I wouldn't exactly call their statement "honest". THe first part of their statement is actually a bold faced lie. The tools are very available to make their app accessible. the second half is more a statement of intent than anything else. Its more likely that they never considered use by the blind and are now being forced to admit to it (in a roundabout fashion). btw, I haven't sent that letter yet. I was hoping to see more responses on this before I did so.
-eric On Feb 20, 2016, at 6:40 AM, rajmund wrote: > Hi, > LOL, least they were honest, and didn't just say, "Will do it in the next > update." > > Sent from a BrailleNote > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Eric Oyen <[email protected] > To: [email protected] > Date sent: Fri, 19 Feb 2016 10:54:38 -0700 > Subject: Re: Unacceptable Response from Issuu Support Team Regarding > VoiceOverAccessibility > > here is a copy of a letter that I propose sending to this company. Might I > also suggest hitting up their ratings area on the app store and posting a 0 > star rating with a list of complaints. the more that show up there, the > greater their incentive to change their attitude (and development cycle). > Also, for anyone using the Android version of this app, doing the same on the > android store should also have a similar impact. SOmeone could also start a > change.org petition. The more attention that is brought to bear on this, the > more likely it is that they will be forced to deal with this.. > > here is the letter: > > *** > Gentlemen, > I recently read a response you sent another user about accessibility (or the > lack of it) in your application platform. I would also like to be able to > use your platform, but find that none of the controls or options are > accessible. Considering that apple published (free of charge mind you) their > API on how to interface with their screen reader, there is no excuse for your > lack of accessibility. In fact, your statement: " > > Unfortunately we don't have a way for those with visual impairments to use > screen reading technology or have a way to make our site accessible at this > time. We also haven't been informed of any plans to add that functionality > any time soon." > > I must point out that your statement above is a slap in the face of any blind > user who may have to depend on your application to read specific > publications. Also, as you do business in the US and contract with public > institutions (schools, colleges, etc.), you are required to abide by the > terms of the US AMericans with Disabilities act (as amended 1996). I am only > pointing this out to you to bring to your attention that someone else might > decide your wallet would make a tempting target. This is not a threat, this > is advice you really should heed. Now, the way I see it, you don't have any > choice. THere is already a push on to get other blind users to write in and > hit you u up on this issue. Considering the number of blindness related > blogs, email lists and social pages (on Facebook and other social media), > this means you might be forced to deal with this sooner (rather than later). > > FYI, data regarding accessibility on iOS is available here: > https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UserExperie > nce/Conceptual/iPhoneAccessibility/Making_Application_Accessible/ > Making_Application_Accessible.html > > please do not do me the disservice of sending a response like the one quoted > above. Might I suggest that you change your plans now, while you still can. > Considering the number of blind iPhone users (at last count, somewhere north > of 6 million or so), I would hate for you to have to drop everything to start > dealing with 6 million angry blind people. so, your direction is now clear. > take the steps (now) to make your product accessible. > > thank you, > > Eric Oyen > *** > > > > On Feb 19, 2016, at 8:31 AM, Christine Grassman wrote: > > > Dear All: > > Issuu is an app which provides access to millions of magazines, newsletters, > etc., on virtually any topic you can think of. My son, who is also a > VoiceOver user, wanted to access his high school's newspaper which is on the > platform. However, it is in an image pdf. Furthermore, trying to get around > the app is nightmarish, and it does not appear that any of the available > resources is accessible. > I wrote to their support center, and this is the response I received. My > response to that unhelpful response is first, with the response in the > middle, with my original message at the bottom. I think this is absolutely > something which should be available to those who use screen readers. If > others agree, I think we should bombard them with requests to make their > platform accessible. > Christine > > > Begin forwarded message: > > From: "Christine Grassman (issuu Support Team)" <[email protected] > Subject: Update from issuu Support Re: Poor VoiceOver accessibility > Date: February 19, 2016 at 10:16:27 AM EST > To: Christine Grassman <[email protected] > Reply-To: issuu Support Team <[email protected] > > ## Please do not write below this line ## > > > Christine Grassman > Feb 19, 16:16 > > With all due respect, there is no excuse for this. Apple makes available to > developers, free of charge, guidelines for making apps accessible. There's > absolutely no reason not to do this. > Christine > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > Angel (Help Center) > Feb 19, 11:51 > > Hi Christine, > > Unfortunately we don't have a way for those with visual impairments to use > screen reading technology or have a way to make our site accessible at this > time. We also haven't been informed of any plans to add that functionality > any time soon. I'm so very sorry about that. > > If we do introduce this functionality at any point, we will put up an > announcement on our blog (blog.issuu.com) and on our help center > (help.issuu.com), so please do keep checking these places for updates. > > Please don't hesitate to write back if you have any other questions, and we'd > be happy to assist you. > > Best regards, > Angel > > issuu is on iOS and Android. > > To learn more about issuu, please visit our Help Center. > > > > > Christine Grassman > Feb 15, 22:42 > > I am blind, as are my children. We use iPhones with VoiceOver accessibility > to access text. I am deeply disappointed that Issuu is not voiceover > accessible. Only some features are accessible, and one cannot find and read > magazines. In this day and age, this is unacceptable. Information should be > accessible to us just as to others. > There is no reason why the text of your millions of publications should not > be accessible using a screen reader. I hope that you will address this as > quickly as possible. > Christine Grassman > > Sent from my iPhone > > > This email is a service from Help Center. Delivered by Zendesk. > [J5P6X7-GL7J] > > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor and your owner is Cara Quinn - > you can reach Cara at [email protected] > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor and your owner is Cara Quinn - > you can reach Cara at [email protected] > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor and your owner is Cara Quinn - > you can reach Cara at [email protected] > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
