I have a couple of thoughts to add to this otherwise excellent post.
First of all, if anyone is feeling that all this is intensely unfair,
sighted folk use these same judgment metrics with one another. As someone
who has taught both blind and sighted people how to write resumes and cover
letters, I cannot stress enough to anyone doing this that the appearance of
these documents is as important, perhaps more so, than the content. For an
HR person glancing through a batch of 50 resumes, anything that allows
him/her to reject a resume out of hand is a Godsend, so if it's sloppily put
together, into the circular file it goes unread and the HR person gets to
save a few minutes verifying references or scheduling an interview. Is that
fair?
Yes it is. The care that one takes in putting together a document of this
sort, or indeed any business communication reflects the care with which one
structures the content. The one acts as a proxy for the other in a
surprisingly tight relationship. I can bet that if a message here or a
document is carelessly put together, then it's almost certainly not worth my
finite time to read, no matter the subject. And that's true for sighted
people and blind.
Here on the list, we have a unique situation. This isn't quite a business
forum, though it partakes of some of the character of such a beast. It
isn't a personal chat place, though we do that too. So it's some weird,
hybrid beastie that has a culture of its own. That being said, clarity in
communication is still important, particularly as this appears to be a major
hub for people to find out about adaptive gaming, including sighted
developers. That being so, it would profit us all to write clearly and
correctly to the best of our abilities, and where those abilities are
lacking, to invest time and effort to improve them.
The consequences of failing to do so here are relatively light, you will get
ignored, and possibly mocked. The consequences of doing so out in the world
can make the difference between succeeding in getting a job, making a good
impression on a potential sweetie, or being an effective advocate for
accessibility in software or devices that you need or want to use.
I would suggest that the proofreading requirement be put back in the
guidelines, and let those who are offended by it go elsewhere. Goodness
knows there are plenty of places on the Internets where they will be
welcome.
Christopher Bartlett
---
Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org
If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org.
You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at
http://mail.audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org.
All messages are archived and can be searched and read at
http://www.mail-archive.com/gamers@audyssey.org.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list,
please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org.
