[NFBMO] Question about making computer technology 100% accessible

Michael Walker michael.walker199014 at gmail.com
Sun Oct 11 17:51:00 UTC 2020 

Hi Julie,

I have also noticed that it seems a blind person needs to be a tech wizard. However, I have always loved technology, and work as a programmer for Boeing.

What are some ways to file complaints against companies that are inaccessible?

Mike

> On Oct 10, 2020, at 7:09 PM, Julie McGinnity via NFBMO <nfbmo at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Michael and everyone,
> 
> Love this discussion so far. I think about this almost every day as it
> seems to me that these days a blind person needs to be a tech wizard
> just to get anything done. Seriously, formatting assignments in law
> school is no joke.
> 
> Anyway, I think we have to take a multi-pronged approach to pushing
> access and advocating for accessible content. Taking a company to
> court isn't cost effective under most circumstances. The Dominoes case
> set some good precedent, and the NFB and other organizations did some
> great work raising complaints against universities promulgating
> inaccessible software. Once the universities started to hear us, they
> began to carve out a nitch for accessibility consultants and experts.
> There are places where students are learning accessible design.
> Courses on creating accessible content do exist.
> 
> It's not widespread enough to be helpful to us every day, but the
> training and education is out there. Individually, we can make a
> difference by writing to web designers and the like to let them know
> when something is inaccessible. I am not good at doing this myself as
> much as I should be. But it can make a difference. If you can get even
> more blind people to complain about the same app or website, all the
> better.
> 
> I believe that one day a court may have to decide what, if any, laws
> or regulations need to be in place on the internet concerning
> accessibility. The technology is changing at such a quick rate that we
> can't keep up, and the vast majority of designs were meant for use by
> sighted people. Eventually, something vital to our survival will be
> inaccessible, and the right people will be able to fight it and make
> change. Maybe this is wishful thinking, but I wouldn't be able to
> persevere in law school at times if I didn't believe we could see that
> change one day.
> 
> Like you said, sometimes convenience and the immediate need of the
> task win out over advocacy. That's the trap we're in, right. At the
> end of the day, we've got to get the job done, however it gets done.
> Such a tough balance to strike.
> 
> Much love to all my NFB of Missouri family,
> 
> Julie
> 
>> On 10/10/20, Randy C via NFBMO <nfbmo at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> I would like to add a positive note to your current discussion.  As you
>> know, I have been recently working with Drupal 8 (Drupal is a website
>> programming software).  One difference that I noticed right away from
>> Drupal 7 is that Drupal 8 will not allow you to add an image without also
>> adding "Alt Text".  Now, it has no way of knowing that the text that you
>> enter has anything to do with the image shown but it does force the
>> developer to consider the blind community when developing websites.  Some
>> developers still may choose to type in garbage or "This is a picture" but I
>> still consider this a step in the right direction.
>> 
>> Just keep holding the Tech Community accountable.  You are making a
>> difference.
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> Randy Carmack
>> NFBMO.org Website Administrator/Developer
>> 
>> On Sat, Oct 10, 2020 at 2:17 PM Michael Walker via NFBMO <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>> 
>>> Hi Garry,
>>> 
>>> Thank you for your advice. I think really the advice you provided is about
>>> the only way you could actually follow, because all you can really do is
>>> write to the web developer, take some to court, get a friend, or use Ira
>>> like you said. I can’t imagine what else you could do anyway. I don’t know
>>> that I’d want to spend all my time taking every business to court though.
>>> I
>>> would think that would be a lot of work. Luckily, I do have friends and
>>> family. When I was at work, there was web based training that was in
>>> accessible. I didn’t feel like going through the red tape of trying to
>>> make
>>> it accessible. We only had a week to get it done, so not much time to wait
>>> for reasonable accommodations. I simply emailed my coworker, and used
>>> Skype
>>> for business to let her have control of my laptop. She performed the mouse
