Re: erratum? Re: 04 Feb 2004 - Techniques

I can't believe I read something from Chaals.

> According to the CSS specification, as Joe points out, px is a relative unit.

And that settles the issue of relative vs. absolute units. They are
defined by the W3C, of which WAI is a part. WAI has no authority to
rewrite the CSS Working Group's specification, nor to slither around in
the mire of some underhanded declaration along the lines of "Yes, well,
the fact may be that px is a relative unit, but not as far as we're
concerned."

> However, unlike the others, it is relative to the user's screen, and not
> so readily adjusted - instead of changing font size you have to change your
> display settings (or your screen), which I think is more complicated for most
> users.

The whole topic is a red herring. It's ultimately a user and user-agent
issue. If Working Group members could rid themselves of the psychosis that
IT DOESN'T WORK IN INTERNET EXPLORER FOR WINDOWS, HENCE IT DOESN'T WORK
FOR ANYONE, we'd be much better off. It is up to the user to adjust font
size. If their browser or device won't let them do that, they need to
choose a better browser or device. This does not excuse authors from any
responsibility whatsoever, but it does excuse them from *ultimate*
responsibility.

The Working Group continues to live in a world that is, by Chaals's own
admission--

> As one of the originators of
> this checkpoint I certainly meant that, and apologise for having been a bit
> sloppy 5 or 6 years ago.

-- outdated. Times have changed, people. Even if the majority browser is
still IE for Windows, the fact remains that IE for Windows is not the only
browser on the planet anymore. Quit kicking this dead horse. Font sizes
can be set by the author and overridden by the user. Get with the program.

--

  Joe Clark  |  joeclark@joeclark.org
  Author, _Building Accessible Websites_
  <http://joeclark.org/access/> | <http://joeclark.org/book/>

Received on Wednesday, 4 February 2004 20:17:24 UTC