Terri -

I certainly did not intend to trivialize or negate your need to produce
documents which are professional in both content and presentation.  My
statement, however, was part of a message about the problems which people
can have accessing the content of PDF documents, and my opinion that the new
version of Acrobat Reader may solve some of those problems for some folks
but is going to create new problems for other folks.

Shame on me, though, because my statement, examined out of context, is a
generalization that deserves the fate of most generalizations: a rebuttal
that correctly proves that the statement is wrong.  I was further corrected
by Kelly's comments about presentation often being critical to comprehension
and ease of use of a document.

My issue had to do with information often posted on the web only as PDF
files and the accessibility of that information for as many people as
possible.  I hope you or others will respond to that issue.   - Jon


-----Original Message-----
From: Terri Hedgpeth [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2001 7:10 PM
To: * EASI: Equal Access to Software & Information
Cc: Steuerwalt, Jon C.
Subject: Re: FW: Press Release from GW Micro; Now: Advice to Mainstream
To ol Makers


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John C.,
Wait just a moment here!!!  "presentation for folks who can't see is of no
value." I take great exception to that comment / attitude.
I am totally blind, a professional in the postsecondary dissability field
and atleast an equal to my sighted colleagues. When a supervisor ask for a
report, document, correspondence  or some other written output. I am
expected to turn in work equal to that of anyone else. That includes content
as well as format or presentation.  How is it that I am expected to produce
the same level of output, but I'm not entitled to equal input? That is in
effect what you are saying when you or anyone makes such a statement.
Sighted only know how to properly format documents by what they are exposed
too and by what they see.

If some blind persons think presentation isn't important, it's because
that's what they've been told. For example, a blind graduate student needs
to write papers in a professional manner using APA or the specified format.
Their sighted classmates learn the most about APA or other formats by
looking at articles written in that manner, not by refering to a manual.
Same with resumes, tables, graphs, charts etc.  Of course these are the
biggest problem areas for PDF and PDF conversions.  Presentation of a
document isn't static and that is vital information.

All people with disabilities are entitled to equal content and presentation.
It is up to the individual to decide how they use that information.  But it
is the responsibility of application developers, web developers and those
who place information on the web to assure that their content and
presentation are accessible.