Dori Smith's Question on Browser Baseline

Dori Smith is an author, teacher, and web designer; she is also
pro-standards and pro-accessibility.  The following question
was posted to the WiseWomen list and is forwarded with
permission.

I think her question relates back to our ongoing "baseline"
discussion.  It also reflects the views of a well-meaning,
relatively clueful, concerned web designer.  (It's easy to forget,
while cloistered as we are, that we don't have a monopoly
on Doing The Right Thing!)  Does anyone have any thoughts on
this one?

--Kynn

>Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 16:05:04 -0700
>Subject: [WW] re: Legal Requirements for Accessibility
>From: Dori Smith <dori@dori.com>
>To: WiseWomen List <WiseWomen@chalcedony.com>
>
>On Mon, 23 Oct 2000 14:08:01 -0700, "Kynn Bartlett" <kynn@idyllmtn.com>
>wrote:
>
> > Maintained by the W3C, a good list of links to accessibility policies.  The
> > main legislation to look at -- in the US -- is the Americans with Disabilities
> > Act and (for Federal sites) Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
>
>This looks like a good point for me to jump in and prove that I know nothing
>about this subject. Kynn or anyone, do you know the answer to this?
>
>Can a web site require that users have a standards-supporting browser (or at
>least one that's as close as the current crop can get) in order to use the
>site's accessibility elements?
>
>For instance, I wonder if someone's going to sue someday because their old
>computer can't handle a v4 or later browser, and they need to (for example)
>be able to increase the font sizes. IE 5/Mac can do this, as can Netscape 6.
>But if their computer can only handle a v3 browser, do they have a case?
>
>Yeah, I know that a lawyer can make a case out of anything. But I see this
>as "I've made my building with a standard-size ramp, and a standard-size
>door, but someone put wheels on their couch, calls it a wheelchair, and is
>suing because they can't get it up the ramp or through the door."
>
>I understand supporting accessibility, but can we require the disabled to
>have browsers that support accessibility?
>
>
>Dori
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Dori Smith                          Note new email address: dori@dori.com
>Subscribe to WiseWomen's Web Developer Lists at http://www.wise-women.org
>(Java | JavaScript) for the WWW: Visual QuickStart Guide (Peachpit Press)
>
>

-- 
Kynn Bartlett  <kynn@idyllmtn.com>                    http://kynn.com/
Director of Accessibility, Edapta               http://www.edapta.com/
Chief Technologist, Idyll Mountain Internet   http://www.idyllmtn.com/
AWARE Center Director                      http://www.awarecenter.org/
What's on my bookshelf?                         http://kynn.com/books/

Received on Monday, 23 October 2000 23:07:58 UTC