- From: john_slatin <john_slatin@forum.utexas.edu>
- Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 08:51:56 -0500
- To: "'GV@trace.wisc.edu'" <GV@trace.wisc.edu>, "'w3c-wai-gl@w3.org'" <w3c-wai-gl@w3.org>
Aimply srRWS, MY PEOVLWM QIRH WITH THE WHOLE SIMPLICITY ISSUE IS THAT SIMPLICITY IS NOT SIMPLE. Simplicity is *hard,* and it's contextual. Readability indices are problematic, because they rely too heavily on counting and usually assume that short=good. But that's not always the case: you can create a bunch of short sentences that produce a grade-level readability score of, say 8.0 (eight grade), and have an unintelligible text, often because they rely so heavily on pronoun reference for cohesion-- but the pronouns lose their antecedents, and you end up with a bunch of "this" and "that" and "these" that aren't tied to anything. Grammar checkers, speel checkers, style-checkers, and similar tools are most effective in the hands of highly skilled writers who know how ti interpret what those tools offer. This should come as no surprise: isn't it the same issue we run into all the time with automated accessibility checkers like Bobby, AccVerify, etc., etc.? We remind people that these tools are useful but no substitute for informed human judgment. Same goes for writing. John -----Original Message----- From: Gregg Vanderheiden [mailto:GV@trace.wisc.edu] Sent: Saturday, April 27, 2002 10:36 pm To: w3c-wai-gl@w3.org Subject: FW: Simplified Text: Examples and Resources Importance: High Are there things in one of these that we don't have in our guidelines or techniques docs? Can someone take a look at these and abstract out strategies that we should capture in our techniques or strategies. Thanks Gregg ------------------------------------ Gregg Vanderheiden Ph.D. Ind Engr - Biomed - Trace, Univ of Wis gv@trace.wisc.edu -----Original Message----- From: owner-uaccess-l@trace.wisc.edu [mailto:owner-uaccess-l@trace.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of Jacobs, Steve I Sent: Saturday, April 27, 2002 2:54 PM To: uaccess-l@trace.wisc.edu Subject: Simplified Text: Examples and Resources Importance: High Dear all, In support of everyone having access to English simplification resources and examples... I offer the following. The following examples and links are from Lesson 24 of my workshop entitled, "The Business Benefits of Accessible IT Design." For more information: http://www.easi.cc/workshops/bbaitsyl.htm ------------ 1. Controlled language in Industry and Government: http://www.easi.cc/jacobs/lesson243_industry.htm 2. Tools to Simplify Text: http://www.easi.cc/jacobs/lesson_245_tools.htm 3. Readability Measurement Tools: http://www.easi.cc/jacobs/lesson244_readability.htm 4. Example of Simplification: http://www.easi.cc/jacobs/simple_english.htm 5. Humor Regarding the Complexity of the English Language: http://www.easi.cc/jacobs/humor.htm Sincerely, Steve -------- Steve Jacobs Accessibility Program Manager and President, IDEAL at NCR NCR Corporation 2809 Bohlen Drive Hilliard, Ohio 43026 Phone: (614) 777-0660 Fax: (937) 445-1955 TTY: (800) 855-2880 STS: (877) 750-9097 E-mail: steve.jacobs@ncr.com URL: http://www.ncr.com
Received on Monday, 29 April 2002 09:52:01 UTC