I just saw the notice on Jake's site about the format policy changes
that Bookshare is implementing. I don't think whoever is making that
decision has heard a single word we've said about this topic. I'm
deeply disappointed, frustrated, and I'm disgusted by what I have
just read. While they have eliminated text submissions, the most
platform independent format, they are still allowing books to be
submitted in Wyn, Openbook, and Kurzweil proprietary formats. I want
to scream, but no one would hear me if I did. Does anyone even care
that there are some Wyn and Openbook formats that have been on the
validation list for 3 years? Can anyone around here even open a Wyn
file? I thought we were supposed to be unifying things so that our
validators could actually open the books being submitted. Because
most people here can't open Openbook files, I have pushed myself to
take these books, passing up books I really wanted to work on. I am
aware that no one forced me to do this. I wanted to be a team player
and help out where I'm needed most, and it seemed wrong to have
people submit their work and have it sit there for years because so
few people can open the files. I kept telling myself that I wouldn't
be needed to work on these kinds of books once the changes took
place. I'm not doing that anymore because it's not going to change
anything, and whoever is submitting these boring books will just keep
on submitting in this format because Bookshare officially encourages it.
Monica Willyard
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