[Web4lib] Mailto: links that can't be harvested by spambots?

[Ross Singer]

I guess what keeps coming back to me is:

Is there any substance to this argument?  I know that screen readers
can have problems with AJAX, but is it true that screen readers turn
off javascript?

JAWS says it can deal with javascript just fine:
http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_support/BulletinView.cfm?QC=565

These aren't mutually exclusive, you can have accessible javascript.

-Ross.

On 2/19/07, Maurice York <maurice.york at emory.edu> wrote:
> Sorry, Ross. I've gotta disagree on that one. Huge swaths of parking lots
> and a good deal of public transportation conveyances don't work well for
> "these people" either, but the people with disabilities that I know don't
> like to resign themselves to disappointment any more than the rest of us.
>
> My general mode of operating: if you have two options for implementing
> something as accessible or not accessible, choose the accessible root. If
> there's no accessible option apparent, it's worth a little digging and
> research to see if there's an option you're missing. If there's still no
> accessible method, make sure that it degrades gracefully for the folks who
> have screen readers, or who have javascript turned off, etc, etc. Most
> importantly, know your audience. I'll use AJAX in a staff interface because
> I know the people using it have Firefox or IE with the bells and whistles
> turned on and don't use alternative devices for interpreting the screen (I
> also know they're not trying to use it on PDAs or cell phones, etc). I'm
> more reluctant to use it in a student interface, where the environment is
> much more open and unpredictable and the choice to use something flashy or
> convenient may mean that someone doesn't get their course materials today.
>
> Fundamentally, keeping accessibility in mind just leads to better design,
> whether I'm motivated by doing it for those with disabilities or not.
>
> -Maurice
>
> On 2/18/07, Ross Singer <ross.singer at library.gatech.edu> wrote:
> >
> > On 2/18/07, Tim Spalding <tim at librarything.com> wrote:
> >
> > > There is a slight drawback to JS techniques—they're not fully
> > > accessible. If the user has JS turned off, the links vanish. That's
> >
> > Of course huge swaths of the internets don't work for these people, as
> > well, so they have somehow learned to cope with disappointment.
> >
> > Basically, I wouldn't let this argument deter anyone.
> >
> > -Ross.
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
>
>
>
> --
> ************************************
> Maurice York
> Team Leader, Circulation and E-Learning Services
> Woodruff Library
> Emory University
> Atlanta, GA 30322
> mcyork at emory.edu
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