>>> clicks for me, while I listened to the training. I thanked her very much
>>> for it.
>>> 
>>> Mike
>>> 
>>>> On Oct 10, 2020, at 1:40 PM, Gary Wunder via NFBMO <nfbmo at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Hello, Michael. I'll give you my two cents worth, but two sense is far
>>> short
>>>> of a dollar. This means I may be 98% wrong, and that is why posting to
>>> this
>>>> list is a good idea. Others can set me straight.
>>>> 
>>>> I have great dreams for accessibility, but I am not really hopeful that
>>> we
>>>> will make the world 100% accessible. I think that working on
>>> accessibility
>>>> is much like tree trimming. We work on the problem, fix it, but
>>> eventually
>>>> have to come back and do it again.
>>>> 
>>>> To the extent that computers reflect the real world, we shouldn't be
>>>> surprised that a lot of what happens on them is visual. I am old enough
>>> to
>>>> remember when computers did not produce pictures and when using them
>>> meant
>>>> memorizing commands. If you didn't remember the command to see what was
>>> in
>>>> your file folders, you were stopped. There was no point and click. There
>>> was
>>>> no real menuing system. Almost everything was textual. I worked in the
>>>> computer field quite a while before I came to understand the meaning of
>>>> a
>>>> graphical user interface.
>>>> 
>>>> So what can you do? You can write to the people who are working with the
>>>> websites you want to use. Some of them will be receptive, and some of
>>> them
>>>> will not. Some of them we can take to court, but mostly they are
>>>> proliferating so quickly that that will not work to bring about
>>> widespread
>>>> accessibility. We are trying to work with the people who make web
>>>> development software so that they generate code that is accessible. We
>>>> haven't followed this strategy long enough to know whether it will be
>>>> effective.
>>>> 
>>>> Last but not least, I suggest that you figure out a way to work around
>>>> inaccessible websites when you must. Try not to let others deprive you
>>>> of
>>>> things that you want. Find a friend or someone who needs a small job,
>>>> and
>>>> use them to read web screens in the same way that you would use them to
>>> read
>>>> printed material from a paper. If you can afford it, consider a small
>>>> monthly subscription to the Aira service. Twenty dollars a month gets
>>>> you
>>>> thirty minutes of service, and you can allow them to sign into your
>>>> computer, read what is on the screen, and even click what is necessary
>>> with
>>>> the mouse. If you use either of these alternatives, don't forget to
>>> write to
>>>> the people who have the websites you can't use independently. Using a
>>>> friend, a paid reader, or the Aira service shouldn't mean letting the
>>>> offenders off the hook, and if you have alternatives to that site, use
>>> them
>>>> and let the offending site know why they didn't get your business.
>>>> 
>>>> I don't know if this is good advice, but I know that I have given you my
>>>> coping strategy. Maybe your inquiry on this list will bring about other
>>>> strategies that are better. If so, you will not only have helped
>>> yourself,
>>>> but you'll have helped people like me who are not completely comfortable
>>>> with the strategies we now employ.
>>>> 
>>>> Warmly,
>>>> 
>>>> Gary
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: NFBMO <nfbmo-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Michael Walker via
>>> NFBMO
>>>> Sent: Saturday, October 10, 2020 10:42 AM
>>>> To: NFBMO at nfbnet.org
>>>> Cc: Michael Walker <michael.walker199014 at gmail.com>
>>>> Subject: [NFBMO] Question about making computer technology 100%
>>> accessible
>>>> 
>>>> Dear national Federation of the blind of Missouri,
>>>> 
>>>> What can I do, to contribute to making software and websites 100%
>>>> accessible? I am sure many of you have faced the frustrations I have
>>>> with
>>>> not being able to access certain websites. Some people tell me that I
>>> should
>>>> accept that somethings just will not be accessible. I find I struggle
>>> with
>>>> that. I feel like those issues need to be fixed.  Sometimes,
>>> accessibility
>>>> feels like a cat and mouse game. A website or program might be
>>> accessible,
>>>> but then an upgrade breaks the accessibility. Can the world ever be 100%
>>>> accessible? What do you think?
>>>> 
>>>> Thank you,
>>>> Mike
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>>>> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Julie A. McGinnity
> MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of
> Law, JD Candidate 2023
> 
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