[bksvol-discuss] Re: More fun with footnotes! (LONG)
- From: Valerie Maples <vlmaples@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2012 11:35:49 -0700 (PDT)
Speaking as a dyslexic with a physical disability and knowing we have a
prolific
scanner who is also dyslexic, I love trying to embrace universal design that
helps all as much as possible. Doug and Nichole are severely physically
handicapped and often the forgotten group under the Chaffee Amendment.
Valerie
________________________________
From: Roger Loran Bailey <rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx>
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wed, July 18, 2012 12:42:38 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: More fun with footnotes! (LONG)
For that matter, as I understand it, the majority of Bookshare users are
not blind, but dyslexic and the dyslexics do not seem to be represented
among the volunteers. That could be interpreted as blind people deciding
for dyslexics what is good for them.
On 7/18/2012 6:48 AM, Deborah Murray wrote:
> Hi Dornetta,
>
> I hope you were truly just venting and that you don't seriously believe that
> at BookShare it's just a bunch of
> sighted folks telling us poor blind folks what's best for us. Because that
> couldn't be further from the truth.
> Most of the volunteers who contributed to this particular discussion are, in
> fact, blind including myself. I asked specifically for input from people who
> are much more proficient in braille than I am for a reason--I want to make
> the formatting work for people who use braille in addition to all the other
> ways we access text.
> BookShare is not just for blind people--it's for people with all kinds of
> print impairments, with blindness actually a minority.
> What we are trying to achieve is a book that accommodates the needs of as
> many users as possible *without* significantly changing the book or the
> author's intent.
> Is it perfect? No. We can't always make everyone happy but we sure try to
> make as many people happy as possible in most situations.
>
> It's unclear from your message, but it sounds like you use a screen reader
> to read the books on your computer. Do you know how to use your screen
> reader's pronunciation dictionary to silence characters (such as * * *) that
> you don't want to hear?
>
> Please don't think I'm picking on you--I'm really not. We volunteers work
> very hard together and with the folks at BookShare to make sure we produce
> the best product we can. The guidelines for scanning and proofing have
> evolved over time and are definitely a work in process. But at some point
> members who read BookShare books also have to take some responsibility for
> using efficiently the particular technology they choose to use. For example,
> I find the words [blank page] or [this page is blank] hugely annoying and
> offensive. But I have those phrases silenced in JAWS and go on with my life.
>
> I scan (and read for pleasure) lots of nonfiction with a bazillion
> footnotes so I do understand what you're saying. I don't experience the
> issues you do, which just goes to show you that we're all different and
> serves to illustrate what a balancing act this whole thing can be!
>
> Take care and happy reading...
> Deborah
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Dornetta
> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2012 12:14 AM
> To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: More fun with footnotes! (LONG)
>
> Hey guys,
> Recently (this past spring semester) I had to download The Norton Anthology
> of American Literature shorter 7th ed. by Nina Baym for my American
> Literature English class in which the book had tons of footnotes and I do
> mean tons. From a reader prospective, I found those square brackets
> necessary. Now keep in mind that I most often read the book straight from
> the computer opting not to use the stream or Packmate (which I don't use
> often anyway) simply because it made navigation much easier as well as I
> could "see" the form of the work...end of the line for poems and the like.
> With that being said, those square brackets made knowing where actual text
> ended and "the footnotes" begin. It is not that obvious when reading text. I
>
> often find it more annoying when JAWS says star, star,star,star. Rather than
>
> open brack text the close bracket.
> Yes, the square brackets are more often used when a author has altered the
> text during a direct quote, for example, "After the notes is generally the
> end of the page and it seems fairly obvious [not so obvious] where the end
> of the page is and a new one begins." --this may have not been an good
> example but hopefully you get my point. This is not always an obvious
> situation--where the page ends and another one begins as I have stated this
> in an earlier email (page numbers, I think). Like I said, using those
> brackets with the word-begin footnotes and end footnotes seems to be the
> better choice then again, what do I know. When changes like these are made
> it seems that the blind community is never asked or given the choice. Most
> changes that are made for the "benefit of the blind" are usually made by
> sighted people who know what's best for us. **venting**
> Netta
>
>
> "Just because you are blind does not mean you lack vision"-Stevie Wonder
>
> To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to
> bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of
> available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.
>
> To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to
> bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of
>available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.
>
To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to
bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of
available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.
Other related posts:
