I would suggest continuing to file complaints and go ahead and contact
the developers of the SW you're using as well. Working with an advocacy
group could also help. Google and Blackboard have both improved their
accessibility due to complaints from blind users at educational
institutions and small businesses.

On 04/10/12 14:48, Ana G wrote:
> Lisa,
> 
> I've had the same experience you have. Many websites are hard to work
> with because of Flash. Occasionally the whole site is inaccessible. More
> often, only parts of the site are. Unfortunately, the problem may be the
> area I'm interested in reading. Using Skweezer and the mobile versions
> of the sites is an alternative, but many sites don't have mobile
> versions, and the Skweezer version often includes a message like: "To
> use all features of this site, you need to visit the full version."
> 
> What's especially frustrating for me is that this is an even bigger
> problem for work related sites. At one of my jobs, Impact 360, an
> employee website used for many routine tasks like weekly schedules and
> time off requests, is minimally accessible. I can do maybe 20% of the
> tasks I'm supposed to. At all three jobs, the web based training suite,
> which we use once or twice a year, is absolutely and completely
> inaccessible, and at all three jobs, parts of the other interfaces I'm
> expected to use regularly have a small number of Flash related
> accessibility issues. for example, I tend to lose focus about once every
> thirty seconds on all websites, and at one of my teaching jobs, I need
> to follow six or seven steps in order to access my rosters and post
> grades, but need sighted assistance for the last step, which is checking
> a box the screen reader doesn't detect. Since these suites are developed
> by large companies and sold to institutions and businesses, clicking the
> Contact Us link takes me to the local webmaster for the school or
> business, not to the people who develop the suite. I don't know for
> sure, but I suspect my complaints don't get forwarded because the local
> webmaster figures I'm a lone voice, one of a handful of blind peple with
> a job. I'm bothered by the fact that equal access hasn't made its way to
> software and professional websites. I'm not the only blind person with a
> job.
> 
> I've also heard that Flash alternatives will be developed. the Mac
> doesn't support it and neither do many mobile platforms. This makes life
> difficult for a lot of people, not just us. But I've heard the Flash
> alternative rumor for a couple of years, and I don't notice any changes
> at the work place. In fact, the version of Impact 360 we were using a
> year ago, when I started that job, was much more accessible than the new
> version, implemented earlier this summer. With the old version, I could
> do 50% or so of the things I needed to do. Now even checking my weekly
> schedule is slow, tedious, and buggy.
> 
> I guess the moral of the story is that we just have to wait for the
> magical Flash alternative.
> 
> Ciao
> 
> 
>    VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
> Archived on the World Wide Web at
>    http://listserv.icors.org/archives/vicug-l.html
>    Signoff: [log in to unmask]
>    Subscribe: [log in to unmask]

-- 
Christopher (CJ)
chaltain at Gmail


    VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
Archived on the World Wide Web at
    http://listserv.icors.org/archives/vicug-l.html
    Signoff: [log in to unmask]
    Subscribe: [log in to unmask]