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Subject:
From:
doris fisher <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
doris fisher <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 7 Mar 2000 04:39:12 -0800
Content-Type:
text/plain
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I sent the following letter to Bill Frezza.  I hope those of you who can,
submit responses to the magazine itself; I couldn't figure out how to do
that.

Dear Mr. Frezza:
I have just read your article and although I am sure it was not your intent,
I found it offensive and misleading.  My husband and I are both totally
blind.  We have been gainfully employed our entire adult years and have paid
taxes accordingly.  We do not ask for charity with regards to accessing web
sites; we are asking for equal opportunity to access information,
entertainment and other online services provided to non-disabled persons.
For the first time in the history of mankind, the blind have the opportunity
to acquire information via the Internet alongside of, and with the relative
ease as, our sighted counterparts.
We can take advantage of this opportunity only if the information available
is presented in understandable and navigable language.
I would like you to imagine yourself accessing web sites written in a
foreign language that you cannot read or understand and that have no helpful
pictures to guide you through the maze of incomprehensible language.  I
would like you to further imagine that you encounter this barrier to
obtaining information you seek not just rarely but the majority of the time.
We, the blind, do not have to imagine such a situation as it is the
situation we find ourselves in more often than not.
I suggest that instead of spreading fear of non-compliance throughout the
Internet, that you investigate and disseminate what web masters must do to
ensure their web sites are accessible to everyone.
Sincerely,
Doris Fisher
Bellflower California
[log in to unmask]


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