[BlindMath] SPSS and Jaws

[Boris Veytsman]

BKBvB> Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2023 06:51:46 -0800
BKBvB> From: Brandon Keith Biggs via BlindMath <blindmath at nfbnet.org>


BKBvB> There are some universities, state, and local governments who use section
BKBvB> 508 as a standard, but that's up to them, and there's little incentive for
BKBvB> companies (like SPSS) to do more than a token nod to accessibility. I'm
BKBvB> sure the only reason why SPSS is accessible is because
BKBvB> acquisition departments asked for it, and they can now say "yes", SPSS is
BKBvB> accessible. Of course there's no definition of "accessibility" except in
BKBvB> the web space where we have WCAG and the related guidelines, and even so,
BKBvB> just because something is WCAG compliant doesn't mean it's usable. That's
BKBvB> why companies like LevelAccess and TPGi always couple accessibility audits
BKBvB> with usability testing.

I would add that SPSS surely has some people in the accessibility
department that get their salaries for these VPATs.

It is more difficult for us in the free software world, where most of
the work is done by unpaid volunteers.  However, we honestly try to
make our software accessible.

I'd like to mention the VPAT statement we at TeX Users Group created
for our software, https://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/tex-vpat.  If
we made any mistake, or could make the statement or software better,
please let me know.

-- 
Good luck

-Boris