Re: Accessibility barrier?

I think you could make a couple of small modifications. One is to use the del
element instead of span class="struckout". (The ins element is also useful,
if you are trying to track document changes through their life. Give it a
class, like the date on whch the insertion was made, and you can do some very
useful stuff in whatever CSS-aware format you happen to like...)

The other is to investigatge how the state currently meets its obligations to
blind citizens who want to read the legislation that governs them (and which
they are basically paying for). I assume that they do not have to look at
struck-through text, so there must already be some alternative answer. That
way it isn't a brave new world problem at all, it is simply a new application
of existing requirements (unless they are currently not met, which is another
story, and should be relatively simple for the appropriate people in Kansas
to deal with).

Cheers

Charles McCN

On Fri, 14 Jul 2000, Melinda Morris-Black wrote:

  Several on the list suggest I work to change the policy of how bills are
  displayed. While I support that idea, that's really not under my
  jurisdiction. I communicate with our state ADA coordinator, so I can advise
  or counsel for change. I'm a developer by day, policy crusader by night!
  
  Thanks to Kynn for the practical tip. I'll pass it on to my development team
  to test in our situation. It may work as temporary solution until state
  policy catches up.
  
  --
  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
  
  
  Kynn Bartlett wrote:
  
  > This is a tricky problem, because, of course, if you use CSS just for
  > the strikethrough, then when the page "degrades gracefully" on the
  > older browsers, that part of the information will get lost.
  >
  > Here's what I suggest, although it's a bit of work.
  >
  > Instead of this:
  >
  >     <style type="text/css">
  >     <!--
  >       .struckout { text-decoration: line-through; }
  >     -->
  >     </style>
  >     ...
  >     This is the <span class="struckout">old</span> way to do it.
  >
  > Try this:
  >
  >     <style type="text/css">
  >     <!--
  >       .struckout { text-decoration: line-through; }
  >       .strucknote { display: none; }
  >     -->
  >     </style>
  >     ...
  >     This is the <span class="strucknote">Begin Strike</span><span
  >     class="struckout">newer</span><span class="strucknote">End
  >     Strike</span> way to do it.
  >
  > It's not overly elegant -- it's hack -- but at the current time, hacks
  > are proving to be quite useful for the short term.
  >
  > --Kynn
  > --
  > --
  > Kynn Bartlett <kynn@idyllmtn.com>
  > http://www.kynn.com/
  

--
Charles McCathieNevile    mailto:charles@w3.org    phone: +61 (0) 409 134 136
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative                      http://www.w3.org/WAI
Location: I-cubed, 110 Victoria Street, Carlton VIC 3053
Postal: GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne 3001,  Australia

Received on Friday, 14 July 2000 23:03:11 UTC