Negoslav explains how a lack of accessibility on government websites may mean blind screen reader users can’t access critical documents.
Thanks to Fable for sponsoring the transcript for this episode.
Transcript
Nic
Hi, I’m Nic Steenhout. And you’re listening to the accessibility rules soundbite, a series of short podcasts where disabled people explain their impairment, and what barriers they encountered on the web. Just a reminder that transcripts are available for all episodes at the time of publication from my website at http://a11yrules.com. I want to take the time to thank Fable for sponsoring this episode. Fable is a leading accessibility platform. They are powered by disabled people. Fable moves organizations from worrying about compliance to building incredible and accessible user experiences. They do this through product testing and custom courses. You can learn more about how Fable can work with your team at http://makeitfable.com/nic. Today I’m talking with Negoslav Sabev. Hi, Negoslav, how are you?
Negoslav
Hi Nic, I’m fine, thank you.
Nic
We’ve been interacting on Twitter on enough for for a while. And finally we connected. So thank you for for willing to come and chat with me about the barriers you experience on the web.
Negoslav
Thank you for the invitation.
Nic
You know by now my first question is what’s your disability or your impairments? So can you tell us a little bit more about that?
Negoslav
I’m blind. I was born with glaucoma. And through a series of operations. Finally, I reached here. So since 2001, I’m totally blind. And I’m using computers and other electronic devices since 2003.
Nic
What’s your favorite screen reader?
Negoslav
Oh, it’s it’s different experience on different devices. So it’s hard to say to tell that on Windows, I mostly use JAWS because I’m doing a lot of text editing. I also use NVDA, for reasons. And on iOS device. So you know that there is only one screen reader and that’s quite sober. So I use them.
Nic
Thank you. What would you say your greatest barrier or your biggest pet peeve is when you’re using the internet.
Negoslav
Sometimes I feel that the developers and teams that are working on websites are trying to hide… trying to hide something from me and try to lock me out. What I mean is that sometimes text that should be heading is not a heading and just a big and bolded text. Sometimes there’s a CAPTCHA that I have to solve. And it’s not accessible at all. Even it has no alternative. Or the audio that is playing as an alternative is so bad that I can hardly hear it, even though I have very good hearing abilities. And I can give some examples. Last year, I was trying to get documents from the Ministry of Justice that I’m not been I have not been judged. And it I went to the website, I filled the form, I paid the tax to get this document and the document was in electronic format. And I had to open a link to to see it. But when I get got there and open the link, there was a CAPTCHA that had no alternative that even the screen reader couldn’t see as a picture.
Nic
Wow.
Negoslav
So I was locked out and never saw this document and I was contacting the people that were working there some government agencies but unfortunately, no result and sometimes accessibility work is happening so slowly. That it’s so bad. It’s so bad. I read today someone who was tweeting. “I want it all, I want it now. But step by step.”
Nic
Yes. And so what you’re describing is an experience where it’s not just a small barrier, it’s not just something that’s annoying. It’s not that you can’t order something on an online shopping platform, it really is that you aren’t able to get critical government documents because they’re creating barriers for you.
Negoslav
Yes, unfortunately, there are many other examples, I can give that somehow a content is hidden, I had such an experience, while trying to enter a pin that was presented in a totally inaccessible way no screen reader could see where I should, should press with the mouse or something else. The keyboard wasn’t working, or there’s something like pressing a button, and content is somewhere on the window. And I have to, to look through it thoroughly to see to see what’s there and to interact with it.
Nic
If you had one message for designers or developers, what would that message be?
Negoslav
Maybe to be more open minded for different users with different abilities or different needs. Because for some people, reaching to something, reading something or interacting with something that is inaccessible is essential to do. But they cannot enough because they are stupid, not because they are unable to do this not because they are incompetent, just because the technology is preventing them from doing this or not. Not exactly the technology. But the way technologies are implemented
Nic
I like this. It’s not the user who’s incompetent. It’s the designer and the developer who didn’t do the job correctly.
Negoslav
Yes, and that makes things hard, but they could be much easier.
Nic
Negoslav Sabev. Thank you for sharing your insight that’s been actually really, really powerful for me. So thank you, and we’ll see you around on the web.
Negoslav
Thank you, Nic.