proposed rewrite of abstract for section A (p.s.)

just made a couple of formatting points (asterisks on list items) to make
sure the content is understandable <grin>
--the editors

A. Transform Gracefully
Make sure pages transform gracefully across users, technologies, and
situations


To "transform gracefully" means that a page remains usable despite user,
technological, or situational constraints. User constraints require that the
information is presented so that they are able to perceive or interact with it
due to a physical or sensory limitaiton on their part. However, this
limitation might be caused by a situation. The user who is blind has the
same limitations
as someone whose eyes are busy while they drive a car. Technological
constraints are defined by the device a person is using to access a
document. A small screen on a PDA creates a similar usability contraint to
a person with
low-vision who has magnified their screen such that they are looking at the
information as if through a very small screen. 

Since HTML, XML, and other W3C technologies are designed with the flexibility
to create documents that may be formatted in various ways on a variety of
platforms, by virtue they support accessible design. Non-accessible pages
are a result of giving up this flexibility. Creating pages that transform
gracefully
is not more costly, but requires a different design approach that also makes
pages compatible with emerging mobile technologies. The following section A
guidelines address the issue of creating pages that transform gracefully. They
all stem from the following general guideline:

Always separate the content on your site (what you say), and the way you
choose to structure that content (how you organize it), from the way the
content and
structure are presented (how you want people to "see" it or perceive it). (If
the content is sensory specific, such as audio or video, make it available
in a form that allows presentation in other senses.)

Documents that transform gracefully are: 

* Able to be perceived entirely visually and entirely through auditory means.
This does not mean creating an entire auditory version of your site. Screen
readers
will be able to speak all information on a page as long as it is available in
text. 

* Operable on various types of hardware including devices without mice, with
small, low resolution, or black and white screens, with only voice or text
output, without screens, etc. Due to the inherent flexibility of the design of
W3C technologies your pages will be cross platform if you follow the basic
principles outlined in this document. 


Guidelines A.1 - A.12 address these issues.

Received on Friday, 23 October 1998 13:57:25 UTC