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Re: holding software vendors accountable for accessibility

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From: Chagnon | PubCom
Date: Sep 14, 2016 2:43PM

Agree with Brooks.
One of the key problems with the SANPRM (and all other regulations regarding accessibility) is that it doesn't address the entire scope of how electronic information is created, published, and presented to the user.

Doesn't matter whether it's HTML or a PDF on a website, the problem is the same; the end product isn't necessarily fully accessible and sometimes it's the software that's missing the grade, not our content.

There are 5 stakeholders in accessibility:

1. The assistive technologies, browsers, and their manufacturers. Are they developing tools that keep up with the WCAG and PDF/UA standards?

2. Us, the content creators. Are we making our materials per the WCAG and PDF/UA standards?

3. The standards themselves. They are difficult and confusing to understand (I type this as I'm closing up my classroom from teaching accessibility for 3 days). Can they be simplified and still make our work accessible? Can they be written and presented to mere mortals (the content creators, not programmers) in a way that they can understand them and use them?

4. The software manufacturers. Here, I mean the software we content creators use to create content, namely: Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Acrobat. 18 years after Sec. 508 was passed, and MS Word still can't output a compliant PDF. Nor can Adobe InDesign. And Acrobat? Don't get me started. And do we have an HTML authoring tools that help us make accessible websites?

5. The end users. Do they have the latest version of their assistive technology? Have they taken training in how to use it or read the manual?

I get the sense that DOJ doesn't really know the extent of the problem, so I'm glad Books and others have filed their comments. Don't leave out the AT manufacturers, nor Adobe or Microsoft. They are critical links in the entire accessibility workflow and should be cited in the proposed regulation.

--Bevi Chagnon

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Bevi Chagnon | www.PubCom.com
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