Re: Accessibility for all?

or we could just multiply the thinking and take all the best known
strategies and follow them.  I will never understand how a system will
deliver the just right choice.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kynn Bartlett" <kynn-edapta@idyllmtn.com>
To: "SHARPE, Ian" <Ian.SHARPE@cambridge.sema.slb.com>; "WAI (E-mail)"
<w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Sent: Monday, August 12, 2002 12:24 PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility for all?



At 9:41 AM +0100 8/12/02, SHARPE, Ian wrote:
>Hi All,
>
>I've been asked to answer a couple of points regarding website
accessibility
>for some potential business. Social inclusion pleasantly being an
imporant
>aspect of the development. I found myself starting off initially with
the
>somewhat unqualified statement:
>
>"It is widely accepted by the accessibility communitee that it is not
>currently realistic to sensibly provide a fully accessible solution to
this
>problem for all social groups at this time".

If you look at WCAG 1.0 or Section 508, then is undoubtedly true.
Adherence to either places a much lower priority on the needs of some
groups than on others, and also sets up a competition between the needs
of some groups and the needs of others.

So I would say this is a legitimate statement.

>The problem being a web portal comprising numerous backend systems
which
>come together to deliver dynamic content potentially in a variety of
formats
>and using a variety of media. Even if we reduce the problem to a
straight
>forward online flight booking system for example I personally don't
believe
>it is possible to cater for all sensibly at this time? Just taking the
>visually impared and learning disabilities alone I feel moves the
problem
>into potentially two separate solutions with the VI requiring textual
>feedback and learning disabilities perhaps more familiar with some kind
of
>SVG approach?

This is why an adaptive/transformative approach is most valuable.  The
idea that all users can be equally served by a single user interface is
one which should have died years ago.  Unfortunately, it's 2002 now and
we have yet to see fully-deployed increased accessibility adaptive
transformations. :(

You have accurately identified a weakness in current accessibility
thinking.  The solution, as I see it, is to change our thinking and
realize that multiple interfaces need to be constructed.  If you are
already assembling a portal system which separates the business
logic (backend) from the front (dynamic content) then you are already
advantaged when it comes to building a functioning adaptive
transformation
system.  You can get better results for a broader group of users by
creating multiple templates which meet a diversity of needs.

--Kynn

--
Kynn Bartlett <kynn@idyllmtn.com>                 http://kynn.com
Chief Technologist, Idyll Mountain            http://idyllmtn.com
Next Book: Teach Yourself CSS in 24       http://cssin24hours.com
Kynn on Web Accessibility ->>          http://kynn.com/+sitepoint

Received on Monday, 12 August 2002 13:34:39 UTC