Re: R: Web Accessibility Definition...

Roberto

At 11:58 PM 12/16/2003 +0100, Roberto Castaldo wrote:

>Hi everybody,
>
>As I already said some week ago, web accessibility is not only related to
>people with disabilities. At least, not only!

This is something that we have discussed many times in EOWG and other parts 
of WAI. Given that the requirements of people with disabilities are so 
often overlooked when one is addressing the needs of "all" users, WAI does, 
in fact, focus specifically on accessibility of the Web for people with 
disabilities and for others such as elderly who sometimes have related 
functional requirements, but may or may not consider themselves "disabled."

However, the business case supporting Web accessibility is indeed very 
broad, and includes many benefits to non-disabled as well as to disabled 
users. The example that you cite -- having only a low-bandwidth connection, 
while using a dial-up modem, and therefore benefitting from certain aspects 
of accessible design -- is a good example of an "auxiliary benefit" of Web 
accessibility. There are many such examples, and this is why the business 
case for Web accessibility is so broad.

You say "all WCAG guidelines are designed to prevent frustration in all of 
us, ..." To clarify this, WCAG guidelines are designed to meet the 
requirements of people with disabilities; but they have the additional 
benefit of increasing usability for all users.

- Judy


>Web accessibility should be referred to each web user; each web user ahould
>be able to use a web site, to find an information, to surf the web; every
>one, including people with disabilities!
>
>When I'm at home, I'm used to navigate using an ADSL connection, but when I
>travel, I often have to connect with the analogical modem in my notebook...
>So I have many problems I do not have with fast connections. And this
>happens to everyone who has an old computer, or an old modem, or an old
>line. That's a good example about everybody's disabilities, on technological
>disabilities... And this example can fit to each of us, to each web surfer,
>regardless of his eventual disability.
>
>In my opinion, all WCAG guidelines are designed to prevent frustration in
>all of us, as all of us can have some kind of disabilities (phisical,
>cognitive, technological, social, and so on) and such disabilities can came
>and go in a minute, in a day, in a life... The web is for everyone, and so
>WCAG are.
>
>My best regards,
>
>Roberto Castaldo
>-----------------------------------
>www.Webaccessibile.Org coordinator
>IWA/HWG Member
>rcastaldo@webaccessibile.org
>r.castaldo@iol.it
>Cell 348 3700161
>Icq 178709294
>-----------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>________________________________
>
>Da: w3c-wai-eo-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-eo-request@w3.org] Per conto
>di Alistair Garrison
>Inviato: domenica 14 dicembre 2003 18.55
>A: EOWG
>Oggetto: Web Accessibility Definition...
>
>
>Dear All,
>
>Did we agree a definition for Web Accessibility...
>
>If we didn't the definition I am going to start to use is...
>
>"Web Accessibility is the process of making Web content in a way that can be
>used, without issue or consequence, by people with disabilities."
>
>This follows on from the definition of 'accessible' found in Glossary B of
>WCAG 1.0 (i.e. 'Content is accessible when it may be used by someone with a
>disability'), and the fact that several checkpoints in the Guidelines are
>designed to prevent , or in severe circumstances harm (i.e. flashing
>content).Web content causing people with certain disabilities frustration
>
>Anyway... I believe it's food for thought...
>
>Very Best Regards
>
>Alistair
>
>Alistair Garrison
>Director, Accessinmind Limited
>www.accessinmind.com <http://www.accessinmind.com>
>+44 (0) 207 252 2746

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

Received on Friday, 19 December 2003 01:06:13 UTC