[nabs-l] Fwd: [gui-talk] Fwd: Federal Government NotComplying with Web Site Accessibility Requirements, Study Indicates

Fri May 20 04:20:43 UTC 2011

At the risk of being that guy, I just took two minutes to find a train
from my hometown to Orlando for convention. It would cost me about $80
and would travel through the night. I backed out short of entering my
credit card number.

I didn't experience any awkward poking around and the process seemed
usable to me.

What's the problem?

Brice

On 5/19/11, Kirt Manwaring <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com> wrote:
> :)  Let the hair-splitting begin.
>
> On 5/19/11, Mike Freeman <k7uij at panix.com> wrote:
>> I can make reservations on the site; it's just terribly awkward and one
>> has
>> to poke around a bit and realize that as you add stuff, the page expands.
>>
>> Mike
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf
>> Of Nicole B. Torcolini at Home
>> Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2011 7:54 PM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Fwd: [gui-talk] Fwd: Federal Government NotComplying
>> with Web Site Accessibility Requirements, Study Indicates
>>
>> Okay... Can you explain?
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
>> To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'"
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2011 7:51 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Fwd: [gui-talk] Fwd: Federal Government NotComplying
>> with Web Site Accessibility Requirements, Study Indicates
>>
>>
>>> Actually, AMTRAK's site is accessible -- it just isn't useable -- they're
>>> two different things.
>>>
>>> Mike
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>> Behalf
>>> Of Jorge Paez
>>> Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2011 7:26 PM
>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Fwd: [gui-talk] Fwd: Federal Government Not
>>> Complying
>>> with Web Site Accessibility Requirements, Study Indicates
>>>
>>> What screenreader are you using?
>>>
>>> On May 19, 2011, at 10:01 PM, Kirt Manwaring wrote:
>>>
>>>> This surprises me-not that I'm a government internet expert, but I've
>>>> seen a lot of their sites and the only one that really gave me any
>>>> trouble was Amtrak.
>>>>
>>>> On 5/19/11, Jorge Paez <computertechjorgepaez at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>>>
>>>>>> From: David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com>
>>>>>> Date: May 19, 2011 8:22:40 PM EDT
>>>>>> To: david.andrews at nfbnet.org
>>>>>> Subject: [gui-talk] Fwd: Federal Government Not Complying with Web
>>>>>> Site Accessibility Requirements, Study Indicates
>>>>>> Reply-To: "Discussion of the Graphical User Interface, GUI Talk
>>>>>> Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> CONTACT:
>>>>>>> Chris Danielsen
>>>>>>> Director of Public Relations
>>>>>>> National Federation of the Blind
>>>>>>> (410) 659-9314, extension 2330
>>>>>>> (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
>>>>>>> <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Federal Government Not Complying with Web Site Accessibility
>>>>>>> Requirements, Study Indicates
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> National Federation of the Blind Expresses Outrage, Demands Swift
>>>>>>> Action
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Baltimore, Maryland (May 19, 2011): A study that has just been
>>>>>>> published online in the journal
>>>>>>> <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0740624X>Government
>>>>>>> Information Quarterly has found that of one-hundred Web sites
>>>>>>> operated by federal government agencies, over 90 percent do not
>>>>>>> comply with government accessibility guidelines and likely cannot
>>>>>>> be used by people who are blind or have other perceptual or motor
>>>>>>> disabilities.  The study, entitled "Accessibility of U.S. federal
>>>>>>> government home pages: Section
>>>>>>> 508 compliance and site accessibility statements" and coauthored by
>>>>>>> Doctoral Student Abiodun Olalere and Professor Jonathan Lazar of
>>>>>>> Towson University, found that the home pages of over 90 percent of
>>>>>>> the Web sites they evaluated contained violations of the
>>>>>>> government's own guidelines for compliance with Section 508 of the
>>>>>>> Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  That law requires that government
>>>>>>> electronic and information technology be accessible to people with
>>> disabilities.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
>>> said:
>>>>>>> "Blind Americans are outraged that the government is failing to
>>>>>>> comply with its own guidelines to make government information and
>>>>>>> services available to citizens with disabilities.  Given the clear
>>>>>>> legal requirements of Section 508 and the fact that use of the
>>>>>>> Internet is critical to education, employment, access to government
>>>>>>> benefits and services, and all other aspects of modern life, there
>>>>>>> is no excuse for failure to follow and rigorously enforce these
>>>>>>> guidelines.  We demand that officials in all branches of government
>>>>>>> take immediate steps to bring all federal Web sites into compliance
>>>>>>> with the law, and we pledge to continue to hold the federal
>>>>>>> government accountable if it continues to treat the blind and others
>>> with disabilities as second-class citizens."
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The study evaluated the home pages of one-hundred government Web
>>>>>>> sites across all three branches of the federal government,
>>>>>>> including executive agencies, independent agencies, government
>>>>>>> corporations (e.g. Amtrak), the United States Congress, the United
>>>>>>> States Supreme Court, United States federal courts, and "open
>>>>>>> government" Web sites like <http://www.usajobs.gov>www.usajobs.gov
>>>>>>> and <http://www.ready.gov>www.ready.gov.  The authors utilized both
>>>>>>> automated-software tools and human-expert inspections on each home
>>>>>>> page, and determined that over 90 percent of the home pages were
>>>>>>> not in compliance with the Section 508 regulations.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Most of the accessibility problems were common ones that are easily
>>>>>>> resolved, such as unlabeled images, mislabeled forms or tables,
>>>>>>> videos without captioning, flash without any textual equivalents,
>>>>>>> and lack of keyboard equivalents for mouse-over actions. The
>>>>>>> authors noted that this is not a problem unique to one agency.
>>>>>>> Similar problems occur on multiple agency Web sites, and the core
>>>>>>> problem is the lack of consistent compliance activities and
>>>>>>> enforcement
>>> throughout the federal government.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The study makes several recommendations to increase compliance,
>>>>>>> including improved resources on complying with the guidelines;
>>>>>>> better documentation of best practices; publishing of information
>>>>>>> about which agencies are compliant and noncompliant with
>>>>>>> accessibility guidelines as part of the open government dashboard;
>>>>>>> and better enforcement and monitoring procedures within government
>>>>>>> agencies, such as the loss of Web-posting privileges for repeatedly
>>> posting inaccessible content.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> ###
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 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.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> gui-talk mailing list
>>>>>> gui-talk at nfbnet.org
>>>>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gui-talk_nfbnet.org
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>>>>>> gui-talk:
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>>>>>> chjorgepaez%40gmail.com
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>>
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-- 
Brice Smith
North Carolina State University, Communication - Public Relations
Brice.Smith319 at gmail.com