RE: Textual Images vs. Styled Text

At 12:20 PM -0500 11/28/00, Leonard R. Kasday wrote:
>And to really pin it down, since you used those qualifying words "in general"
>Lets take a particular case... the page
>http://papower.state.pa.us/PAPower/
>When I get up in front of an auditorium full of Pennsylvania 
>Webmasters (and webmasters from neighboring states) at the 
>Governor's Statewide PA conference next week I tell them all those 
>text links in the upper left, "Government in PA" etc (presented in 
>Sans-serif Bold Italic) violate WCAG 1.0 Priority 2, right?  Even 
>though they all have ALT text?
>Is everyone behind me on this one?  Please, preface any explanation 
>with "yes" or "no".

I should note a terminology problem here -- there is no such term as
"violating WCAG 1.0 Priority 2".  WCAG 1.0 compliance is measured in
terms of Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A, not in terms of priority.

I'm not sure about the phrasing of your question here, though; it's a
bit semi-backwards in thinking.  I believe my answer is "no"; although
I could argue for "yes" if I felt like it.  (But I don't.)

In order to answer "yes", you will have to show that there is an
existing technology which provides the same effects as the existing
graphics.

Presumably the answer here would be to use CSS.  You could possibly
do this (although note that the font is not just "sans-serif", it is
a specific font), and you will have to explain what the benefits and
drawbacks of doing so are.

You will have to explain why this is an accessibility barrier to
specific individuals, and explain why the available assistive
technology -- ranging from turning off images to employing a screen
magnifier or a magnifying screen reader -- requires the _elimination_
of this type of design.

You will also have to explain why the only way to fix this is to
remove the graphics entirely, and furthermore explain when you should
_not_ remove graphics, as this sets a precedent saying "graphics are
bad, don't use them, ever."

I think that's a lot to ask, but if you think you can do it, then you
can probably tell the state of Pennsylvania whatever you like.

You might get further with them arguing the benefits from using styled
text, rather than simply a legalistic "WCAG says so" argument, but I
understand that many bureaucrats in state government need to be told
directly "you must do this because it is THE LAW" instead of "you
should do this because it will make your web page better."  Sometimes
I am very discouraged about the world where live in, where such things
are necessary.

--Kynn
-- 
Kynn Bartlett <kynn@idyllmtn.com>
http://www.kynn.com/

Received on Tuesday, 28 November 2000 20:44:42 UTC