Re: Response from Accessibility Lawyer on Plain Language in Silver

There may be a difference between a version written for general 
consumption, and a version written for a particular audience, but both 
versions still need to be written in plain language I think.

SC3.1.5 (Reading level) probably has the right idea. The Understanding 
information includes this:

"Difficult or complex text may be appropriate for most members of the 
intended audience (that is, most of the people for whom the content has 
been created). But there are people with disabilities, including reading 
disabilities, even among highly educated users with specialized 
knowledge of the subject matter.

So when we ask whether we should write Silver using "plain language", we 
should try to be clear about what it is we mean. Do we mean audience 
appropriate content that is readable by everyone in that particular 
audience (lawyer, developer, etc.), or do we mean jargon and terminology 
free content?

It's also worth looking closely at whether we really do need a 
lawyer/legal specific version. This post from Government Digital Service 
(GDS) is an interesting case study:
https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2014/07/28/doing-the-hard-work-to-make-things-simple/

I began working with GDS on the Gov.UK platform in 2011, and have 
witnessed this transformation first-hand many times since then. Without 
exception it has been well received by lawyers, policy makers, and 
consumers.


Léonie.

-- 
@LeonieWatson @tink@toot.cafe Carpe diem

Received on Wednesday, 14 November 2018 22:42:45 UTC