accessibility

I wrote and sent the following letter to NATO after visiting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) web site and finding it to be less than fully accessible. I will keep everyone updated on any results that may be achieved.

March 31, 2007 

Dear NATO IT Staff, 

I am writing as a blind technology accessibility evangelist concerning the NATO.INT web site to ask you to address a couple of areas where the site is currently inaccessible.  First, much of the Flash content appears to contain buttons that cannot be selected using a screen reader.  Second, there are many images that do not include descriptive alt text tags. 

As a major international organization and actor in geopolitics and world affairs, representing 26 nations including the United States of America, I believe there is a duty for NATO to make its materials accessible to as many citizens of its 26 member nations as possible, including those of us whom happen to be blind and visually impaired.  Please work with us constructively to improve the accessibility of the NATO.INT web site and all other electronic materials delivered by NATO.  I look forward to hearing from an appropriate NATO representative in the near future. 

Sincerely,

Darrell Shandrow

Accessibility Evangelist

BlindAccessJournal.com

 

In this article entitled Windows Vista Vulnerable to StickyKeys Backdoor on the McAfee Avert Labs Blog, researcher Vinoo Thomas indicates that a good solution to a potential, though very unlikely, Windows Vista vulnerability is to remove a file critical to the operation of the sticky keys accessibility feature. Unfortunately, Mr. Thomas completely fails to mention that taking such an action may serve to severely limit, or even curtail, use of the computer by a person with a physical disability who may rely on that feature. An IT professional who makes this change may end up making it practically impossible for that disabled person to perform the duties of their job! Even worse, after 21 responses to the article, nobody else bothered to mention this concern. Despite all that we accessibility evangelists do to raise awareness of the needs of technology users with disabilities, it is obvious that ignorance continues to run rampant in the technology industry at large.