Re: not jaws, just inaccessible:Fw: Inaccessible Web sites

Jerry wrote:
>I am sometimes amazed at how differently people feel about level of
>accessibility of web sites.... image map has no labels on the
>various links which one could immediately condemn as being utterly
>inaccessible.  On the other hand, the names of the files comprising the
map,
>... are very clear and simple.  Therefore, since JAWS reads the ...
>filenames as an attempt to provide some access to the map, a JAWS user \
>hears a list of quite clear, lucid links to various parts of the site.

Perhaps it is in the terminology we use in describing our feelings or our
individual assessments.

I could easily say that the described map is accessible to a JAWs user but
does not meet the WCAG or 508 accessibility standard. I prefer to use the
term "meets a standard" or "meets a checkpoint" or "follows a guideline"
than to say "is accessible" because I have the implied definition from the
standard. I prefer to use the term "is accessible" when it is qualified by
a "to whom" phrase, as in "to an x y z user".  The more precise we are in
our communication the better we communicate.

The WCAG and 508 standards (standard with a small s) attempted to define a
set that would allow many or most, but not all users of all platforms of
all browsers of all assistive technologies to access the site.

Regards,
Phill

Received on Friday, 24 May 2002 16:18:58 UTC