EOWG's goals for the beta accessibility page [was Re: comments on beta accessibility page (was Re: Phrase with "from using the web" - Re: w3.beta Comments for discussion)]

catherine wrote:
...
> As to the first claim, I believe that Shawn (correct me if I am wrong) 
> was probably trying to work in the idea that disability is a product of 
> the interaction between the person's "physical" characteristics and her 
> environment (environment, in this type of conceptual model, to be taken 
> in the broadest sense). In that optic, whether we are talking about a 
> Web site or a building, etc., if we ensure accessibility, "most" people 
> with disabilities, while still retaining their "impairment", are not 
> affected by their limitations in that environment because, through 
> various accommodations, it is designed to be inclusive.
...

Correct. EOWG has been trying to convey this idea. We have also been trying to limit the use of "disability" in the introduction so as not lose those people who automatically turn off at that word.

Some in EOWG were also taking the approach that the web (at it's best) can be used by people with impairments (equally well as people without impairments, with some exceptions previously noted). And it's only when things are done badly that barriers are introduced.

This is the challenge. Some of the suggested wording doesn't quite attain that goal. In the end, we might not be able to pull it off. Let's try a little longer...

~shawn

Received on Saturday, 29 August 2009 19:52:32 UTC