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Thread: Screen reader detection possible?

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From: Haim Roman
Date: Thu, Oct 18 2018 2:24AM
Subject: Screen reader detection possible?
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From what I've found so far, it's not. But the latest article I've found
so far is from 2016.

I know there is a lot of opposition to the very idea. My problem is that
I'm working on an existing site that looks good, and I'll probably have to
change it for accessibility, and I expect opposition.

Thanks
Howard (Haim) Roman -- = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = -- 052-8-592-599 -- חיים רומן
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haimroman

From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Thu, Oct 18 2018 5:00AM
Subject: Re: Screen reader detection possible?
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The answer is still no, pretty much.
The primary, or at least the most discussed reason is not necessarily
technical but privacy.

People with disabilities do not want to be automatically identifiable
on the internet.
Another is people's experience of alternative user interfaces. People
We've often seen attempts at screen reader friendly versions of
websites. But there are two primary issues with it. Firstly, people
who are not screen readers are not good at creating the screen reader
user experience. They can do things like make everything focusable,
make everything super verbose or start putting in instructions on how
to use screen readers, often inaccurate or downright wrong, as part of
the page.
The other is maintenance. The screen reader only version of the site
never gets the same attention to details and almost inevitably falls
behind when the rest of the site is updated. Blind users may stop
getting access to special offers and promotions or the latest news,
that spells discrimination.

There are developments that are likely to reopen this discussion.
There is the new concept of the accessibility object model, which
includes, or used to include, assistive technology detection (I have
to Google how it is going).
If you are writing mobile apps (Android/iOS) you can detect assistive
technology usage.
.




On 10/18/18, Haim Roman < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> From what I've found so far, it's not. But the latest article I've found
> so far is from 2016.
>
> I know there is a lot of opposition to the very idea. My problem is that
> I'm working on an existing site that looks good, and I'll probably have to
> change it for accessibility, and I expect opposition.
>
> Thanks
> > Howard (Haim) Roman -- = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = -- 052-8-592-599 -- חיים רומן
> LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haimroman
> > > > >


--
Work hard. Have fun. Make history.

From: Haim Roman
Date: Thu, Oct 18 2018 5:09AM
Subject: Re: Screen reader detection possible?
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Thanks.
Howard (Haim) Roman -- = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = -- 052-8-592-599 -- חיים רומן
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haimroman



On Thu, Oct 18, 2018 at 2:00 PM Birkir R. Gunnarsson <
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> The answer is still no, pretty much.
> The primary, or at least the most discussed reason is not necessarily
> technical but privacy.
>
> People with disabilities do not want to be automatically identifiable
> on the internet.
> Another is people's experience of alternative user interfaces. People
> We've often seen attempts at screen reader friendly versions of
> websites. But there are two primary issues with it. Firstly, people
> who are not screen readers are not good at creating the screen reader
> user experience. They can do things like make everything focusable,
> make everything super verbose or start putting in instructions on how
> to use screen readers, often inaccurate or downright wrong, as part of
> the page.
> The other is maintenance. The screen reader only version of the site
> never gets the same attention to details and almost inevitably falls
> behind when the rest of the site is updated. Blind users may stop
> getting access to special offers and promotions or the latest news,
> that spells discrimination.
>
> There are developments that are likely to reopen this discussion.
> There is the new concept of the accessibility object model, which
> includes, or used to include, assistive technology detection (I have
> to Google how it is going).
> If you are writing mobile apps (Android/iOS) you can detect assistive
> technology usage.
> .
>
>
>
>
> On 10/18/18, Haim Roman < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> > From what I've found so far, it's not. But the latest article I've found
> > so far is from 2016.
> >
> > I know there is a lot of opposition to the very idea. My problem is that
> > I'm working on an existing site that looks good, and I'll probably have
> to
> > change it for accessibility, and I expect opposition.
> >
> > Thanks
> > > > Howard (Haim) Roman -- = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = -- 052-8-592-599 -- חיים
> רומן
> > LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haimroman
> > > > > > > > > >
>
>
> --
> Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
> > > > >

From: Wolfgang Berndorfer
Date: Thu, Oct 18 2018 2:07PM
Subject: Re: Screen reader detection possible?
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Didn't know that Android/iOS detect AT usage. Probably this is mentioned somewhere in the Terms of Service, which I agreed once without reading.

As Birkir mentioned, AT detection is primary a privacy issue. As I hear, people in USA don't care as much as Europeans about privacy implications: Health insurance and AT dealers could be interested in AT addiction.

But probably, Google & Facebook find out the probability of my disabilities even in peculiarities somehow anywhere. Would be interested, if there were any studies on such profiling and following exploitations for special web design for AT-users. (I know this is not only a question of accessibility and therefore perhaps not of this mailing list.)


-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] Im Auftrag von Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 18. Oktober 2018 13:00
An: WebAIM Discussion List
Betreff: Re: [WebAIM] Screen reader detection possible?

The answer is still no, pretty much.
The primary, or at least the most discussed reason is not necessarily
technical but privacy.

People with disabilities do not want to be automatically identifiable
on the internet.
Another is people's experience of alternative user interfaces. People
We've often seen attempts at screen reader friendly versions of
websites. But there are two primary issues with it. Firstly, people
who are not screen readers are not good at creating the screen reader
user experience. They can do things like make everything focusable,
make everything super verbose or start putting in instructions on how
to use screen readers, often inaccurate or downright wrong, as part of
the page.
The other is maintenance. The screen reader only version of the site
never gets the same attention to details and almost inevitably falls
behind when the rest of the site is updated. Blind users may stop
getting access to special offers and promotions or the latest news,
that spells discrimination.

There are developments that are likely to reopen this discussion.
There is the new concept of the accessibility object model, which
includes, or used to include, assistive technology detection (I have
to Google how it is going).
If you are writing mobile apps (Android/iOS) you can detect assistive
technology usage.
.




On 10/18/18, Haim Roman < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> From what I've found so far, it's not. But the latest article I've found
> so far is from 2016.
>
> I know there is a lot of opposition to the very idea. My problem is that
> I'm working on an existing site that looks good, and I'll probably have to
> change it for accessibility, and I expect opposition.
>
> Thanks
> > Howard (Haim) Roman -- = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = -- 052-8-592-599 -- חיים רומן
> LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haimroman
> > > > >


--
Work hard. Have fun. Make history.

From: Patrick H. Lauke
Date: Thu, Oct 18 2018 2:43PM
Subject: Re: Screen reader detection possible?
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On 18/10/2018 12:00, Birkir R. Gunnarsson wrote:
[...]
> If you are writing mobile apps (Android/iOS) you can detect assistive
> technology usage.

Ditto if you're writing native applications for Windows/macOS/Linux.

P
--
Patrick H. Lauke

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