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

[Ross Singer]

Since speculation on what screen readers do in these cases gets us
nowhere, I installed Fangs [1] (in the interest of science) and looked
at our contact pages [2] (this is somewhat academic, since we provide
mailtos and forms, but it still works for the purposes of this
argument).

On the page:
http://www.library.gatech.edu/email_form.php?type=user&id=181&return=staff_directory

my email address is created via javascript on page render.

Fangs claims the page looks like:
...ugly screen reader rendering snipped to get to the part that matters...

Recipient colon Ross Singer Mailto colon Link ross.singer at
library.gatech.edu Or submit via form

...snip...

It appears that screen readers take the rendered source.

[1] http://fangs.sourceforge.net
[2] http://www.library.gatech.edu/staff_directory.php

-Ross.

On 2/19/07, Ross Singer <ross.singer at library.gatech.edu> wrote:
> 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.
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Web4lib mailing list
> > > Web4lib at webjunction.org
> > > http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > ************************************
> > Maurice York
> > Team Leader, Circulation and E-Learning Services
> > Woodruff Library
> > Emory University
> > Atlanta, GA 30322
> > mcyork at emory.edu
> > _______________________________________________
> > Web4lib mailing list
> > Web4lib at webjunction.org
> > http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
> >
> >
>