Re: Re-post: Influence of valid code on screen readers

This is the most important accessibility-related argument for 
conformance to specifications, and it extends well beyond HTML. The more 
content developers depart from specifications, the harder it is to 
create tools that reliably operate on Web content to construct a 
presentation that meets the needs of the user, or otherwise help to make 
the content more accessible.

Non-conforming content simply raises barriers against the construction 
of accessibility-related software that processes Web content, whether it 
be as simple as an XSLT transform or as complex as a user agent. 
On the other side, content that conforms to specifications can be 
processed with assurance that the expectations induced by the 
specifications are satisfied. This avoids the need to resort to 
heuristic techniques that are designed to detect, and work around, 
non-conformant content, to the benefit of end users owing to the 
improvements in both qualitative and quantitative terms that can then be 
made in the tools available to present or otherwise improve the 
accessibility of the Web.

The requirements encapsulated in guideline 4.1 are therefore of the 
utmost importance to accessibility.

Received on Tuesday, 14 June 2005 07:12:29 UTC