Re: Accessible UI-- text-only or text-accessible?

I think this deserves a general reply.  the web content accessability
guidelines takes the stand that you don't need an alternate ui but that
there are conventions that if followed will provide access for a wide
audience.  I subscribe to this as well.  I want access to what everyone
else has access too.  I don't want or desire or need an alternate user
interface.  there are too many of them already and they usually fall
behind in the "real world".

Reidy Brown wrote:
> 
> Here's an interesting question... if you are creating an alternate
> accessible interface, should it be a text-only interface, or a
> text-accessible interface?
> 
> Is it better to use accessibility features that come along with some of the
> more sophisticated code (e.g. using tables so that you can identify row and
> column headers, using images with d-links, using audio with a transcript)?
> Or is it better to go with the lowest-common-denominator text-only version--
> so you don't have to worry about your table wrapping, for instance?
> 
> Keep in mind that this is an "alternate" interface, so for example, if it
> did use tables, it wouldn't use parallel tables to format columns... but in
> visual browsers the text might wrap, which could cause problems with screen
> readers.
> 
> There are essentially two ways to play this-- do the simplest, safest (?)
> text version, or go with a slightly more developed version that could
> eventually be "spiffed up" with CSS... and (possibly) become the primary UI.
> 
> (Please excuse the cross-posting-- you may want to reply just to me, or just
> to your listserv rather than hitting reply-to-all in your email software.)
> 
> Reidy
> 
> _________________________________________
> Reidy Brown
> Accessibility Coordinator/
> Senior Web Application Developer
> mailto:rbrown@blackboard.com
> http://www.blackboard.com
> ____________________________________________

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Received on Thursday, 6 January 2000 16:58:06 UTC