Re: OFF TOPIC - Shame on Google

or ada.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "William R Williams" <wrwilliams@fs.fed.us>
To: <w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org>
Cc: "Accessys@smart.net" <accessys@smart.net>; "John Foliot" 
<foliot@wats.ca>; "Harry Loots" <harry.loots@ieee.org>; "James Craig" 
<jcraig@apple.com>; "Joachim Andersson" <joachim.andersson@etu.se>; "wai-ig 
list" <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>; <w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org>; <wai-xtech@w3.org>; 
<webaim-forum@list.webaim.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2008 6:09 PM
Subject: Re: OFF TOPIC - Shame on Google



The law in the USA is called Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29
U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L.
105-220), August 7, 1998. It's scope is limited to Federal Departments and
Agencies. There are no real enforcement mechanisms. Only an "individual
with a disability may file a complaint alleging that a Federal department
or agency fails to comply" with the law.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requires agencies to acquire
accessible electronic and information unless an exception applies and is
documented. Across all agencies, an assessment in late-2007 showed that
only 3% of the solicitations that included electronic and information
technology properly included the Section 508 standards.

Bill Williams




             David Woolley
             <forums@david-woo
             lley.me.uk>                                                To
             Sent by:                  Joachim Andersson
             w3c-wai-ig-reques         <joachim.andersson@etu.se>
             t@w3.org                                                   cc
                                       "Accessys@smart.net"
                                       <accessys@smart.net>, Harry Loots
             09/04/2008 02:36          <harry.loots@ieee.org>, James Craig
             PM                        <jcraig@apple.com>, John Foliot
                                       <foliot@wats.ca>, wai-ig list
                                       <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>,
                                       "wai-xtech@w3.org WAI-XTECH"
                                       <wai-xtech@w3.org>,
                                       webaim-forum@list.webaim.org
                                                                   Subject
                                       Re: OFF TOPIC - Shame on Google











Joachim Andersson wrote:
> If someone hit me in the face I would think twice about making an effort
> to help him, wouldn't you? I'm from Sweden. The country where everyone's
> complaining, noone's doing anything about things and the complaints
> lining up.
>
> In my line of work I meet many people with disabilities of all kinds,
> who are very competent and they're doing a great job working with web
> accessibility and solutions to help others. But these people are those
> that don't march and such. They have found other, more effective ways of
> reaching their goals.
>
> I realize the importance of marching and so on, but 1975 is another time
> than 2008. In Sweden, Canada and the United States there are laws on how
> accessibility should be a part of development. In Canada and the United

Are they enforced?  In the UK such laws exist but are not enforced.
Even where companies have policies, when it actually comes to buying,
the supplier and buyer often find ways to get round them.  The same goes
for electromagnetic compatibility, a subject dear to the heart of
another minority, amateur radio operators.



--
David Woolley
Emails are not formal business letters, whatever businesses may want.
RFC1855 says there should be an address here, but, in a world of spam,
that is no longer good advice, as archive address hiding may not work.

Received on Thursday, 4 September 2008 22:25:47 UTC