RE: defining Web accessibility

At 08:23 PM 1/29/2003 -0800, William Loughborough wrote:

[removed cross-posting to PFWG mailing list; forwarding my reply to that 
list. please do not cross-post, especially to lists in different access 
spaces -- thanks.]

>At 07:31 PM 1/29/2003 -0800, michaeka@WellsFargo.COM wrote:
>>Web accessibility also:
>>-- Benefits other users of the Web.
>
>After all these years, I really think that this should be at the top 
>(rather than as an "oh, by the way" item) - in the form "Web accessibility 
>benefits all users of the Web" (incidentally, even including PWD).

I disagree that we should introduce PWD as being incidental to what Web 
accessibility is about. I think that _after_ a listing of the basics is 
where the "benefits all users" belongs.

>The real/main/important/primary/inclusive/overarching feature of 
>"Universal Design" is that it is in fact UNIVERSAL. That in some 
>enlightened places it is also the law matters some. That it's nice not to 
>exclude people who have traditionally been overlooked (except for their 
>exclusion) is secondary to what WAI has pointed the way to: a Web that is 
>usable by everyone and has its semantics stored therein.

I think it's fine to cover this elsewhere in the presentation, which we do, 
but to lead with it takes away from the point of Web accessibility being to 
increase access for people with disabilities.

- Judy

>As we undertook to formulate guidelines for the purpose of making the Web 
>accessible for PWD we discovered that what we proposed should be done 
>routinely so that everyone could use the Web. The absurd "resistances" we 
>encountered along the way merely reflected ancient prejudices within most 
>(all?) cultures that demean/overlook/exclude PWD.
>
>There has never been any logical reason that the semantics of Web content 
>not be available and when we did XAG we even found an abstract way to 
>express this - in very general, but concrete terms.
>
>--
>Love.
>
>It's Bad Luck to be Superstitious!

-- 
Judy Brewer    +1.617.258.9741    http://www.w3.org/WAI
Director, Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
MIT/LCS Room NE43-355, 200 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA,  02139,  USA

Received on Friday, 31 January 2003 01:53:16 UTC