Did you really expect to pay a reduced rate for the blind, and then get 
  a couple of books in the process?  You should have paid the full fare 
and gotten whatever books, tote bags, or propeller hats they were giving 
away.

BTW, not a member, rarely read QST from NlS and care very little what 
goes on in Newington.

73, Steve KW3A

On 3/20/2012 6:03 PM, brian wrote:
> Hi this Brian n8mnx and this does not surprise me at all that Arrl is not
> interested in excessability.  Several years ago I RECEIVED ONE OF THOSE
> LETTERS ASKING ME TO JOIN AND THEY OFFERED A FREE BOOK OR IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
> 2 AND THERE WERE 6 BOOKS TO CHOOSE FROM BUT THE LETTER STATED THAT THE
> OFFEREXCLUDED THE BLIND NOW HOW'S THAT FOR DISCRIMINATION DON'T THEY KNOW
> THAT BLIND HAVE WAYS TO READ PRINT? wE HAVE OCR SOFTWHEAR AND READING
> MACHINES AND THERE ARE SERVICES THAT WILL TAPE OR BRAILLE FOR A NOMINAL FEE.
> tHE POINT IT IS THAT THEY DID NOT THINK THAT WE BLIND COULD READ ONE OF
> THERE BOOKS WE ALWAYS FIND WAYS TO GAIN ACCESS TO PRINT ARRL CHOULD KNOW
> BETTER OH THEY MAY NOTKNOW THE SPICIFICS OF OUR TECHNOLOGY BUT  THEY CHOULD
> KNOW THAT WE ARE VERY RESOURCFUL ENOUGH TO FIND A WAY TO READ THE BOOKS THAT
> WE WANT TO READ. I WILL NEVER BE AMEMBER OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT CHOOSES TO
> ENGAGE IN VERY DISCRIMINATIVE PRACTICES AND WHEN THEY SAY THATTHEY FIGHT FOR
> THE RIGHTS OF ALL HAM OPPERATORS THAT IS NOT QUITE TRUE WHAT THEY REALLY
> MEAN IS THAT IF YOUR SIGHTED THEN THEY WILL FIGHT FOR YOU BUT IF YOUR BLIND
> THAN THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU.  I USE TO GET QST FROM NLS BUT I DID NOT
> LIKE THE FACTTHAT I DID NOT GET THE ENTIRE TEXT OF THE PRINT ADDITION I MAY
> BE WILL TO PAY FOR AN ACCESSABLE VERSION BUT NOT FULL PRICE BECAUSE I WILL
> NOT BE ABLE TO SEE THE PHOTOS AND DIAGRAMS SO THE BLIND CHOULD BE GIVEN A
> DISCOUNT ON THE PRICE OF QST I WOULD RATHER PAY FOR QST IF I COULD GET THE
> ENTIRE TEXT OF THE PRINT ADDITION INSTEAD OF THE FREE VERSION FROM NLS THAT
> QUITE LIMITED.  I AM NOT A BIG FAND OF THE ARRL IF THEY EVER GET THEIR ACT
> TOGETHER THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL I THINK ABOUT JOINING THEM BUT FOR NOW NO
> TNX.  JUST SOME THOUGHTS FROM N8MNX 73
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Howard, W A 9 Y B W
> Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 2:31 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Digital QST And Accessibility
>
> Hi,
>
> Does anyone have any idea how many blind or visually impaired hams there are
> and how many are ARRL members?
>
> While this sounds drastic, should we consider a class action law suit if we
> could find an attorney who would pursue this.
>
> It seems it would be easier to fix this up-front rather than fix it later.
>
> Just my thoughts.
>
> 73's
>
> Howard #3
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Buddy Brannan"<[log in to unmask]>
> To:<[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 12:33 PM
> Subject: Digital QST And Accessibility
>
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> A fellow blind ham apparently spoke to someone at HQ recently to ask =
>> about the upcoming digital edition of QST. The person he spoke to seemed =
>> to indicate, according to Scott, that not only was the digital edition =
>> of QST not going to be accessible, but there were no plans to make it =
>> accessible.=20
>>
>> Needless to say, this is disappointing, if true.=20
>>
>> However, it's possible that there is a misunderstanding of the issues =
>> involved here. We of course don't want a special edition, or something =
>> like that. However, it seems to me that an online edition of QST could =
>> be inherently usable by blind members. There are, of course, formats =
>> that just don't work well (or at all) with screen access technology. The =
>> system that CQ Communications has chosen to implement, for instance, =
>> can't be used by screen readers. Your standard garden variety PDF, =
>> however, will read with most screen readers, assuming that the PDF isn't =
>> solely an image scan of a paper document.=20
>>
>> I would be interested to know what digital format the ARRL will be using =
>> for its electronic distribution. Knowing this will help determine =
>> whether or not I will be able to read it when it becomes available.=20
>>
>> While I wasn't on the call that I mentioned, I can tell you that my =
>> friend felt as though he was not valued as a member in good standing, =
>> that his membership was somehow less important because of his =
>> disability, perhaps that he was asking for something unreasonable. Bear =
>> in mind that, while we do get QST on tape from the Library of Congress, =
>> the issue comes about two months after the general public gets it. I, =
>> for one, would be willing to pay full freight for a membership that =
>> included a timely and accessible version of QST. However, if my =
>> membership as a blind ham is of no value to the League, perhaps i should =
>> rethink that. Note that I have no reason yet to believe that this is the =
>> case, but one of the staff's members has certainly left at least one =
>> member with this impression, not by the possible inaccessibility of the =
>> digital edition, but rather by the way the issue was handled. Or, =
>> rather, blown off.=20
>>
>> I would love to discuss this further. We can start with what format the =
>> digital edition will take and go from there.=20
>>
>> While I must admit to some disappointment that accessibility wasn't even =
>> considered when the decision was made to go digital, and, to my =
>> knowledge, no blind members were contacted to get any input on the =
>> issue, I would like to believe that this is something that can be =
>> considered now. Better late than never.
>>
>> Vy 73,
>> --
>> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
>> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
>
>
>