RE: Wired story about 508 Compliance

In several instances it seems to be a combination of a complex issue, which
some reporters are coming across for the first time, and working on under
deadline. Look back at Maria Seminario's article on ZDNet--she has made a
number of corrections
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2243282,00.html in response
to feedback and clarification requests.

We are following up with the Wired writer as well.

Judy

At 02:21 PM 5/7/99 -0700, Waddell, Cynthia wrote:
>It certainly makes our job more difficult with the sloppy reporting.  I hope
>this is not a misinformation campaign to discredit web accessibility efforts
>and divide the tech community.
>
>Cynthia D. Waddell
>
>---------------------------------------------------
>Cynthia D. Waddell
>ADA Coordinator
>City Manager Department
>City of San Jose, CA USA
>801 North First Street, Room 460
>San Jose, CA  95110-1704
>(408)277-4034
>(408)971-0134 TTY
>(408)277-3885 FAX
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: MMuehe@CI.Cambridge.MA.US [mailto:MMuehe@CI.Cambridge.MA.US]
>Sent: Friday, May 07, 1999 3:15 PM
>To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
>Subject: Re: Wired story about 508 Compliance
>
>
>>From the Wired story, this gem of patronization and twisted 
>language: 
>
>"Of course, I believe that handicapped people should 
>have full access to the Web," said Oz Lubling, a technologist at 
>Web design and consulting firm Razorfish. "But technology and 
>new computer languages, like XML, are emerging so quickly now 
>that a more useful approach would be to work with and adapt the 
>new technology to enable the users, rather than restrict the old 
>technology, which seems disabling," he said.
>
>Check out Oz's cutting-edge web site (I guess alt tags just 
>aren't cutting edge enough).
>
>http://www.Razorfish.com/
>
>> >http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/19556.html
>> 
>> Another example of sloppy reporting on this issue, especially
>> when they quote ignorant web developers -- who obviously haven't
>> been to http://aware.hwg.org/ -- who say that making a site
>> accessible will "double" the time necessary to make a web
>> site.
>> 
>==========================
>Michael Muehe
>Executive Director / ADA Coordinator
>Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities
>51 Inman Street, second floor
>Cambridge, MA 02139  USA
>617-349-6297 voice
>617-492-0235 TTY
>617-349-4766 fax
>www.ci.cambridge.ma.us/~CCPD
>
>"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -- Helen Keller
>
----------
Judy Brewer    jbrewer@w3.org    +1.617.258.9741    http://www.w3.org/WAI
Director, Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) International Program Office
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
MIT/LCS Room NE43-355, 545 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA,  02139,  USA

Received on Friday, 7 May 1999 17:44:10 UTC