Reprint of article published in the Computer Science Update Newsletter - Summer, 1997 Edition, a publication of the National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science
by Nancy Massey
Editor's note: My initial contact with Ms. Massey came about because of an inquiry she made to me regarding the use of Lynx,a text-only web browser. I was intrigued by the work that she was doing and asked her to write an article on the subject. Internet purists might argue that we do not today have full access to the Internet, but Ms. Massey's work in this area demonstrates a level of commitment and responsiveness which others in the field would do well to emulate. Curtis Chong
Three years ago in my home town of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I attended a convention sponsored by Microsoft. A local group on that agenda professed the idea that the Internet was the real future and spoke of an organization just being formed called LibertyNet. LibertyNet's mission was to bring Internet access to those who would not otherwise have it. That included nonprofit organizations, schools and other members of the community who could not afford computers. As I listened, I knew I was hearing about something that would be critical to my future. Little did I know at the time to what extent.
When LibertyNet went beta, they were offering accounts to a group of interested nonprofit organizations. As luck would have it, one of my clients was on the list, and I offered to be part of the beta test cycle. That was when I began to experience the frustrations of following an uncharted path to an unidentified location. But it was as amazing as it was frustrating. I soon discovered resources to astounding amounts of information. Using one of the few books available at the time, I began to learn HTML so that I could design home pages to put onto the Internet.
A little over two years ago, I was approached by Liberty Resources Inc., a center for independent living in Philadelphia. They asked if I would be interested in training their people in WordPerfect 5.1. The day before the first training session, I heard that there would be a blind user in the class. I knew that blind people could use computers, but this was my first experience with hands-on training. I told my contact at Liberty Resources that I had no experience in this area, but if they were willing to give me a try, I would handle the training as I always do -- letting the students tell me what they need.
The woman was using Vocal-Eyes, a speech output screen reading program for the Disk Operating System (DOS). I was amazed at the technology. Her training went very well, and I continued working with other Vocal-Eyes users, several with low vision. With a hearing-impaired trainee, I wore a voice amplifier.
It all amounted to a voyage of discovery for me. Through my work with Liberty Resources, I was introduced to adaptive technology. Since then I have installed and set up various types of adaptive technology hardware and software. Apart from professional enlightenment, the whole experience brought something else of value home to me. No matter our abilities, we all experience frustration and exhilaration in working with computers. But in the end, it is always worth the effort.
After completing my first web page and seeing it live, I went to the President of Liberty Resources, Fern Moskowitz, and talked to her about the Internet. She was as excited at the prospect of full accessibility as I, and with the sponsorship of LibertyNet, I began work on the Liberty Resources Inc. web site. The first blind person I had ever trained, Cecilia, became the point person for the project. We began our research. We would be using a DOS based computer and Vocal-Eyes.
First, we needed communications software. I did exhaustive searches, scanning over 5,000 use groups, struggling to find speech-friendly software. I finally came across an amazing group using Commo software, one of the few speech friendly programs on the market. I subscribed to the Commo mailing list and began to learn about this great product. After speaking with many users, I downloaded a trial copy of the program. I found that Commo had a powerful macro language that I knew I would be able to use to create logon macros, and I recommended Commo to Liberty Resources as their communication software.
We identified a blind computer consultant who had been using the Internet. He created a set file for us to use with Vocal-Eyes and Commo. But there were many problems, so it was back to the Internet for answers. I posted messages and looked for a solution. It was at that point that I read about Curtis Chong of the National Federation of the Blind. I e-mailed him and told him about the problems I was experiencing. He spoke to me about Lynx and the -show_cursor parameter, which would instruct Lynx to move the system cursor to any highlighted link. After much trial and error, I discovered that our ISP (Internet service provider) was not speech-accessible.
I went to LibertyNet's webmaster and technical director and discussed our problem in detail. Due to their server set up, it would mean changing the server configuration. After several conversations and further research, LibertyNet became one of the few fully accessible web servers on the Net. It was a crowning moment. This change would not only be available for Liberty Resources, but for all LibertyNet users. It paved the way for other blind users. There are now several groups with blind users enjoying Internet access through LibertyNet.
I found that Cecilia was still having trouble working from the prompt. Through my participation in the use groups I learned of a product called Internet in a Macro, available for use with Commo. It is a marvelous free macro available on the Internet, written by J.J. Meddaugh, a blind user and long-time proponent of Commo. The macro won't replace Lynx, but will let you connect to your favorite sites through a menu interface. I installed the macro and Cecilia began to surf in earnest.
After Cecilia was comfortable with general web surfing, she asked to begin using e-mail. I ordered a box, set up the mailing software used by LibertyNet (Pine), and adjusted the Vocal-Eyes set file, but it just wouldn't work. I went back to Curtis and told him what I was experiencing. He asked me if I had set the speech-friendly option in Pine. I discovered that the version of Pine being used by LibertyNet was an older version of Pine which was not speech-friendly. So, I researched Pine and found the version that was speech-friendly. I also found directions for updating to that version and went back to the techs at LibertyNet. Within days they had upgraded their server and Pine was finally speech-friendly.
The entire experience amounted to a tremendous first e-mail lesson for Cecilia and me. A few days later while checking my e-mail, there was a message from Cecilia. One small step for Cecilia, one giant leap for full accessibility.
Through this experience, I have learned a great deal about accessible web page design. As so little is written on the subject, I had to blaze my own trail. I have discovered that it takes very little effort to create an accessible web page. And, all I learned I applied to the Liberty Resources site to make it fully accessible. One great reward was learning that Liberty Resources Inc. was named Site of the Month for October, 1996, by LibertyNet -- and as it happens it occurred during Disability Awareness Month.
This past year has been a long and bumpy road into the unknown, but for each of us who takes the trip, we pave the way for those coming behind. Today there is an increasing amount of information available about Internet access, and there are some marvelous organizations and user lists available to help along this path.
I have been fortunate to be a part of this exciting time. I have watched those who thought they would never be able to use a computer surf the Internet and access the abundance of information on the web. I've seen them discover a whole new world. They can share the wonders of automation and e-mail. They can reach out to others with common interests, no matter where they are on the planet. They can enjoy unprecedented access to information through outstanding resources such as the Internet's Electric Library, a speech-friendly library on-line.
Through the aid of individuals known only to me by their e-mail addresses, through issue-sensitive organizations such as LibertyNet, and through the dedication of individual users like Cecilia, Liberty Resources Inc. has attained full Internet accessibility. What next? Now we know it can be done and we know what is available to make it happen. So it is imperative that each of us make the effort to ensure that everyone, regardless of financial status or ability, gain access to the Internet, the most powerful and exciting resource of our time.