You didn't gain me as a supporter, David. I have been one of yours for a while. Strive on, David, strive on -- and many blessings to your efforts. Most naysayers seem to have too much time on their hands and don't seem to focus much on positivity in their lives unless it benefits them personally. What is sewn is what is reaped, though. Call it biblical, call it Karma, call it ridiculous. But I'll just call it. It happens. So, you Sir, strive on towards making the world (wide web) a more accessible place. I thank you for your efforts.
Sincerely,
Everett
-----Original Message-----
I initially was not going to respond to the individuals who not only
didn't feel they would benefit from what I'm trying to do but to those
who actually are trying to discourage me from this advocacy. I assure
you that this will be my first and last response. It may generate some
sympathizers but it likely won't gain me many supporters. I don't care.
I am frankly amazed at the individuals who almost seem to have contempt
regarding my wish to work with one of the top antivirus programs in this
industry and make it accessible. Suppose that Microsoft Office, which
many consider to be the best office suite, was not very accessible and
Microsoft didn't seem to care, a scenario which I'm sure we all agree,
is thankfully not the case. If one of you were trying to work with them
to make it work with your screen reader, how would you feel if I said,
Oh, just use LibreOffice or OpenOffice and count your losses. When your
beloved iPhones no longer work with your favorite chat apps or your
precious games you wouldn't hesitate to write to the developer and
report bugs. You would expect your accessibility issues to be resolved
and resolved quickly. If the developer doesn't listen you won't hesitate
to send them tweets, emails and petitions until your favorite game gets
fixed. Oh, and don't give me this nonsense about Kaspersky being in
Russia to justify your contempt. How convenient for you that Apple,
Microsoft, Amazon and Google are all located in the United States. You
know bloody well that if Apple was located in Moscow, rather than
Cupertino, you wouldn't hesitate to scream at them as loudly as you do
now when their accessibility falls short, and well you should. You
demand that your phones and tablets work with the latest apps which
sometimes do nothing but provide entertainment but yet some of you are
so willing to put up with substandard and barely adequate solutions for
keeping your precious computers safe. I just can't wrap my head around
some of the reactions I'm reading from this as well as another list
regarding what I'm trying to do. Blind people are so good about
expecting and demanding access to every program, facility and service,
which is admirable and commendable. Yet, when it comes to computer
security, some of you are not only complacent but you have the audacity
and gall to actually discourage someone from engaging in the very
advocacy you yourself engage in when something you want is denied to
you. It's shameful. Look, I'm all for consumer choice. If some of you
want to use Windows Defender and if that solution makes you happy then,
by all means, do so. I won't stop you or stand in your way. There are
those who engage in advocacy in areas that I may not be able or willing
to assist but I at least support that person for trying to do some good
which will benefit not only that person but the community as well.
I also realize that the individual to whom I initially responded wrote
to me offlist. If any of you wants to tell me that I should stop or that
I'm wasting my time I can't stop you from expressing yourselves on this
list but refrain from sending your discouraging and useless emails
privately to me in my inbox. I won't respond and I'll just block you as
I don't have the time for it.
David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist Feel free to visit my
Web site WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info
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