Re: FW: US DOJ Ruling re Accessible Web Sites

You might want to go back and check the deliverables plan in the Education
& Outreach Working Group charter -- http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/charter --
it's already in there.

We find plenty of interest all around at what kind of policies are in
place, and in development, so it seems only appropriate to compile these as
a reference.

- Judy


At 08:33 PM 3/19/98 -0800, Scott Luebking wrote:
>Hi,
>I think that such a web site is important.  Part of my believe is that
>disabled people need to be self-advocates and such a site would give
>them some of the necessary tools.  I lean towards using the carrot and stick
>approach.  I usually like to start off with a soft sell, i.e. just giving
>them the information about what is needed.  If no response, clarifying
>more about how the current condition is affecting my life as a fellow
>human being.  If still no response, then I go to the stick bin.  (The web
site
>could be the "stick bin".)  Often, I need to only lightly hit them on
>the shins with the stick to get them to pay attention.
>
>Having worked at a public university on and off, I've seen enlightenment work
>only part of the time.  Many times enlightenment loses to budgetary bulliness
>or bureaucratic backwardness.
>
>Scott
>
>
>
>>On Thu, 19 Mar 1998, Scott Luebking wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>> Can WAI establish a web site for legal information concerning
>>> web accessibility?  It be great to have a one-stop shopping center.
>>> It would need to be broken down by country.
>>
>>JW:: I understand that in the early stages of the WAI, a project of this
>>kind was attempted, but that reliable information was not readily
>>obtainable. I think there is definitely scope for such a site. However,
>>the primary task of the WAI educational effort should be to persuade
>>authors and software developers to adopt universal design strategies out
>>of a sense of justice and responsibility, rather than to raise the threat
>>of legal liability. It is preferable to appeal to the high ethical
>>standards and integrity of web content providers and software developers
>>than to base one's argument on the provisions of antidiscrimination law.
>>Nevertheless, it may be useful to provide information concerning the
>>relevance of anti-discrimination laws in different countries to the
>>provision of web-based documents and services. The Human Rights and Equal
>>Opportunity Commission in Australia has already done so by releasing a
>>discussion paper, a reference to which is included in the WAI page author
>>guidelines.
>
-------------------------------------------------------
Judy Brewer   jbrewer@w3.org     617-258-9741
Director, Web Accessibility Initiative International Program Office
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
MIT/LCS Room NE43-355
545 Technology Square, Cambridge MA 02139 USA
http://www.w3.org/WAI

Received on Friday, 20 March 1998 03:10:09 UTC