off topic [long again!] [Re: Thorns pruned ]

Hi David,

From: "David M. Clark" <david@davidsaccess.com>
To: "'Steve Carter'" <steve@juggler.net>; "'wai-ig list'"
<w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>

> However, when you say:
>
> > I'm being paid to educate.  I'm on this list to be educated, not
> > attacked.
>
> It is analogous to doctor claiming to be a seasoned professional (with
> commensurate rates), while he/she is still completing his/her
> internship.

I must admit I'm not fully able to understand your standpoint.  There's a
sort of 'chain of command' as I see it.  At the top are those who dedicate
their energies to activism and idealism, and are changing the actual meaning
of accessibilty and changing the way governments treat the matter.  You
might be one of these.  At the very bottom are folks who have "maintain
department's web presence" at number 14(c) on their job description.  They
must keep the department's web site up-to-date but not at the expense of
allowing the stationery cupboard to run out of staples.

It's quite a lot more complex than this, but it's a good enough analogy.

My role is more as a translator and communicator than anything else.  I have
an excellent degree in computer science and experience of both public and
private sector environments, which allows me to decipher the various jargons
and hidden agendas and mediate between the technical, idealogical,
practical, political and personal spheres to effectively give the folk at
the bottom of the chain access to the results of the labors of those at the
top.  I don't need to understand everything about accessibilty because those
at the top (you guys) have kindly drawn up the WCAG10 and I don't need to
understand all the politics and law because those in command at the
university have fixed their goal.

As for commensurate rates, I am not making a 'fast buck' if that is your
worry: of all the bucks I have made in my life, this is a relatively slow
one.  The university is not paying me all that much and they are getting
excellent value for their money.  I even wear a suit on the training days
:-)  They are getting access to the guidelines and translation of the
techniques, explained patiently, sometimes painstakingly, to the people who
need to know them, along with a little healthy evangelism to motivate the
troops.  They are not setting up a 'department of accessibility research'
and I am not trying to replace the role of the w3c.  I leave that to M$ :-)

Hope this answers your concerns.

Regards,

Steve.  :-)

Received on Tuesday, 12 February 2002 09:34:18 UTC