Playing The PDF Lottery Game

Imagine that you’ve been given a scratch and win lottery ticket. Sometimes when you scratch it you might get a free ticket, $5.00 or maybe something larger. At first there’s the anticipation of winning some money, but more often than not, there’s nothing but disappointment when all is said and done.

Now imagine that you are someone with a disability who relies on assistive technology and you’ve just received a pdf file, or have gone to a website and the only option for a document you want to read is in pdf format. At first there’s the anticipation of being able to read this document just like any able bodied person, however when you open it and try to read it, it’s just like that lottery ticket, sometimes it’s 5% accessible, sometimes it’s 10% accessible but more often than not, there’s nothing accessible about it just disappointment and frustration.

That’s the way it is these days when it comes to the pdf format. People have read or heard that this format can be accessible, but the problem is that while it CAN be accessible, too many times it ISN’T.

That is not the way it should be. Even if pdf’s were totally accessible, that doesn’t mean that it should be the only format offered, there needs to be choice, just as there are with just about everything in life. No one should be force fed something they are not comfortable with, yet that is what people are doing. It doesn’t matter whether the experts say it’s good for you, it’s the end user who has to deal with the final product.

I’ve heard many reasons why people feel they need to use pdf. Some say that they need the security that comes with the pdf format, or they want to preserve the layout, but there are software programs out there that will strip out your password protection and render it useless, besides what does it matter to a blind person what it looks like, all they want is the ability to read it. This is especially difficult when an image is scanned and converted to a pdf. There’s no way in the world that it will be accessible, no matter how much effort Adobe has put into trying to do so.

Still there are those who say that it is file size, but a plain text format is infinitely smaller than a pdf and will download faster and this is especially important for those on dial up.

No matter the reason, by not supplying an alternate format for those who don’t find pdf’s accessible you are effectively discriminating against them, plain and simple.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you should not put up pdf documents, rather you should be offering a choice and not discriminate against those who have problems accessing them.

What really becomes frustrating is the attitude that too many people have when you ask them for an alternate format. It ranges from ignoring your request to pretending that accessibility is important to them followed by excuses like the ones above. I’m not sure which is worse since neither one produces any results. All I know is that “Attitude” is one of the biggest barriers that Persons With Disabilities (PWD’s) face in today’s society.

Equal access to information shouldn’t be a lottery game.

Recommended reading: Facts and Opinions About PDF Accessibility

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