[Accessibility] A thought about a possible project

[Michael Whapples]

Hello,
Now I don't know whether what I am going to suggest would fit with the 
GNU ideas on free software, but one of the things which as a blind user 
I am unable to do on a GNU Linux system is access flash content on the 
web. Now would it be appropriate for GNU/FSF to support getting 
accessibility in a plugin such as gnash or swfdec? OK, I think I may 
have answered my own question as I was going to check the license for 
gnash and the debian package has gnash's home page being at gnu.org, I 
wasn't sure whether supporting what I believe is a proprietary system 
(that's what I thought flash itself was) would be appropriate.

I am suggesting this route as: it saves us having to pressure and rely 
on adobe to make the change and anyway that would be supporting a 
proprietary system as the adobe plugin isn't free software. Trying to 
convince web developers not to use flash wouldn't be great as it makes 
free software look lacking compared to proprietary systems on windows 
and I am sure there would always be someone who would choose to stick 
with flash on their website. By making gnash accessible it would mean 
that the free software solution has something over the adobe plugin and 
they may need to hang there head in shame in the accessibility area (if 
they aren't already for the gaping hole they have in accessibility on 
platforms other than windows).

Now I wonder, does this idea take anyone's fancy? I have to say 
technically I probably wouldn't be able to do much, but I certainly 
would be happy to help someone with testing this.

Michael Whapples