R: R: Web Accessibility Definition...

Hi Judy, Hi group

I know you're completely right, on each point.

I was just viewing the situation as a teacher (I work as a IT utacher since
15 years) and as a divulgator: if our aim is to reach the largest amount of
people and to explain how accessibility can be important for the whole Web,
then we may try and focalize everyone attention on web universality; so we
may increase the effectiveness of our documents.

I get so angry when some people say: "People with disabilities are a small
precentage of web users, so why should we base our investiments on a small
minority?"; maybe, one way of fighting and defeating this silly convinction
is showing how accessibility is fundamental for the web, not only for people
with disabilities' web. 

And in my personal exeperiences, it seems working great; when I speak about
accessibility founding my lessons and speeches on this concept, I realize
that I can capture audience's attention and consent much more than speaking
only about people with disabilities.

Merry Christmas to you and to your beloveds

Roberto Castaldo
-----------------------------------
www.Webaccessibile.Org coordinator
IWA/HWG Member
rcastaldo@webaccessibile.org
R.castaldo@iol.it
Icq 178709294
----------------------------------- 
 


-----Messaggio originale-----
Da: w3c-wai-eo-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-eo-request@w3.org] Per conto
di Judy Brewer
Inviato: venerd́ 19 dicembre 2003 7.02
A: Roberto Castaldo; w3c-wai-eo@w3.org
Oggetto: 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 13:52:20 UTC