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Re: email issue

for

From: Cliff Tyllick
Date: Sep 3, 2008 11:20AM

Donna, I can see fine (when I wear powerful glasses), but wallpaper in e-mail raises the same issues for me as a background on a Web page:

--Is there sufficient color contrast? Even a solid shade of wallpaper can trigger this issue. People with low vision or people viewing the page under unfavorable lighting would appreciate all the contrast they can get.

--Is the wallpaper patterned? Even when there is high contrast, reading text against a pattern can be a challenge. If you want everyone to get your message clearly, don't display it against a pattern. Patterned backgrounds trigger issues of not only visual acuity but also cognition. And people tell me I'm pretty sharp, but captchas (especially those with patterned backgrounds) have been making me feel pretty dumb lately---I see something clearly, but they say what is showing isn't what I'm entering.

In short, heeding good practices for accessibility benefits us all. Tell your friend to be considerate of her readers and ditch the wallpaper.

Cliff Tyllick
Web development coordinator
Agency Communications Division
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
512-239-4516
<EMAIL REMOVED>

>>> Donna Jones < <EMAIL REMOVED> > 9/3/2008 12:02 PM >>>
Hi everyone: about e-mail! i've just had a question from someone who
uses Outlook (Express?) and uses wallpaper in her e-mail (which also
means it would be in html). she is wondering if the wallpaper creates
any accessibility issues.

i told her it created a bigger file (wasting bandwidth) but didn't know
what to say about accessibility. and, come to think of it, i don't even
know how folks read email when there is no sight. does Jaws read
e-mail? are there other programs people use?

i directed her to the website but then realized that i should just sign
up for the list again (its been a while since i was here). I *love* lists.

thanks for any information and enlightenment.

best regards,
Donna Jones