[nabs-l] Fwd: [gui-talk] Fwd: Federal Government Not Complying with Web Site Accessibility Requirements, Study Indicates

[David Andrews]

I am a bit behind, but I will say to you that accessibility, and 
usability are different.  Something can be accessible, but not very, 
or at all usable.  Accessible means that you can identify and get to 
all the elements on the page, control them, use them in the manner 
intended, etc.  For a blind person it would mean being able to do 
everything with a screen reader, and from the keyboard.  Usability 
can apply to all users, sighted and blind alike.  It relates to how 
the page is organized, how easily you can find things, accomplish a 
given task etc.

I will add though, that at least for us as blind persons, 
accessibility and usability do become linked at some levels.  If a 
page does not behave as one would expect, it can be unusable to many people.

You may be able to get to everything on a page, (accessibility,) but 
not know what to do when you get there (usability.)

Dave

At 03:01 PM 5/20/2011, you wrote:
>Huh? Two different things? Ease of access (accessibility,) or ease 
>of use.  Isn't that what we're talking about, being able to use it 
>independently with a screen reader? Isn't that access? Maybe you 
>(Mike) or someone else can explain this to me.
>
>Chris
>
>"A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp Abilities motto)
>
>--- Sent from my BrailleNote
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com
>To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>Date sent: Thu, 19 May 2011 19:51:57 -0700
>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.