I would certainly hope we can find a way to work with the League instead of
ending up in a confrontation with them.  That seems like a much more
preferable approach.

Take care all and very 73. 


 
Kevin :)
Amateur Radio:  K7RX
 

-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Lloyd Rasmussen
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 20:09
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Regarding Digital QST Accessibility

A lot more research and negotiation has to be done before anyone would want
to file any sort of lawsuit against a magazine publisher.  

I am pretty sure that ARRL said they also would be using Zimio as their
platform.  On December 17, Patrick Tyce sent us a link to a page out of
World Radio Magazine on the Zimio site.  Going to the page with Window-Eyes
and either Internet Explorer or FireFox shows a bunch of links and no
article text.  Some of the links and the help text indicate that they have
some iOS apps; I have no idea whether or not they are accessible.

But Martin McCormik reported in December that he could read the sample page
using good old Lynnx.  I downloaded the page and found that it is
accompanied by a lot of JavaScript.  But the article text is also contained
within a <noscript> section in the main HTML file, which explains why Lynx
could read it.  

So I loaded it into Firefox, adjusted it so that JavaScript was disabled,
reloaded the page with F5, and the text was found in the middle of the other
links.  I remember that there was a "noscript" plug-in for FireFox, but that
FireFox has started disabling many plug-ins.  I expect there is a way to
disable JavaScript for this site while not disabling it everywhere else.
You can't use the main Facebook site with JavaScript disabled, for example.
Some of you would say that's a good thing.

Back when the Braille Technical Press was being published, Bob Gunderson
estimated that there were 1,200 blind hams in the U.S.  I suppose I could
find out how many people currently get NLS's version of QST.  I think that
the number of blind hams is in the same order of magnitude as it was 50
years ago.

Lloyd Rasmussen, Kensington, Maryland
Home:  http://lras.home.sprynet.com
Work:  http://www.loc.gov/nls
 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Mike Duke, K5XU
> Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 6:21 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Regarding Digital QST Accessibility
> 
> Before we burn down the neighborhood with this bonfire, let's at least
> roast the hotdog.
> 
> The question of how many of us are ARRL members is quite relevant to
> this discussion, but I don't see people lining up to answer it.
> 
> I am a member on the family rate with my wife, K5KKD. Thus, we receive
> one issue of QST each month, usually from 6 to 8 weeks ahead of the
> NLS download or cassette.
> 
> Those of us who are ARRL members must, by all means, write to the
> members of the ARRL Board of Directors, to tell them that as paying
> members, we expect the digital edition to be accessible to us when it
> is rolled out. We should also volunteer to work with them to make this
> happen.
> 
> While I suspect he has little to do with the digital edition directly,
> a copy of our letters should also be sent to QST Editor Steve Ford,
> just to let him know we are out here, and that we are serious readers.
> 
> 
> 
> Mike Duke, K5XU
> American Council of Blind Radio Amateurs