[blindlaw] Amazon.com and accessibility

[Michal Nowicki]

If the page refreshes automatically and you are using JAWS, there is an
option in the verbosity settings to prevent the content of the virtual
buffer from refreshing along with the page.  The nice thing about this
setting is that it doesn't actually stop the page from refreshing; it only
tells JAWS not to react to the change until instructed to do so by the user
by pressing "insert plus escape."  This in turn allows the user to navigate
without being routed back to the top of the virtual buffer or to some other
undesired part of the page.

That said, while this feature works quite well on pages such as scoreboards
on sports websites - which refresh periodically to update scores - it may
not necessarily resolve your Amazon issue, especially if it results from
inaccessible flash animations or developer scripts that are incompatible
with assistive technology, but it may be worth trying out this setting.  I
hope this helps.

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Shelley
Richards via blindlaw
Sent: Monday, February 2, 2015 12:22 PM
To: Mike Gilmore; Blind Law Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Amazon.com and accessibility

I have been using Amazon for many years. I have never had any trouble with a
captcha however I already have an account. Were you trying to sign up for a
new account? I've never been asked to enter a captcha code when signing into
my existing account. However the accessible site is very much no longer as
accessible as it used to be. It actually used to be quite good with a screen
reader, but since they've made changes it's become extremely frustrating to
use with a screen reader and I find myself having to combining  using the
site on my computer and the Amazon app on my phone in order to complete a
purchase. I can still get to the old version of the accessible site if I go
from the link I have saved in my favorites on my home computer, but I cannot
get to it from anywhere else. When I am using my home computer with that
link I am still able to make full use of the accessible version of their
site. The problem with the accessible site now is that they have some sort
of icon that  continuously refreshes and makes the screen reader start over
on the page or just. Interrupt the screen reader working altogether. There
are also some other accessibility issues once you get past the home screen
with that refreshing content. Completing a purchase as become extremely
difficult because there are links or something that you're supposed to click
on which the screen reader does not pick up as any sort of control that you
can interact with. I am very disappointed that they have made these changes
to their accessible site because it used to be quite good, and now it is
extraordinarily frustrating, although not entirely impossible. All of the
time. I have managed to make purchases from it. However like I said most of
the time if I start a purchase on the new accessible site I need to complete
it with the app on my phone. I would just use the app on my phone but that
could also be frustrating at times when you are searching for an item to add
to your cart.  I have also tried  just using the full site, but it has the
same problems that the new accessible site has with refreshing content and
pop up content that interrupts the screen reader or prevents it from working
at all.  If anybody knows how to contact Amazon to discuss these problems I
would love to know how. I have been searching and searching for ways to
contact them to complain about the changes they've made to their accessible
site which has made it no longer accessible, but I cannot find any
information on the best way to go about contacting them with this particular
problem. All I can find his contact info for customer service about products
and shipping issues.
Shelley 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Feb 2, 2015, at 11:24, Mike Gilmore via blindlaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
wrote:
> 
> Hi everyone,
> 
> I recent tried to sign into amazon.com and receiv a message called a robot
check.  It prompts users to enter in a code so the site can verify that the
user is not a robot.  The code is inaccessiblt tAWS.
> 
> Ironically, on Amazon's main page, there is a link that claims the site
has been updated for screen reader use.  When I follow this link (or type in
Amazon's accessible site), I try  sign into my account and receive the same
robot check.  However, instead of having an audio version of the code to
type into the box, it prompts the ur to type in the same text that
inaccessible toJAWS.
> 
> The alternative site is, therefore, not as accessiblt as they would have
us believe.  Has anyone had similar experiences?  Is anyone at the NF aware
of this problem and have they contacted Amazon with this information?
> 
> Mike
> 
> _______________________________________________
> blindlaw mailing list
> blindlaw at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
blindlaw:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/shelleyrichards9
> %40gmail.com

_______________________________________________
blindlaw mailing list
blindlaw at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
blindlaw:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/mnowicki4%40icloud.com