- From: William Loughborough <love26@gorge.net>
- Date: Sun, 06 Aug 2000 06:10:25 -0700
- To: lisa kestenbaum <lisathek@hotmail.com>, gl <w3c-wai-gl@w3.org>
LS:: "Is this conference also going to address the development of
guidelines that can optimize the benefits of the web for the
educationally challenged and persons with learning disability."
WL: Short answer: yes. Longer answer is that throughout W3C and
especially WAI "everyone, everything connected" is more than a slogan. I
know the "everyone" part seems slighted and it is possible that our
central notions of full interoperability, universal design, and device
independence are vain hopes - well-meaning but impractical - but at
least one old geezer thinks not.
Often used pejoratively is "one size fits all" but the implications of
that might be too facile in a culture (humankind) in which "blind",
"dumb", "illiterate", etc. are built into languages (at least this one)
with an implied put-down attitude.
The characteristics of "this conference" will be determined by its
participants and if any of this means anything to you or your "contacts"
the best course of action is to join in - we need all the help we can
get. The guidelines are a dynamic, living document that will be changed
or else be of no import. So: don't just ask - do!
Since we seek full inclusion and since the populations you seem to
represent are probably the largest groups of PWDs world-wide, it would
really be helpful to have their needs properly addressed. If we lack the
experience to address this intelligently, then shame on us, but shame on
whoever knows about this possibility and doesn't assist us with
guidance.
--
Love.
ACCESSIBILITY IS RIGHT - NOT PRIVILEGE
http://dicomp.pair.com
Received on Sunday, 6 August 2000 09:11:30 UTC