Well, I'm not sure I put this in the right place--if not, Mods, feel free to do w/it what you will.
This post is really to express my concern regarding the Applevis "hall of fame". To me, apps made specifically for the blind really don't belong here. What I think we need to be doing is rewarding those developers who've gone the extra mile to make apps accessible to us. I'm thinking, just as 2 examples, about Freeq, i.e., Psychic Bunny went from "what the hell is accessibility?" to making the game totally accessible, or Andrew from Clever Clues, who, when IOS 7 broke his messages, had a fix out within hours of being notified. Or 'Zombies! Run!' where the developers applied for & received a grant in order to make their app accessible to us.
Apps developed for the blind should be accessible--that's a given. If not, then the developer doesn't know his/her market. But most developers don't even know we exist, much less stop to think about making their apps accessible. Those that do are the ones who should get rewarded, not the developers who market to the sight-impaired community, sometimes at a highly inflated price tag.
If you think it absolutely necessary that we reward these "separate but equal" apps, then fine--let's make 2 categories or similar. But in my opinion, I don't really see that they deserve it. I think the Hall of Fame should be devoted exclusively to those developers who market & make their apps accessible to everyone. That's the kind of performance, in my opinion, that really stands out.
I'll likely catch you-know-what for this, but, o, well. I just don't see that rewarding developers of applications specifically "designed with the blind in mind" gives incentive to developers of "mainstream" apps to make them usable by everyone. I'm not saying we don't need some apps designed for us--BARD, Learning Ally, etc., are necessary--but accessibility & usability of GPS apps by sight-impaired, for example, should be encouraged as opposed to a completely separate app that caters specifically for the blind. These "separate but equal" apps that wouldn't need to exist if an app for the mainstream market were made accessible to everyone simply serve to reinforce a perceived need for separation, which only raises barriers to our equal participation in the life of the community & world around us.
Comments
Now that I think about it
Now that I think about it this is not a bad idea. There is already a list of apps made specifically for the blind on Applevis, so most of the organization of them has already been done. And since those apps have been made specifically for the blind it's likely people already know about them through other means - developer interview podcasts, editorial picks, etc.
Community-Chosen Apps
Thank you for your feedback.
While there could certainly be an argument made that only mainstream apps should be in the Hall of Fame, the other side of this is that there are some great specialized apps out there. Should the developers of apps like BARD Mobile, MBraille, etc. not be recognized for their hard work--simply because their app is not a mainstream app? And, if one were to exclude specialized apps, who would make the decision as to what qualifies as a mainstream app and what does not? Would it not be better to, as we have done in the past, let the community vote on which apps are inducted?
If the community votes a mainstream app into the Hall of Fame, great. If they vote a blindness-specific app into the Hall of Fame, great. In either case, the app that is inducted is the app which receives the majority vote. If a mainstream app receives more support than a specialized app, the outcome would be the same. Conversely, if a specialized app receives more support than a mainstream app...the decision-makers run the risk of not conducting the vote in a manner consistent with the wishes of the voting members of the community.
Agree with original poster
Having thought about this, I must confess to agreeing with the original poster. I think two separate categories are in order. One to praise mainstreamed developers, The other for blindness specific related applications. By that I mean apps that have been created specifically with the blind in mind. Both deserve recognition, but it is the degree and type of recognition it is important to recognise.
I compleatly agree with this
I compleatly agree with this post. Let's skip the apps that are for the blind and remove all of them from the 4 year this site has been up from the hall of fame and put the apps that don't cater tward the blind but have the developers learning something regarding accessibility and having a positive experience from the comunity. I think those devs deserve a cookie not th eones that make apps for us and apps that are made by and for us.
Take care.
Actually I think there shoudl
Actually I think there shoudl be a new rule. Only main stream apps are to be picked and presented. This to me would give main stream devs more education and fame then the ones made both by and for us. Sure, we need recognition but not so much that we hide the main stream devs.
I also agree
Of course blind specific apps and developers need recognition since they put their time and money to create something for us. But they do have accessibility in mind from the beginning. What need to be promoted are those developers who think of accesibility but within a mainstream app.
Of course this is my opinion.
I disagree
I see no reason why a certain type of app should be treated any differently. Besides, an app initially written with the blind in mind can evolve into a mainstream app, and a mainstream app can later add features geared specifically towards us. Either way, the line between the two types of apps is blurred, and there can be a difference in opinion how a particular app should be treated. I believe the hall of fame should showcase the best of all apps we use, whether they were meant specifically for us or not.
Please Vote
Hi all,
We sincerely appreciate your continued feedback.
However, at this time, we have no plans to make any changes to the induction process/rules for the Hall of Fame.
As I mentioned before, the apps that are inducted to the Hall of Fame are chosen by a community vote. The app which receives the most number of votes--mainstream, blindness-specific, or otherwise--is the app which will be inducted. This allows the community to induct whichever app they feel is most worthy.
The unfortunate reality is that it is impossible to please everybody with one solution. With that said...it is our hope that, by providing a means for users to choose which apps are inducted into the Hall of Fame by popular vote, that we are balancing everyone's interests. If the community feels that only mainstream apps are worthy of future Hall of Fame inductions, then the votes will reflect that. With that said, if you have not already done so, please vote for the app you feel is most worthy for induction into the AppleVis iOS App Hall of Fame.
I voted for a main stream app
I voted for a main stream app and I encourage the rest of you to do the same. Leave the blind apps alone as there is like someone already said a category for this. The next time when they want us to choose an app for the hall of fame or what ever it's called let's only put down sighted and main stream apps that are of corse accessible thereby giving sighted devs recognition. Let's forget about the blind devs who already know how to program accessibly. It's the sighted devs this site is for, not the blind devs.
Tc to all.