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Re: holding software vendors accountable for accessibility

for

From: Jamous, JP
Date: Sep 15, 2016 5:59AM

Sorry Jim. I am not following you. Can you word your question differently?

Which bug and what rollout?




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Jean-Pierre Jamous
Digital Accessibility Specialist & Developer
UI Accessibility Team

SME for EBN Include
Digital Accessibility Specialist & Blind and Visually Impaired Expert

The only limitations in life are those we set for ourselves

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-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Jim Homme
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2016 6:18 PM
To: WebAIM Discussion List < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] holding software vendors accountable for accessibility

Hi,
Keeping this bug in mind, where is there documentation on rolling back and its iimplications?

Thanks.

Jim


=========Jim Homme,
Accessibility Consultant,
Bender HighTest Accessibility Team
Bender Consulting Services, Inc.,
412-787-8567,
<EMAIL REMOVED>
http://www.benderconsult.com/our%20services/hightest-accessible-technology-solutions
E+R=O

-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Jamous, JP
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2016 5:07 PM
To: WebAIM Discussion List < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] holding software vendors accountable for accessibility

FYI, I second this whole thread. What we need is action. We need to enforce the fact that JAWS stands for Job Access with Speech. If they cannot live up to that title, then they should rename it.

I use Visual Studio to program web sites and other types of apps. As Visual Studio 2015 came out, there was a smiley face icon in the help menu. I noticed that the log-in form was totally inaccessible for me to make Visual Studio 2015 Community fully licensed as my counterparts.

I sent a sad face and explained the issue to Microsoft. As they deployed service pack 5, the issue was fixed. So yes, one person can make a difference and multiple ones can make a bigger difference.

We need to team up and submit our issues to those venders starting with the AT ones.

I already have various JAWS bugs that have been tested and logged. I also have ones for VoiceOver 9.3.5 and I need a group of people to email the venders after I file the issues to enforce the change.

FYI, do not upgrade to iOS 10 as VoiceOver is not reading any aria attributes. That's a prime example of their failures.




**************************************************

Jean-Pierre Jamous
Digital Accessibility Specialist & Developer UI Accessibility Team

SME for EBN Include
Digital Accessibility Specialist & Blind and Visually Impaired Expert

The only limitations in life are those we set for ourselves

**************************************************















-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Don Mauck
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2016 3:53 PM
To: <EMAIL REMOVED> ; WebAIM Discussion List < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] holding software vendors accountable for accessibility

Well written!!

-----Original Message-----
From: Chagnon | PubCom [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ]
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2016 2:44 PM
To: WebAIM Discussion List < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] holding software vendors accountable for accessibility

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
Technologists, Consultants, Trainers, Designers, and Developers for publishing & communication
| Acrobat PDF | Print | EPUBS | Sec. 508 Accessibility |
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