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Re: Problem with Terms of Use Acceptance Form: Accessibility Issue or Operator Error?

for

From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Jul 17, 2014 8:36AM

Chris

WCAG 2.1.1
http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/keyboard-operation-keyboard-operable.html
(basic level A requirement of WCAG, also keyboard accessibility is
part of Section 508).

This is a clear violation.

You could suggest to your boss that the school creates a set of 10 to
20 questions with multiple choice answers based on the policy.
Make it mandatory for every user to read the policy and answer at
least 80% of the questions correctly before being given the permition
to continue.
This kind of policy is often implimented within large corporations,
and if the school system is so worried about it, this would be a way
to ensure that users really read the TOS.
What the website now presents is just a way to verify that the user
has a mouse (i.e. is probably not disabled) and knows how to scroll.

It is discriminatory and does not really increase the probability that
people read the text they are supposed to read.

But I know one has to be careful in the quagmire of legal
responsibility and politics,, on this list we have the freedom to be
awfully blunt sometimes,.
But what is clear, and definitely tell your boss that, is that this
practice is discriminatory, particularly against people with
disabilities, not just screen readers but people with mobility
impairments as well, possibly people working with a large screen
magnification.
This issue shoul not be overlooked.

Good luck, let us know if we can help you any further.
-Birkir


On 7/17/14, Nusbaum, Christopher < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> I agree. I'm no lawyer either, but I thought ignorance of the law was not a
> sound defense. If this is true, accepting the AUP without reading it and
> then claiming you didn't know what it said if you violate it is your
> responsibility.
>
> Christopher A. (Chris) Nusbaum, Intern
> Technology Services Department
> Assistive Technology Program
> Carroll County Public Schools
> Phone: (410) 751-3428
> Cell: (443) 547-2409
> Email: <EMAIL REMOVED>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: <EMAIL REMOVED>
> [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Patrick H. Lauke
> Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2014 10:12 AM
> To: <EMAIL REMOVED>
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Problem with Terms of Use Acceptance Form:
> Accessibility Issue or Operator Error?
>
> On 17/07/2014 13:35, Nusbaum, Christopher wrote:
>> What, then, would your suggestion be to our developers to fix it? Any help
>> would be appreciated.
>
> To be a bit blunt, my suggestion would be to remove any scripting that is
> trying to ensure that everything was "read". Even without doing any user
> testing I can guarantee that the vast majority of users did not, in fact,
> read the terms, but merely scrolled all the way to the bottom quickly. It's
> an inconvenience to all users, in addition to presenting a barrier to screen
> reader users in its current implementation.
>
> There may have been some illusion on the part of the developers/their
> managers that it makes it more legally binding as some sort of confirmation
> that users did have to actively engage with those terms and conditions, but
> it's flimsy at best (but then, I'm no lawyer).
>
> Rewording the AUP/ToU agreement to be an assumed opt-in (making sure it says
> clearly that "By proceeding you are accepting these terms" and having the
> button to continue again clearly state "I agree to the above..." or similar
> should have the same "legal" weight.
>
> P
> --
> Patrick H. Lauke
>
> www.splintered.co.uk | https://github.com/patrickhlauke
> http://flickr.com/photos/redux/ | http://redux.deviantart.com
> twitter: @patrick_h_lauke | skype: patrick_h_lauke
> > > messages to <EMAIL REMOVED>
> > > >


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