Web-Braille is Back

Greetings. It was only a matter of time this would happen. Web-Braille is back!

Certain people and blogs have speculated on the demise of this service for the time it was down, and some have even put together a petition to bring Web-Braille back. Personally, I think that if this service was as popular as it was, and if enough people emailed the people at NLS expressing their concern that Web-Braille was down, it was only a matter of time before it was fully restored. Evidently, this happened, at least in part. We'll probably know the full story, or more of it, later in the summer when the conventions happen and the NLS people give their annual reports. Though I'm glad the service has returned, I still think that the Web-Braille saga in the last week or two will be a big topic/concern and likely be one of the first issues asked about after the NLS presentations at the conventions.

However, as the Google petition, to make their visual verification code accessible to the blind, got so much coverage and nearly 4800 people signed it, some people have started to think that petitions can solve a problem. Granted, this is just speculation on my part, but I think its valid. Anyway, I never looked at the Web-Braille petition numbers myself, nor did I sign it. Not because I don't support the service, far from it. As I said before, I didn't sign because I had a feeling that the service would be back if enough people emailed NLS, which apparently happened. Petitions, and law suits, have their places. I'm not so sure that Web-Braille deserved one, but that's just my opinion.

Anyway, you can read the text of the return of Web-Braille on the Blind Access Journal among others.

I have enjoyed reading Jonathan Mosen's thoughts on the whole situation, and his reflections and own experiences related to getting material in a specialized format, since he's in the United States from another country. Read his thoughts on the Mosen Explosion Blog. He's currently in a stage where he's putting up lots of news stories and links of different kinds, so you might need to search a little for his comments. One entry that comes to mind immediately is at around 3:30 PM on 5/19/06.

NLS has put some extra security measures in the Web-Braille system, but then again, we knew they would. Speaking realistically here and not with any sort of affiliation with anything implied, its getting harder and harder to exchange free stuff online without any sort of security or copyright concerns. Not that I'm complaining, but just stating fact.

So, go and get that Braille file book that you've wanted to get but couldn't!