[NFB-DB] more on captioning.

[Scott Davert]

Hi Maurice and thank you for your email.
Let me start by saying that the NFB is required, by law, to provide communication access. I'm not a lawyer, but this issue specifically has been discussed with several folks who are. if a state is providing Spanish translation, which is not required by law as far as I know, surely they can afford to provide access. Whether that be through local or national resources is something those in Baltimore need to resolve. You said on another list that "blind lives matter". Ok, sure, I guess if you want to go down that road... So if blind lives matter, as you say, what about DeafBlind lives? Surely, if a state does not have the financial resources to provide equal access, national can help? Again, surely if they have the funds to support Spanish translation, they can find the funds to provide CART? Also, isn't it sad that blindness publications are taking notice that ACB is providing equal access correctly where the NFB is not? Have a look at this article: https://afb.org/aw/21/8/17142
Could that be seen as grounds for a lawsuit? I don't know, but I'd sure not want to find out. Essentially, the message the DeafBlind community is getting is this. ACB cares more about our access needs and demonstrated this by provided a much higher quality experience during national convention. I understand the excuse that it was their first time doing a virtual convention, but they had an extra week to prepare than ACB did. And yet, here we are. Ultimately, it's the responsibility of those choosing the platform to ensure equal access.

Just my perspective,
Scott

Sent from my iPhone

> On Sep 6, 2020, at 3:02 PM, maurice mines via NFB-DB <nfb-db at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Good morning, I'm responding to the person who expressed concerns about whether Zoom communications has native captioning. They do but it's not what we would consider captioning. It's more a transcript instead of human provided captioning if this makes sense. I've read what serves as captioning directly because it comes out in a transcript that the meeting provider chooses this unfortunately you hardly get a real sense of what went on in the meeting. So this I have significant problems with the default captioning the way the company believes it should be done.
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> Your comments of course about asking us on the board to take this up certainly have been I hope read by him my colleagues on the board I know I have read them and I know we have discussed it in the past. I'm going to leave it to this list administrator first VP to chime in where she thinks it is appropriate. As far as cost go, I think she once told us in a recent meeting, that I thought she said roughly hundred dollars. But I do not know what time frame she was discussing or at least I can't remember what it was exactly. It was a discussion we had leading up to the 2020 virtual national convention. Like I mentioned earlier a lot of us on the board who read this list and we do tend to take trends to heart when we have board only discussions. Please be assured that we don't overlook anything.
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> As I suggested yesterday that may help you if you sit down with your state president and or members of your state board and discuss this issue within your state affiliate. Because I think that's the best way to handle this. Yes we can help, but I think a lot of this must start at the state level. I hope this explanation of things helps and I hope your Sunday is going along smoothly. Be well everyone and stay safe.
> 
> -- 
> Maurice Mines, Board Member National Federation of the Blind Deafblind Division Email: board4 at nfbdeaf-blind.org Website: www.nfbdeaf-blind.org Live the life you want. The National Federation of the Blind Deafblind Division, a proud division of the National Federation of the Blind, is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.
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