Accessibility Disclaimer

Compliance Status

At Ogallala Commons, we firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone. We are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.

To fulfill this commitment, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with these guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people, including individuals who are blind, have motor impairments, visual impairments, cognitive disabilities, and more.

This website utilizes various technologies designed to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.

Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and constantly optimizes its accessibility level. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by blind users, and adjusts keyboard functions for individuals with motor impairments.

If you wish to contact the website’s owner, please use the following email: john@ogallalacommons.org

Screen-Reader and Keyboard Navigation

Our website implements ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) and various behavioral changes to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers can read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters the site, they are prompted to enter the Screen-Reader Profile, allowing them to navigate and operate the site effectively.

Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others.
Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first element of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus to drift outside of it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

Disability Profiles Supported On Our Website

Epilepsy Safe Profile: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Vision Impaired Profile: this profile adjusts the website so that it is accessible to the majority of visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Profile: this profile provides various assistive features to help users with cognitive disabilities such as Autism, Dyslexia, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements more easily.
ADHD Friendly Profile: this profile significantly reduces distractions and noise, to help people with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders browse, read, and focus on the essential elements more easily.
Blind Users Profile (Screen-readers): this profile adjusts the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is installed on the blind user’s computer, and this site is compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

Additional UI, Design, And Readability Adjustments

Font adjustments – users can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over 7 different coloring options.
Animations – epileptic users can stop all running animations with the click of a button.Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.

Assistive Technology And Browser Compatibility

We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS, and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.

Notes, Comments, And Feedback

Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating, and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. If you wish to contact the website’s owner please use the following email john@ogallalacommons.org

OUR PHILOSOPHY

What Does Ogallala Commons Do?

Ogallala Commons works to reinvigorate the commonwealth that forms the basis of our assets. Simply put, Ogallala Commons helps communities “to do together what no one community can do alone.” Our mission is carried out through a 4-part approach:

Weaving a network of diverse collaborators
Building an education outreach through our core programs, workshops, and digital tools
Fostering a sense of place to instill meaning and inspire stewardship
Rebuilding commonwealth communities to sustain our people and lands.

For the latest Ogallala Common’s news, events and happenings, follow us on, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or our Blog.

Our Background

Ogallala Common’s mission is heavily influenced by a concept called the commons, an idea originating in late-medieval European societies—as well as practices that are utilized in communal resource management around the world. Ogallala Commons was initiated in 1999 as a resource development project for reinvigorating the depleted commonwealth in the High Plains region of the Great Plains. Ogallala Commons became a 501c3 nonprofit education and leadership nonprofit organization in 2008.

To learn more, read “A Region Reforming”—this paper delves into the philosophies that inspire Ogallala Commons, a definition of the commons, and a brief summary of how Ogallala Commons functioned in its first five years, 1999-2003. Also, here are two books that offer essential information about the commons:

Our Commonwealth: The Hidden Economy That Makes Everything Else Work by Jonathan Rowe
All That We Share: A Field Guide to The Commons by Jay Walljasper (The New Press, NY, 2010)

COMMONWEALTH

What is Commonwealth?

Gifts of the natural world and human society that have monetary and non-monetary value in supporting life and well-being for both human and natural communities.
Wealth we inherit or create together…which we desire to pass on, as undiminished and regenerative as possible, to our children and future generations
A sector of the economy that compliments but is also distinct from the market and government sectors
Communal assets that increase or decrease depending on management

OC focuses on commonwealth as the foundation for all communities, both human and natural. Commonwealth consists of local and regional assets that must be preserved, enhanced, and invested in to generate sustainable resources. Every community has access to these 12 Key Assets regardless of its current economic and social conditions.

Since 2004, Ogallala Commons has referred to 12 Key Assets of Commonwealth:

ARTS & CULTURE
The application of creativity to capture, memorialize, and express the beauty of a place, the emotions of the people, and to tell the stories of our past and present or to imagine our future.
EDUCATION
The local resources for learning. Vibrant communities require the compilation and transmission of skills, information, and knowledge.
FOODSHED
The production, processing, and distribution of food from and within the region.
LEISURE & RECREATION
The resources and opportunities for people to relax, connect, play, and have fun – individually and together.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
The regional availability as well as the local harnessing of natural energy to support the community.
HISTORY
The shared stories of our past times, people, places, artifacts, and experiences that give context to a community.
HEALTH
The resources for physical, mental, social, and spiritual wellness that exist in the community or region.
SPIRITUALITY
The web of relationships, connections, and practices that nurture the soul.
SOIL & MINERAL CYCLE
The ecological process that transforms, stores, and exchanges the nutrients/minerals necessary to support the overall life cycle.
WATER CYCLE
Civilization has always organized around water, we can’t live without it. The healthy functioning of the water cycle is essential for the future of our communities.
WILDLIFE & NATURAL WORLD
The living organisms that inhabit our region, the non-domesticated animals, plants, and insects that are native to our region.
SENSE OF PLACE
The features and experiences of our geography that define it as unique and uniquely our home.