replace it.
4. Continue trying to type even when the window seemingly freezes.
5. The compose window should go blank and show a view similar to the attached screenshot.