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From: Al.Hoffman@p0.f143.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Al Hoffman)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Well, here's a good one!
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Date: 16 Nov 90 16:14:31 GMT
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Index Number: 11767

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

On further reflection about NLS:

     1:  They do a darned good job of serving their population base 
as a whole--older recently blinded people who have no real interest 
in becoming fully functioning members of society again.  2:  They 
produce very high quality materials that do last for long periods 
of time--at a cost.  They do not however serve the techno-klutzs out 
here, but do serve some of the sci-fi-geeks like myself well enough 
considering the relative sci-fi sales to say, westerns or mysteries.

     I think NLS is doing fine, but they have problems that don't 
appear  from the outside to being addressed--but then maybe they are 
but the grinding wheels of government money drains are so slow that 
the sound they make is too low-frequency to hear.

     For the prices they are paying for the braille materials they 
produce, I think they could possiblly afford to purchase each braille 
client of theirs a VersaBraille, and just set up a Modem service with 
the materials--but that would violate the copyright laws probablly.

     The selection process for books is not clear to any of my friends. 
For example there are some very off the wall and unheard of sci-fi 
books in braille, while some of the more well know classics are in 
no format at all.  The same goes for mysteries, westerns, and more.

      Then the whole braille issue comes up.  they NLS standards are 
nice, but costly--and they aren't even that nice.  The NLS people 
should make their rules fit computer logic more effectively--thus 
lowering the cost of making the books.  I mean the rules about 
sylablization are just stupid--sure some words look nicer to my fingers 
if they are written on way rather than another, but thats just because 
I've seen them that way for so long.  There is no stone tablet lying 
around with braille commandments written on it--other than the North 
American Braille Authority group, who are a bunch of old ladies who 
think they "know whats best,,".

     They usually have good opinions on braille, but the outcome is 
not always sensible for production means--and yet they probablly mean 
well.   But it appears to me that by making difficult rules more so 
as time passes, making the life of a braille producer more taxing 
by making proofreading more subjective, that they only justify their 
own silly existence as "North American Braille Authority,"--I mean 
what kind of stupid name is that anyway--the braille police work in 
Washington D.C. and use government money to make the rest of us stick 
to the rules.

       OK, OK, maybe I sound like I'm about to foam at the mouth, 
but maybe I should.  I hate general pointless stupidity based on 
traditional methods of propagating more pointless tradditional stupidity!

     For that matter I wonder if NLS is considering making any public 
road maps available using the Pixel Master, it can't cost much more 
than a copy of one of the new Lesbian books, or the new braille editions 
of how to make jewelry out of rice.  There are just some of the stupidest 
books out there on the braille shelves that its mind boggling (finger 
numbing).  Sure, some probablly want to read a book concerning 
Lesbianism, or making rice-jewelry, but then I'd like to read some 
programming books that weren't 1st grade level too and can I get them? 
 Noooooo--not from NLS at any rate.

     Oh well, I like to rant and rave at times and this just seemed 
to be a good place/time to do it.  It would be nice to see some NLS 
people respond to my comments here because I am not saying I have 
the answers here, just questions and my own feelings.  I can be wrong-
-and am lots of the time, but you never learn without being taught, 
or or finding out the hard way.

--
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