Ubuntu on a dial up modem with Lynx (RE: PDF accessibility guidelines. WAS: Re: PDF's and Signatures)

Olaf Drümmer wrote:
>
> May I propose to move this discussion:
>
> On 27 Jan 2015, at 20:23, accessys@smart.net wrote:
>
> > can j, doe using ubuntu on a dial up modem read the document in say
> lynx?
>
> into a separate thread?

Done.

I reject that entire line of discussion as one related to 'accessibility'.

Is it related to technology, and regionalization, and equal access to all?
Possibly, but only to the extent that the capability and tools do not exist
to improve the end user experience. If everyone in the village is restricted
to dial-up, then they share the same (poor) user-experience, whether
disabled or not. If the disabled person on the other hand refuses to stay
up-to-date, claiming preference or cost, then that is their choice - it is
not one being imposed by society at large.

I strongly believe in, and support, the idea of "The Social Contract", which
simply put states that while developers have a responsibility to keep up
with the Best Practices and techniques for creating accessible content, it
is the end-user's responsibility to use the most current tools available to
them.

Yes, Ubuntu continues to evolve - but Lynx? Not so much.

Here in California, as you prepare to enter onto a freeway, there is a sign
that explicitly states that you cannot access that highway using pedal
bikes, horse and buggy, walking/skateboarding/rollerblading, etc. In other
words, if you want to use that freeway, you must be using the correct mode
of transportation that the freeway was designed for.

Further, that restriction is not put on *only* persons with disabilities, it
exists for all users. It doesn't say that Mr. Horse-and-Buggy person cannot
use *all roads*, just freeways. If you insist upon using a text-only browser
on the internet today, then please, do not also expect that you can use the
"internet freeways", or worse that those freeways should somehow not be
"allowed" for fear that the horse-and-buggy crowd will feel slighted,
rejected, or (god forbid) discriminated against.

Nope, sorry. In 2014, if you want to fully realize the advances of the
internet, which in 2014 is significantly more than just "reading documents"
- it's now a fully functioning application platform - you need to use
appropriately capable tools to do so. Lynx is no longer a full feature
browser: choosing to use that tool remains your option, but if you are
unhappy with its performance blame that tool, and not the content.

That may not be popular with all, but it is the cold splash of reality that
some in the disability communities sometimes require.

JF

(bracing for the backlash)

Received on Tuesday, 27 January 2015 20:34:11 UTC