[bcab] Re: Samaritans - Earmail access

Samaritans - Earmail accessby them making the effort to get their product made 
screenreader accessible.  this will involve working with the product designer 
who needs to look at how the product could be better designed to include 
keyboard accessibility and behaviour that allows a screenreader and other 
access technology to access the software.

one useful place where information about software accessibility is available is 
the software access centre at 
http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/PublicWebsite/public_sachome.hcsp

using the DDA in these kind of situations is of course a last resort.

Regards

Graham

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: George Bell 
  To: bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 8:58 PM
  Subject: [bcab] Re: Samaritans - Earmail access


  Let's be a shade more constructive here.

  The Samaritans motives are absolutely admirable.  But sad that the DDA has 
tripped them up.

  So how can the accessibility problems be overcome?

  George.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  From: bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf 
Of Graham Page
  Sent: 28 September 2006 20:35
  To: bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Subject: [bcab] Re: Samaritans - Earmail access


  could they be prosecuted under the DDA or would that fail because it is an 
organisation of volunteers?

  while you may not want to fully go down that road if you could help it, the 
threat may get them to do something about it.

  cheers

  graham 
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Anne Rigby 
    To: bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
    Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2006 12:35 PM
    Subject: [bcab] Re: Samaritans - Earmail access


    Hello, all,

    In an attempt to clarify this, I used to be a Samaritan volunteer.

    The e-mail system they use is designed to keep e-mails annonymous, so that 
any branch of Samaritans can collect e-mails and respond to them.  It's a 
system which, I believe, was designed for them specifically.  While I was a 
volunteer, I, and other blind volunteers, tried to get them to make the system 
screen reader accessible, but without any success.  Unless things have changed 
recently, you still can't access the Samaritans' e-mail system with a screen 
reader at all.

    Hope this helps.

    Anne
      -----Original Message-----
      From: bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On 
Behalf Of Graham Page
      Sent: 27 September 2006 23:27
      To: bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
      Subject: [bcab] Re: Samaritans - Earmail access


      not really no.  they are generally volunteers and though of course some 
people will be paid within the organisation, many are volunteers and I believe 
this volunteering goes beyond purely those dealing with calls from the public.

      In terms of my own question, however, I did a search for earmail and came 
up with the following link

      http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/4/prweb369733.htm

      it suggests that earmail is a system where a user can send and receive 
mail using a preexisting email account and a telephone.  Unless you have to 
administer a server then, accessibility should not be an issue.  However, I 
would have thought that any reply would be in the form of an attached voice 
message.  the idea of emailing the Samaritan with a plea for help and getting 
back a voice message when you expect a written reply  to this sounds a bit odd 
so maybe there is something else called earmail.

      Regards

      Graham

      More likely access by a visually impaired person or anyone else wasn't 
even considered.
        ----- Original Message ----- 
        From: John M Hull 
        To: bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
        Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 9:03 PM
        Subject: [bcab] Re: Samaritans - Earmail access


        ...moreover, one would expect such an organisation that specialises in 
councelling people in crisis would be particularly sensitive to accessibility, 
don't you think?

        John

         

        -----Original Message-----
        From: bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On 
Behalf Of Graham Page
        Sent: 27 September 2006 20:36
        To: bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
        Subject: [bcab] Re: Samaritans - Earmail access

         

        no, but I am definitely curious.  why would an organisation so short of 
cash use a specialist email system that must have cost a load to implement when 
they can get perfectly good email clients that would be secure enough for their 
needs for free?

         

        just wondering what else it may do that's so special.

         

        Cheers

         

        Graham

          ----- Original Message ----- 

          From: Andrew Hodgson 

          To: bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 

          Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 2:21 PM

          Subject: [bcab] Samaritans - Earmail access

           

          Hi,

          I am just wondering whether anyone here has had experience of using 
the Earmail system found at the Samaritans?  This is some sort of specialist 
email system, and a user is having some trouble reading past messages on the 
system.

          She is using JFW 7.

          Any info please let me know.

          Thanks.
          Andrew. 



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