Re: does an intranet count [was Re: Introduction]

aloha, ian and charles!

ian wrote:
The more pertinent question remains:
        in the UAGL, we are facing a similar puzzle: we say that documentation
        must conform to the WCAG. Does this mean electronic documentation
        only? Documentation for  the Web only? This is an open issue for the
        UAGL WG.

to which gregory responds:
as long as the information is presented in an electronic form, i firmly believe
that yes, it is covered by the WCAG, the tools that are used to create it are
covered by the AUGL, and the software that renders it is covered by the UAGL...

as far as "non-electronic" documentation is concerned, ian, what exactly do you
mean?  are you referring to hard copy?  i don't know how one would apply any of
the work we've done to printed media (which, in my mind includes both embossed
material [i.e. braille] and printed text), unless, of course, the user is
expected to produce the hard copy his or her self from an electronic file via
the agency of a printer and a user agent...

as for charles' question, whether or not anything is gained by inserting such
an over-arching statement into the AUGL, whilst i would welcome such an
insertion, i don't deem it as necessary as developing a stronger techniques
document!  i would, however, like to quote see unquote the issue of intranet
design addressed, especially since any public entity (at least in the US and
several other countries) is obliged (from a legal standpoint anyway) to make
its intranet as accessible as its physical plant, even if it does not currently
employ anyone with a disability...

separate but unequal doesn't cut it in the quote real world unquote, nor does
quote separate but equal unquote...  cyberspace and electronic media shouldn't
be exempt from this simple principle...  and, while i know that legal issues
are well beyond our purview, it is an incontestable fact that the work we are
doing will be used by legal entities to enforce equality of access...

just my 2 cents worth before going under the drill,
        gregory.
--------------------------------------------------------
He that lives on Hope, dies farting
     -- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1763
--------------------------------------------------------
Gregory J. Rosmaita <oedipus@hicom.net>
   President, WebMaster, & Minister of Propaganda, 
        VICUG NYC <http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/vicug/>
--------------------------------------------------------

Received on Wednesday, 11 August 1999 10:24:48 UTC