WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: Something's amiss with the latest survey

for

From: Jordan Wilson
Date: Aug 28, 2015 1:43PM

I would suggest using the "Commonly Used" statistic a little lower down on
the page instead of the "Primacy Screen Reader" statistic.

That statistic is a bit more in line w/ what we¹ve seen in the past, and
it better reflects the number of users who use each platform overall. Its
a better complete measurement of usage.

The Primary Screen Reader stat undervalues the platforms that are used
secondarily.

That said, Jonathan¹s mention of the e-mail from the vendor is probably a
large factor. Stuffing the ballot box if you may.





On 8/28/15, 3:36 PM, "WebAIM-Forum on behalf of WebAIM Discussion List"
< <EMAIL REMOVED> on behalf of
<EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

>I would also respectfully point out that ZoomText is the only option that
>is available for both Windows and Mac on the provided list in the survey,
>and the question did not distinguish between the two versions. It's
>possible that Mac users may have increased adoption of ZT as a VoiceOver
>alternative since audio capabilities were introduced in the spring of
>2014.
>
>--Jane Vincent, University of Michigan
>
> From: "Moore,Michael (HHSC)" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> To: WebAIM Discussion List < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> Sent: Friday, August 28, 2015 3:18 PM
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Something's amiss with the latest survey
>
>First let me be clear. I have been a fan of WebAIM, Karl Groves, TPG and
>this list for a while myself. But I have to respectfully disagree with my
>esteemed colleague regarding the value of the results as device to
>demonstrate the diversity of the screen reader user community.
>
>One alternative explanation for the increase in the number of users
>reporting ZoomText as a primary screen reader may simply be the wider
>dissemination of the survey. Through my work I have consistently
>encountered what seemed to be a larger number of people using ZoomText as
>a screen reader than was indicated by previous surveys. Given that my
>data was anecdotal rather than scientific I felt that it could simply be
>a product of my unique work environment that brought me in contact with a
>greater number of visually impaired users with lower levels of technical
>skills than the average accessibility specialist.
>
>As for the growth of Window Eyes - the Microsoft program is bound to have
>an impact. Particularly when you consider the number of enterprise
>customers who can now fulfill reasonable accommodation requests with a
>commercial, Microsoft endorsed (implicit), screen reading product.
>
>Mike Moore
>Accessibility Coordinator
>Texas Health and Human Services Commission
>Civil Rights Office
>
>