tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post2619317500686791338..comments2024-03-28T16:52:31.923-04:00Comments on The Write Conversation: Is Your Blog Accessible to the Visually Impaired?Edie Melsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03902312441667526147noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-57751405115795490932012-11-12T08:29:29.954-05:002012-11-12T08:29:29.954-05:00I am a volunteer for a local charity working with ...I am a volunteer for a local charity working with the visually impaired people. Has anybody got any help or advice they can offer to help me; and do they know any good computer hardware and software that is suitable.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-41431659195931505542012-07-20T08:44:22.456-04:002012-07-20T08:44:22.456-04:00Thanks, Edie. Very helpful and I am glad you broug...Thanks, Edie. Very helpful and I am glad you brought it to the forefront.<br /><br />Can't wait to check my color choices<br /><br />JeanneJeanne Doyonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11923480005203742273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-13798192450324006442012-07-16T15:44:44.301-04:002012-07-16T15:44:44.301-04:00Valerie, Thank you for chiming in. I appreciate yo...Valerie, Thank you for chiming in. I appreciate your feedback and confirmation. Blessings, EEdie Melsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902312441667526147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-12202836980935449872012-07-16T15:44:00.915-04:002012-07-16T15:44:00.915-04:00Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to c...Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Blessings, EEdie Melsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902312441667526147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-89380750495994331792012-07-16T15:43:31.864-04:002012-07-16T15:43:31.864-04:00Dave, thank you so much for your input and your co...Dave, thank you so much for your input and your confirmation on what I've done so far. It means a great deal. Thanks also for reminding us about the rotating banners. Blessings, EEdie Melsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902312441667526147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-3290103659058826842012-07-16T12:43:56.978-04:002012-07-16T12:43:56.978-04:00Thank you, Edie. You had things to teach me, even ...Thank you, Edie. You had things to teach me, even though I have poor eyesight and am more tuned to these types of problems than many people.Valerie Comerhttp://valeriecomer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-8405159065820457212012-07-16T09:09:54.145-04:002012-07-16T09:09:54.145-04:00Thank you thank you thank you! Some wonderful sug...Thank you thank you thank you! Some wonderful suggestions here. I appreciate it very much and will share it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-5840887561357014602012-07-15T15:01:46.367-04:002012-07-15T15:01:46.367-04:00Hi,
Thank you for digging in and going the extra ...Hi,<br /><br />Thank you for digging in and going the extra distance to make your blog more accessible. I am blind, and your observations are pretty right on.<br /><br />You're right about the word verification issue. This is a huge topic with only a few clumsy solutions for us. You may have seen an audible option if the visitor wants to skip the graphic image verification, but these are almost always a joke. You should try listening to one of them sometime!<br /><br />FYI, Edie, I had no trouble accessing your blog and entering this comment. Oh, another item sometimes causing problems are banners or any kind of rotating/moving part of the screen. These kind of things drive our screen reader software crazy, and can often make a site inaccessible.<br /><br />Thanks again for your thoughtfulness!<br /><br />Please, feel free to drop me a note if you, or anyone, would like to discuss this some more. Contact me at: dab007@comcast.net<br /><br />Dave Bond<br />www.authordavidbond.comDavehttp://www.authordavidbond.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-81639375539164373082012-07-13T14:28:40.112-04:002012-07-13T14:28:40.112-04:00Dianne, thanks for stopping by and thanks especial...Dianne, thanks for stopping by and thanks especially for the shout out on Facebook! Blessings, EEdie Melsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902312441667526147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-11521006600195151442012-07-13T08:27:22.675-04:002012-07-13T08:27:22.675-04:00Edie, I've never thought about this! Thank you...Edie, I've never thought about this! Thank you so much!<br /><br />Blessings!<br />DianneDianne Guthmullerhttp://dianneguthmuller.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-32389654210191424992012-07-11T14:35:53.025-04:002012-07-11T14:35:53.025-04:00Susan, thanks for stopping by. I know you and I ar...Susan, thanks for stopping by. I know you and I are both on a crusade to make blogs and blogging more accessible in many ways. I keep referring folks to your www.blogmamsusan.blogspot.com site. It has so many valuable resources. Blessings, EEdie Melsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902312441667526147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-72647403916018343302012-07-11T14:34:14.756-04:002012-07-11T14:34:14.756-04:00Kim thank you for your kind comments. I'm so g...Kim thank you for your kind comments. I'm so glad to have connected with you through Susan Stilwell's blog. You are an amazing woman and have so much wisdom to share! Blessings, EdieEdie Melsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902312441667526147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-37064926031294356862012-07-11T12:15:22.797-04:002012-07-11T12:15:22.797-04:00These are great, Edie. Helping Jamie has made me r...These are great, Edie. Helping Jamie has made me re-think a lot of things, and not just blogging.<br /><br />Thanks for the instruction on fonts and colors. Can't stress those enough :)Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04823919278259760743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-58254625082145902112012-07-10T22:29:26.472-04:002012-07-10T22:29:26.472-04:00Edie, Thanks so much for this insightful blog post...Edie, Thanks so much for this insightful blog post. I am forwarding your post to my coworkers, as we are in the process of developing a blog. Plus, I am in the process of reformatting my personal blogs...so the timing was great. Thanks again!Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15396309591269376813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-13593680331107564282012-07-10T22:22:40.282-04:002012-07-10T22:22:40.282-04:00Karen, thanks so much for your tips! I plugged &qu...Karen, thanks so much for your tips! I plugged "WAVE" into my sight and have a long list of things to work on. I debated on mentioning it in the body of the post, but worried about overwhelming folks with too much to do all at once. I was hoping someone else would bring it up. I appreciate you dropping by and giving us more tips. Blessings, EEdie Melsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902312441667526147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-83592596508146299292012-07-10T21:59:48.158-04:002012-07-10T21:59:48.158-04:00Edie - I'm a software developer by day (author...Edie - I'm a software developer by day (author by night) and ADA Compliance is a huge concern that many companies are behind in. One of the things I learned at work is that gray text is extremely difficult for partially visually impaired to read.<br /><br />Also, if you use Fire Fox, there is a plug in called "WAVE" that will show you errors and issues with the accessibility.<br /><br />One of the biggest things missed, and easiest to fix, is using "AltText" on all images on your site. It's easy to add it in Word Press when you add an image. It should be something meaningful (not Picture 1, but Woman Reading Book).<br /><br />Great post. Thanks so much for sharing!KarenBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13768324261471877556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-26274396363286291032012-07-10T15:45:13.474-04:002012-07-10T15:45:13.474-04:00Ellen, it never even crossed my mind until I met J...Ellen, it never even crossed my mind until I met Jamie. Thanks for stopping by! Blessings, EEdie Melsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902312441667526147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-82704108087677713682012-07-10T14:24:00.482-04:002012-07-10T14:24:00.482-04:00This never even occurred to me, Edie. Thanks for t...This never even occurred to me, Edie. Thanks for the information. I'll have to keep it on hand in order to make changes if need be.Ellen Andersenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05474986203062305511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-77009501585578626132012-07-10T13:06:03.331-04:002012-07-10T13:06:03.331-04:00Cathy just stopping by adds to the content! I appr...Cathy just stopping by adds to the content! I appreciate your chiming in about Jamie, too. I'm hoping she'll be back at Boot Camp in 2013. I also love visiting with her on the My Book Therapy bleacher chats. Thanks so much for chiming in. Blessings, EEdie Melsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902312441667526147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-46669010497899941592012-07-10T13:04:44.870-04:002012-07-10T13:04:44.870-04:00Thank you so much for stopping by! I'd love th...Thank you so much for stopping by! I'd love the opportunity to visit your site. You can email me with the link at ediegmelson (at) gmail (dot) com. <br /><br />I really appreciate the tip about music. I completely forgot that one. I'm glad fewer and fewer blogs nowadays have music that loads automatically when the site is accessed. That's a huge turnoff for me and I can only imagine how impossible it makes accessibility for you. <br /><br />Thanks again for stopping by, Blessings, EEdie Melsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902312441667526147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-40835221536730475112012-07-10T13:01:01.879-04:002012-07-10T13:01:01.879-04:00Alycia, thanks for stopping by! The stuff we need ...Alycia, thanks for stopping by! The stuff we need to do to be more accessible is a lot simpler than you might think. For me, it was learning I needed to do it in the first place. Blessings, EEdie Melsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03902312441667526147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-31244746325475128512012-07-10T12:40:49.638-04:002012-07-10T12:40:49.638-04:00All my sites and the ones I design for others are ...All my sites and the ones I design for others are on Blogger, even my personal site which doubles as a blog. Blogger's spam catcher is great and a huge help--but there for awhile I had a lot getting through. Bonnie (the great!) said they were still flying under the Blogger radar so they didn't get busted. Makes sense to me.<br /><br />I've found the frequency of spammer hits rise when there's no word verification BUT the comments themselves don't publish because Blogger catches them. That's the key there. Blogger DOES catch them, it's just keeping my eyes from bugging out or doing eye rolls at some of the things people try. LoL.<br /><br />That's great news that captions are viable options. Easier. =]<br /><br />Thanks so much, Edie!Patty Wysonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01689649950598288481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-46376143448946904372012-07-10T12:31:03.284-04:002012-07-10T12:31:03.284-04:00I can't add anything to your blog content, but...I can't add anything to your blog content, but I can second you on your thoughts about Jamie. She is an amazing young woman and writer. I met her earlier this year at Boot Camp Advance 2012 in Asheville, NC. She definitely blesses me.Cathy Biggerstaffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452262414188817271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-20751811331031987692012-07-10T11:53:23.884-04:002012-07-10T11:53:23.884-04:00Hey, Edie, thankyou for bringing up this awareness...Hey, Edie, thankyou for bringing up this awareness issue. One things that is an option is to make sure that one has an audible challenge, if one won't entirely do away with the word verification. Audio challenges don't always work, however.<br /><br />I have been a guest on many blogs that have this, and, though I am the guest, I can't participate because I can't get through this final barrier. In truth, those who follow blog stats say that one gets more legitimate comments without the verification.<br /><br />Without me realizing it, my web mistress put a word verification on my web form for contact. We are going to remove this if possible.<br /><br /><br />One more thing to suggest people look out for is music on sites. For those using screen readers--the comptuer talks; it's not dictation--music is a huge barrier. For me, when I get to a site with music, I move on to another site. Trying to hear my computer through the noise is just too annoying to deal with when I have a lot of other places I can go.Laurie Alice Eakeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06362132572312007135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2907737240492304428.post-69050240389211737482012-07-10T11:52:41.521-04:002012-07-10T11:52:41.521-04:00Wow Edie! What incredible insight! I will be looki...Wow Edie! What incredible insight! I will be looking at this and comparing it to my blog to figure out what I need to do differently. THANK YOU!Alycia Moraleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17437645525024387418noreply@blogger.com