Re: washingtonpost.com 'Talking' Tax Forms For Blind Developed.htm

What they have done is seg way but in a different direction.  They had
placed some html forms on the site before they had their current
*solution* in place, but as you observed, those html forms seem not to
be there any more and the article pretty much tells the story.

Reading the snip you provide below, it is apparent that they are staying
the course of pdf and that the html wsa only a temporary stop gap
measure.  Using two separate front ends might be considered to be a
support nightmare.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joel Ward" <ward_joel@bah.com>
To: "WAI List" <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Sent: Friday, August 30, 2002 9:39 AM
Subject: Re: washingtonpost.com 'Talking' Tax Forms For Blind
Developed.htm



> easy answer to your last question, that is what the decided to do
years
> ago so rather than find a real solution they decided to cludge.  Html
> would have been vastly superior and there are many other things they
> could have done and can do, but dispite frequent pounding on them,
they
> like some other agencies have stayed a particular course for what ever
> reasons but the bottom line is that the consumer looses in the end.
The
> gains in this case apparently are the same forms can be served to all
> and pdf is their favorite route so they can still use it.  They have a
> lot of money tied up in it apparently.

Could they provide both a PDF forms and HTML forms to cover all the
bases?
And both would integrate into the same back-end system?

Maybe they do?

Maybe they're going that way?

Standard web forms would no only help assistive technology users, but
also
text browser users, PDA users, WebTV users, and anyone else who can't
run
Acrobat.

BTW, I found this on the IRS web site's accessibility page:
http://www.irs.gov/accessibility/display/0,,i1%3D43%26genericId%3D10167,
00.h
tml

<snippet>
Persons using screen-reading devices, who generally cannot directly read
documents in PDF format, will find a HTML version of many of the forms
and
the publications on the IRS site. Over the next several months, the IRS
plans to make all PDF files accessible. As new publications become
available
in Acrobat 5.0, which is 508 compliant, they will be posted on the site.

For information on Forms and Publications Accessibility:
The IRS Alternative Media Center has prepared hundreds of its most
popular
tax forms, instructions, and tax publications using full text
descriptions
where needed and is making these files available for download through
the
IRS web site. Adobe Acrobat PDF format has been used as a means of
distributing government forms as well as other documents.
</snippet>

BTW, I checked their forms section and selected a few forms to see what
formats they had available.  Of the dozen I selected, none had any other
formats than PDF.  Where are the HTML versions they speak of?

Even the "list of forms you can fill-in using your computer" are all
PDFs.

I guess the eFile program offers some forms online.  But none are
through
the IRS itself, and some cost money.  Maybe that's why the IRS is
reluctant?

Received on Friday, 30 August 2002 10:37:46 UTC