Another Accessibility Slap In The Face

While this is a personal post and I don’t make it a habit to get on my personal soapbox on this blog, I think that the issues covered in the email are relevant to Serotek’s mission of providing and advocating for

“Accessibility Anywhere.”

Below is a letter submitted to the IPad Today show on the Twit Netcast Network. It frustrates me that even so called “geeks” don’t understand how important accessibility is in both software and on the web. What do you think of this letter? Please post your comments so perhaps someone will read them and really know that accessibility isn’t just a law but that it really does allow us as a market to enjoy the same level of access to products and services that our sighted peers enjoy and take for granted.

From: Mike Calvo
To: ipadtoday@twit.tv

Subject: Program 51 Advocates for Universal Design … for Once

Hello Leo and Sarah,

I’ve been a long-time listener of The Twit Network and iPad today and have always been impressed with the insightful commentary you both consistently provide on the show. I was very excited to hear your thoughts on HTML 5 on the show which aired on June 23. As the CEO of an assistive technology company providing accessible cloud services to the blind, I’m a staunch advocate of HTML 5. It allows for consistent cross-platform design and has the added benefit of being far more accessible than other design technologies such as Flash.

I was all set to hear a well-thought-out and candid discussion of the benefits of HTML 5, so imagine my shock and surprise when you began discussing the iPad experience for the new Harry Potter site. You first lamented the fact that the site displayed on the iPad was a text-only site, which lacked all the appealing features of the main site. Then, Sarah took things one step further and asked the developers to: “consider the community with good vision for once!”

Really? Seriously?

Sarah, have you ever been prevented from conducting legitimate business because of an inability to use a particular site? Have you ever had to contact a site designer to explain that you wanted to purchase a business’s products and services but were prevented from doing so because of a flaw in web design? Have you ever overheard a friend or family
member discussing a particular site, only to realize you couldn’t enjoy that site yourself, again, because of a flaw in web design? This is the struggle that the blind community faces on a daily basis. When your entire audience of web developers, business professionals, and blind and sighted consumers hear you minimize this struggle with a few snide and ill-considered words, it is incredibly damaging. With this single statement, you’ve implied that accessibility may be a headache which some designers have to address, but only when it doesn’t detract from the experience of the mainstream audience or in your words “those of us with good vision.” What you fail to understand is that the members of an audience who need accessibility don’t actually want separate but equal. We want the same bells and whistles that everyone else enjoys. Don’t get me wrong; I appreciate the consideration when a site designer at least acknowledges the need for accessibility by providing a text-only site. With that said, my primary goal is to educate developers that accessibility doesn’t have to be an afterthought and can be incorporated quite easily without adversely impacting anyone else. In fact, when a developer chooses to use something like HTML 5 over something like Flash, everyone benefits, including the sighted iPad users like yourself who want a more compelling experience.

As well-respected tech enthusiasts, imagine how much you could do to further the education on web accessibility just by including information like this when you discuss platforms like HTML 5. Conversely, consider just how damaging it can be when you make statements which encourage actions which further your own interests while minimizing those of another population. Would you rather advocate for the continuation of a
separate but equal philosophy, or would you rather advocate for universal design,
“for once?”

Mike Calvo CEO
Serotek Corporation