[nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind AnnouncesAgreement withTicketmaster

Jorge Paez computertechjorgepaez at gmail.com
Thu Apr 28 15:24:24 UTC 2011 

Right on it.


On Apr 28, 2011, at 11:12 AM, Peter Donahue wrote:

> Hello Mike and everyone,
> 
>    Having text-only Web sites also promotes a cyber version of separate but 
> equal where the blind are concerned.
> 
> Peter Donahue
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
> To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'" 
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 9:03 PM
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind AnnouncesAgreement 
> withTicketmaster
> 
> 
> Hi, chris.
> 
> I'm going to express a view that is rather unpopular among students and some
> other techies.  I feel that if we expect the public to treat us with respect
> and not discriminate against us, we must have a philosophy that is
> internally consistent so that both we and society at large know what we
> expect of society and of ourselves.  With that in mind, here is my view.
> 
> I start with the observation that note-takers are, in essence, PDAs.  Yes,
> they can get rather expensive, especially when they have a braille display.
> But they are PDAs nevertheless.  Sighted persons also use smart devices --
> PDAs,smart phones and the like -- albeit these devices are usually far less
> expensive than are our note-takers.  Some websites have a mobile version;
> others do not.  Hence, the sighted cannot view every website using their
> smart phones or PDAs and must use a PC or Mac to view some websites.  Why
> should we, the blind, expect to be treated differently?  Some might say that
> our impecuniousness, that is, our lack of income making it difficult to
> afford both a note-taker and a laptop or PC/Mac should be sufficient reason
> to justify a request for differential/special treatment.  I don't buy it.
> There are plenty of sighted folks who cannot or choose not to own both a
> personal computer and a smart phone or PDA due to lack of means.  In my
> view, to demand that all websites be accessible by note-takers amounts to a
> request for special treatment and we should think *very* carefully before we
> ask for such differential treatment.
> 
> On the other hand, I think it *might* be defensible to request that
> government websites, at least, have a text-only version accessible by both
> fancy computers and mobile devices such as note-takers, PDAs and smart
> phones.  The problem there is that often this means two websites must be
> maintained and this inevitably leads to the sites getting out of sync.  So
> many of us have resisted this solution to the problem of web accessibility.
> 
> I know it's human nature to want to have our cake and eat it, too.  But one
> of the strengths of NFB philosophy is that we realize that this is
> impossible.
> 
> This is, of course, entirely separate from the question as to whether
> note-takers should have more powerful processors.  But that's between the
> blind and the note-taker manufacturers.  And one can't blame these
> manufacturers for not going that route when at least some folks maintain
> that note-takers will soon be obsolete.  I'm not sure this is the case but
> it's something to think about.
> 
> Mike Freeman
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Chris Nusbaum
> Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 3:16 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list;
> david.andrews at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind Announces Agreement
> withTicketmaster
> 
> Hi, all.
> 
> I just want to make a few comments.  I'm always very glad to know that NFB
> has reached an agreement with a private company to make that company's Web
> site accessible.  My only comment is that in all these press releases, I've
> noticed that it has only talked about making sites accessible to screen
> reading software, and that's great! Screen readers are the most popular form
> of Internet access for the blind, if I'm not mistaken.  But I don't want NFB
> to overlook the fact that they also need to be accessible to people using
> electronic notetakers for their Internet access as well as those using
> screen readers.  I have both available, so if a site isn't accessible to the
> BrailleNote, I'll try JAWS.  But a friend of mine only uses his Braille-Note
> for Internet access both at school and at home, and hasn't gotten a laptop
> yet.  What about people like him? Also, it never ceases to amaze me that the
> NFB has to go so far as a lawsuit to get companies to make their Web sites
> accessible.  It sounds to me like the CEO of Live Nation, in that case, was
> totally cooperative with the NFB and would be glad to make their site
> accessible.  But if the CEO was that cooperative, they wouldn't have to take
> Live Nation to court.  The same with the law school admission site that we
> were told about yesterday.  What do you think of all this?
> 
> Chris Nusbaum
> 
> "A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp Abilities motto)
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Freeh,Jessica" <JFreeh at nfb.org> (by way of David Andrews
> <dandrews at visi.com>)
> To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 19:20:44 -0500
> Subject: [nabs-l] National Federation of the Blind Announces Agreement
> withTicketmaster
> 
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> 
> 
> 
> CONTACT:
> 
> Chris
> Danielsen
> Linda Bandov Pazin
> 
> Director of Public
> Relations
> Live Nation Entertainment
> 
> National Federation of the
> Blind                                                   (310)
