ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY by John M. Williams November 10, 1999
   Can Visually Impaired Surfers Get Around on Your Web Site?
   The National Federation of the Blind's lawsuit against AOL is drawing
   attention to accessible Web site design
   Several years ago, when I was discussing the possibility of building
   an online disability news service for America Online, I asked AOL,
   "Will you make the service accessible to blind and visually impaired
   people?" I was told, "Our marketing people don't see the market. But
   if you can convince the marketing people there is one, perhaps they
   might." I never met with the marketing people. But I warned the folks
   I was meeting with that if AOL didn't act to make their service
   accessible, they could face a lawsuit under the Americans with
   Disabilities Act.
   Last week, my clairvoyance proved correct. The National Federation of
   the Blind of Massachusetts and nine blind individuals filed suit
   against AOL in U.S. District Court in Boston. The NFB's suit alleges
   that AOL is violating title III of the ADA (P.L. 101-336) by designing
   its service so that it is incompatible with screen-access software for
   blind people. With 19 million subscribers, AOL is the world's largest
   Internet service provider.
   The suit asks the court to order AOL to make its service accessible to
   screen-access software. The suit contends AOL designed its proprietary
   software to be incompatible with screen-access programs and has failed
   to remove communication barriers, thus denying blind people
   independent service.
   Rich D'Amato, an AOL spokesman, says the company is "in the
   development process of making AOL accessible to blind people, and the
   software will be ready next year." He added: "Making AOL accessible to
   blind people is a high priority for the corporation, and making AOL
   accessible is doing the right thing."
   UNLABELED GRAPHICS: BAD. Blind people use screen-access software to
   monitor the computer screen and convert text into synthesized speech
   or into Braille on a device known as a refreshable Braille display.
   For screen access to be successful, the commercial software must
   provide text labels for all graphics, must be able to define the
   content with a cursor, must permit keyboard access to all functions,
   and must rely on standard Windows controls, such as dialog boxes, list
   boxes, edit boxes. These are the pull-down menus of user options at
   the top and bottom of your computer screen.
   Here's the problem: AOL uses proprietary software employing unlabeled
   graphics. These are commands that can be activated only by using a
   mouse to click on AOL's on-screen controls, and custom controls
   painted on the computer screen. Screen-access programs don't read
   unlabeled graphics. Nor do they provide an effective way to manipulate
   a mouse pointer, or read or activate nonstandard custom controls
   painted on the screen.
   The NFB has a checklist of technical requirements for the programs
   that blind users rely on to work. Here's what the organization
   recommends to ensure that your Web site is accessible for blind
   persons:
   1. Avoid multicolumn presentations or tables. Most access technology
   for blind people reads across the screen, one entire line at a time,
   turning multiple columns into abstract poetry.
   2. When encoding hypertext links on your Web page -- those highlighted
   words or phrases that take you to another Web page when you click on
   them -- include enough words in the link so it can stand alone. If a
   blind computer user encounters a link that reads "click here," "this,"
   or "click this," it's difficult for the software to comprehend. A word
   or phrase that describes the purpose of the link is more helpful.
   Instead of saying "You can find out about our exciting offer -- simply
   click here," say something like "Check out our EXCITING OFFER!"
   3. Adjacent hypertext links should also be separated. If two adjacent
   links are too close or separated only by a carriage return, some
   screen access programs will incorrectly treat these as a single link
   and thereby provide the blind user with bad information. Blank
   characters, images, or bullets are fine; just don't place spaces next
   to a carriage return.
   4. Include an alternative, short text description for all images that
   appear on your Web page. This is essential if a blind person is to
   learn the meaning of a graphical object that can't be seen with a
   screen-access system. Blind users often turn off the graphics on their
   Web browsers. Unless an alternative text description is provided,
   there's be no way for the graphical object to be detected.
   5. For simple images, avoid a long text description, e.g.,
   alt="Bulleted item," which clutters the screen and generates excessive
   verbiage when a speech-based screen reading system is used. It is
   better to use bulleted lists (the <UL> code in HTML) or simple
   elements to indicate bullets like the asterisk or small letter "o."
   These are good alternative text choices in the <img src... > code, but
   remember to always include one space after the character you choose
   (e.g., ALT="* " or ALT= "o ").
   6. Avoid using images as hypertext links, to send users to other Web
   pages. If a blind person is using a text-only browser or if graphics
   are turned off, the link won't be detected. If you must use an image
   as a hypertext link, include a separate text file to give a
   description and/or transcript of the image.
   7. If image maps (ISMAP) are present on your Web pages, for example, a
   map of Virginia that you can click on to get information about
   different parts of the state, always provide an alternative means for
   selecting the places contained within the maps, placing them in text
   directly above or below the image map. Be sure to include instructions
   for the blind user. Image maps can't be used with text-only browsers.
   8. If documents must be provided in a specialized format -- for
   example, graphically based file formats such as a chart -- provide the
   equivalent text file in HTML or plain text format. Some Web sites are
   introducing special data structures, or providing special functions
   not available with typical Web browsing software. Often, the only way
   to view these custom data is with special viewers. As a rule,
   standard-access tools for the blind don't work with special viewers.
   9. Provide an optional e-mail address for users to submit required
   information as an alternative to using forms. Most forms aren't a
   problem for blind people using browsers such as Lynx for Unix and
   Internet Explorer for Windows. For some users, however, filling out
   forms that have been sent to them via e-mail is easier to do than
   filling out a form through a Web browser.
   10. Provide an alternative text description for Java APPLETs, the
   programs that drive many of the animated graphics you currently see on
   Web sites. Java APPLETs are difficult for blind people to use,
   particularly when graphics has been turned off. For example, if you
   use a Java APPLET to display an animated object, there's no way for
   the blind person to know that you have done so.
   11. If your page is designed using HTML frames, creating windows of
   information inside the Web page, then consider including an
   alternative layout within a NOFRAMES element. The text-based browsers
   favored by many blind users lack the ability to process HTML frames.
   Even if you have access to a browser that can handle frames,
   navigating through frames with screen access technology is
   time-consuming.
   The technology exists to redesign the AOL Internet service so blind
   people can have access. Microsoft, AT&T, and Mindspring all currently
   use access technology for blind users. The NFB says there are more
   than 600,000 blind people and more 8 million visually impaired people
   in the U.S. These are large numbers. Worldwide, the numbers of blind
   and visually impaired people reach into the hundreds of millions.
   AOL has said that its company programmers are working on new software
   that will allow visually impaired computer users to access AOL next
   year. But I still wonder: Why is it taking so long for AOL to make its
   Internet service accessible to visually impaired computer users? As
   the leading ISP in the world, why didn't AOL take the initiative on
   its own to provide access to its service for blind people from the
   start? Why did it have to come to a lawsuit?
   The NFB says it doesn't have any other ISPs in its sights for a
   lawsuit. But which is sounder business policy -- to spend money
   defending the company against lawsuits, or to design your company's
   Web site so that the disabled can access it. Nine times out of 10, the
   second option will cost far less money.
   The numbers and market are there to make the Net accessible to all
   people, including those with disabilities. It's about time common
   sense and good business practices prevail in the accessibility market.
   Here are some relevant Web sites that can help you in designing an
   accessible Web site:
   http://www.trace.wisc.edu/docs/html_guidelines/htmlgide.htm;
   http://www.w3.org/wai/references;
   and http://www.cast.org/bobby


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