[access-uk] Re: The Inaccessible Herts Society for the Blind Web Site
- From: "John Farley" <john_farley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 4 Dec 2005 11:29:59 -0000
Thanks Brian, I shall do so.
Regards, John
Contact on : (Home)
john_farley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
or : (work)
john.farley@xxxxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
brian hartgen
Sent: 04 December 2005 06:21
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: The Inaccessible Herts Society for the Blind Web
Site
Hi John
As has been suggested, I do think you need to contact Julie Howell from RNIB
about this site which is very difficult to use. Because I love using the
Internet, I will try to get around any site I can with a screen-reader, but
this one is certainly a challenge.
When I had a brief look, none of the leading screen-readers worked well on
this site. However, my primary screen-reader I use is JAWS, and although
JAWS reported the same number of links as you suggested on the home page,
clearly when arrowing down there were items which were meant to be links but
were not showing up as such. Clicking on these with the jaws cursor did get
me to the pages I wanted, but this is not acceptable and the page should be
rendered correctly in the screen-reader's virtual cursor mode or equivalent.
Downloading a news-letter did not give me much information either. As you
say, this is a protected word document with approximately 150 objects and
several fields. The status of the protection is "form fields only", meaning
that you can only type into edit fields should they appear in the document.
I tried to unprotect the document, and could not because it required a
password.
Best of luck with RNIB, let us know how things go.
Brian Hartgen
E-MAIL: brian@xxxxxxxxxxx
MSN: brian@xxxxxxxxxxx
SKYPE: brianhartgen
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ray's Home" <rays-home@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2005 9:40 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: The Inaccessible Herts Society for the Blind Web
Site
> Well this Society with the inaccessible website doesn't claim to be 'OF'
> the blind, does it? Like some do. Sory Steve and list, couldn't
> resist that short jibe.
> Ray
>
> Personal emails: Email me at
> mailto:ray-48@xxxxxxxx
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve Nutt" <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2005 2:58 PM
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: The Inaccessible Herts Society for the Blind
> Web Site
>
>
> | Hi John,
> |
> | I totally agree with you that this is unacceptable. Some three
> | months
> ago,
> | I advised John Hood, I think his name is, the chief exec of HSB that
> this
> | was a bad example of accessibility, and ways to change it. But I
> | feel
> they
> | have taken absolutely no notice of me either. So much for a society
> | for
> the
> | blind?
> |
> | All the best
> | --
> | Computer Room Services: the long cane for blind computer users.
> | Telephone Voice: +44(0)1438 742286, Fax/BBS: +44(0)1438 759589
> | mobile: +44(0)7956 334938,
> | Email: Steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> | Web site: http://www.comproom.co.uk
> |
> | -----Original Message-----
> | From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
> | Behalf
> Of
> | John Farley
> | Sent: 02 December 2005 20:23
> | To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; TNTALK@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; info BCAB
> | Subject: [access-uk] The Inaccessible Herts Society for the Blind
> | Web
> Site
> |
> | All, first I must apologise for the cross posting of this note. I
> | feel
> very
> | strongly abut it and wanted it to reach the widest possible audience.
> |
> | I am a member of the Hertfordshire Society for the Blind and
> | attended
> it's
> | A.G.M. on 17th November. One of the activities at this event was the
> launch
> | of their new web site on www.hertsblind.com on that day..
> |
> | It was very difficult at this time to fully review the site, but I
> | did
> so
> | when I got back to a PC with full access to a screen reader, in my
> | case Window-eyes.
> |
> | I found that the site was not properly accessible to people using a
> screen
> | reader, in fact an issue which was known about and published on the
> | site itself.
> |
> | That day I pointed out, in e-mail, the access problems with the site
> | and requested that something be done abut it urgently.
> |
> | Despite protestations from the senior staff of HSB that they had
> | taken
> the
> | needs of visually impaired people into account and that they would
> | fix
> the
> | site the issue is not being dealt with in the manner which I would
> expect.
> | Today I was notified that it may be corrected by the end of January.
> |
> | I am sorry, but the message that this gives out is that the needs of
> | visually impaired people who use the internet are very much
> | secondary to some other greater need. I find this totally
> | unacceptable from a body designed to help visually impaired people.
> |
> | I am told that the HSB does not have vast funds and so cannot do
> | what
> larger
> | charities do with their web sites; a very cursory inspection of the
> | site would show that the access changes required are not great, but
> | would
> then
> | enable it to be useable. For a reason I do not understand HSB have
> | been advised that the site builder requires a new piece of software
> | in order
> to
> | make it compatible with screen readers and that this will need to be
> learnt
> | before it can be put in place. I don't buy this excuse!
> |
> | Some examples of the issues on the site (which I have informed HSB
> about):
> |
> | On many pages, if not all there are what I take to be links to other
> | information which are not accessible. These are the usual navigation
> links.
> | They have been set up with a graphical link rather than what I
> | believe
> is
> | the standard kind of link which screen readers can use. On the front
> page
> | Window-Eyes reports 5 links, where I believe there are in excess of
> | 22
> on
> | it.
> |
> | It is actually fairly difficult for a user with a screen reader to
> Comment
> | on the site as the link to the Contact Us and Comments sections are
> | not accessible.
> |
> | There are a number of documents which can be downloaded for
> | subsequent
> use.
> | They appear to be some sort of protected Word document. Once
> | downloaded,
> due
> | to the protection you cannot use the cursor to navigate around them.
> Some
> | access is available with a virtual mouse, but that is far from
> | properly accessible. A PDF document would have been much better.
> |
> | It would be nice if the site were to make a little more concession
> | to
> Its
> | VIP readers and accommodate changing of font size and colour to
> | allow
> for
> | easier reading for those with some sight.
> |
> | By means of this e-mail I would hope that the HSB would receive a
> greater
> | deal of lobbying in order to make their site accessible in a more
> acceptable
> | time frame.
> |
> |
> |
> |
> | Regards, John.
> |
> | John Farley
> |
> | Personal Contact Work contact
> | Phone : 01442 259243 01442 437731
> | Mobile: 07815 056076 07785 928755
> | Fax : 01442 437909
> | E-Mail: john_farley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx john.farley@xxxxxxxx
> | ********************************************************************
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