> 867-7000
> 
> (410) 659-9314, extension
> 2330
> <mailto:lindabandov at livenation.com>lindabandov at livenation.com
> 
> (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
> 
> <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> National Federation of the Blind
> Announces Agreement with Ticketmaster
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ticketmaster Makes Website Fully Accessible and Fan-Friendly to Blind Users
> 
> 
> 
> Baltimore, Maryland (April 26, 2011): The National Federation of
> the
> Blind (NFB), the nation's leading advocate for Internet access by
> blind Americans, today announced a cooperative agreement with
> Ticketmaster, the global event ticketing leader and one of the
> world's top five eCommerce sites, to make its website fully
> accessible to the blind.  Under the agreement, Ticketmaster will
> make
> its website (<http://www.ticketmaster.com/>www.ticketmaster.com)
> fully accessible to blind users utilizing screen access
> technology by
> December 31, 2011.  Screen access technology converts what is on
> the
> computer screen into synthesized speech or Braille.
> 
> 
> 
> Dr.  Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the
> Blind,
> said: "An increasing number of goods and services are now offered
> primarily over the Internet and Ticketmaster's extremely popular
> ticket sales website is a prime example of this trend.
> Ticketmaster
> customers gain many of the company's valuable benefits and
> services,
> including access to special pre-sales and promotions, through its
> website.  The National Federation of the Blind is pleased that
> Ticketmaster has recognized the importance of providing equal
> access
> to its website for its blind customers, and we look forward to
> working with the company to achieve that goal.  The National
> Federation of the Blind will continue to work tirelessly until
> the
> blind have equal access to the full range of products and
> services
> available to the public through the Internet and other
> information
> technologies."
> 
> 
> 
> "For Ticketmaster, the future is all about the fans.  We want to
> participate wherever and however so that fans can have the best
> possible fan-friendly experience," said Nathan Hubbard, CEO of
> Ticketmaster.  "Partnering with the National Federation of the
> Blind
> is enabling us to address the needs of our blind fans, so that
> they
> can have the same positive experience when purchasing tickets for
> their favorite artists' performance or any live event.  We are
> committed to working with NFB to enhance the Ticketmaster website
> so
> that it's accessible and usable by all of our fans out there."
> 
> 
> 
> Pursuant to the agreement, Ticketmaster will develop a
> comprehensive
> accessibility program that will include the development of an
> accessibility guidelines manual, as well as the appointment of
> both
> an accessibility coordinator and an accessibility committee.
> 
> 
> 
> Additionally, Ticketmaster will continue to work with officials
> of
> the National Federation of the Blind to ensure that the
> Ticketmaster
> services remain accessible to the blind.  Ticketmaster will
> submit
> its website to the NFB Nonvisual Accessibility (NFB-NVA) Web
> Certification program, a rigorous procedure by which websites and
> applications that have made efforts to be accessible to the blind
> can
> be identified and recognized.  The NFB-NVA Web Certification
> program
> continuously monitors participating sites to ensure that they
> remain
> compliant with certification criteria.  If a site remains
> accessible,
> its certification is renewed on an annual or a version basis.  If
> accessibility issues arise, the National Federation of the Blind
> will
> work with the site developers to remedy them.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ###
> 
> 
> 
> 
> About the National Federation of the Blind
> 
> With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the
> Blind
> is the largest and most influential membership organization of
> blind
> people in the United States.  The NFB improves blind people's
> lives
> through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs
> encouraging independence and self-confidence.  It is the leading
> force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's
> blind.  In January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of
> the
> Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center
> in
> the United States for the blind led by the blind.
> 
> 
> 
> About Live Nation Entertainment
> 
> Live Nation Entertainment is the world's leading live
> entertainment
> and eCommerce company, comprised of four market leaders:
> <http://www.ticketmaster.com/>Ticketmaster.com, Live Nation
> Concerts,
> Front Line Management Group and Live Nation
> Network.  <http://www.ticketmaster.com/>Ticketmaster.com is the
> global event ticketing leader and one of the world's top five
> eCommerce sites, with over 26 million monthly unique visitors.
> Live
> Nation Concerts produces over 20,000 shows annually for more than
> 2,000 artists globally.  Front Line is the world's top artist
> management company, representing over 250 artists.  These
> businesses
> power Live Nation Network, the leading provider of entertainment
> marketing solutions, enabling over 800 advertisers to tap into
> the
> 200 million consumers Live Nation delivers annually through its
> live
> event and digital platforms.  For additional information, visit
> <http://www.livenation.com/investors>www.livenation.com/investors
> 
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