Re: the WAVE accessibility evaluator

I'd be interested in a comparison between WAVE and Bobby. Does anyone know more
about this topic?

--
Regards,

MELINDA MORRIS-BLACK
Information Architect
Information Networks of Kansas
FON: (785) 296-5143
PCS: (785) 550-7345
FAX: (785) 296-5563
melinda@ink.org


David M Clark wrote:

> Len,
>
> This is a real step forward. Well done.
>
> dc
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> David M. Clark
> Director of Accessibility
> halftheplanet.com
> Email: dclark@halftheplanet.com  URL: http://www.halftheplanet.com
> Boston Office: 617/859-3069 (phone/fax)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org]On Behalf
> Of Leonard R. Kasday
> Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2000 5:14 PM
> To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
> Cc: w3c-wai-er-ig@w3.org
> Subject: the WAVE accessibility evaluator
>
> This is to announce a beta version of a new tool to help evaluate
> accessibility of Web sites.  It's called the WAVE (Web accessibility Visual
> Evaluator) http://www.temple.edu/inst_disabilities/piat/wave/ .  The WAVE
> superimposes icons and labels on a web page to show what information is
> available via ALT text and applet alternatives, and show the reading
> order.  This gives a person a quick way to compare the ALT text with the
> images, and the applet alternatives with the Applets.  It also helps the
> user see if the reading order makes sense.   In addition, missing,
> suspicious, and blank ALT text are flagged for scrutiny.  In other words,
> the focus is to help a person make the basic manual checks needed to
> evaluate accessibility.
>
> Is the WAVE itself accessible?  That's an interesting question.  On the one
> hand, the WAVE's input form and annotations are accessible.  However, in
> its present form the WAVE doesn't seem to be that useful to a person who is
> blind.  For example,  presenting the ALT text next to an image helps a
> sighted person check the quality of the ALT text, but it doesn't help a
> person who doesn't see the image. I'm looking for suggestions to make the
> WAVE more useful to people who are blind.
>
> This is the first release.  Although I tried to handle the most common
> problems, there are lots of checkpoints it doesn't cover, especially
> checkpoints dealing with disabilities other than blindness.  Also, for
> pages with frames, it just shows the NOFRAME output, if any (although you
> can copy the URI's of the individual frames--e.g. using Netscape's right
> click menu--into the WAVE and look at them one at a time.)  Work is ongoing
> to add these features.
>
> The WAVE was developed at Pennsylvania's Institute on Assistive Technology,
> a program of the Institute on Disabilities/UAP at Temple University, and
> incorporates techniques and suggestions from the WAI Evaluation and Repair
> Tools Interest Group.
>
> If you have brief feedback of a general nature,
>      please post it to this list (the wai interest group list,
> w3c-wai-ig@w3.org).
>
> If you have detailed feedback,
>      please post it to the author, Len Kasday ( kasday@acm.org ) and/or the
> Evaluation and Repair Interest Group ( w3c-wai-er-ig@w3.org   ... note the
> "er" in that address).
>
> Please respond by April 6, although of course suggestions at any time are
> welcome.
>
> Len
> -------
> Leonard R. Kasday, Ph.D.
> Institute on Disabilities/UAP, and
> Department of Electrical Engineering
> Temple University
> 423 Ritter Annex, Philadelphia, PA 19122
>
> kasday@acm.org
> http://astro.temple.edu/~kasday
>
> (215) 204-2247 (voice)
> (800) 750-7428 (TTY)