Re: Web Accessibility in Ireland: Survey Results.

Hi Barry,

This is an interesting report. A couple of quick observations:

I thought that the report very clearly identified the limitations of the
methodology and how valuable this kind of work can be despite those
limitations. That struck me as a very valuable part.

It would have been good to have an analysis of when tests were 'not
applicable' - for example approximately 1/3 of sites had problems with the
way they used frames, but it is not clear in the report if that is all the
sites that use frames, or if 1/3 of the sites surveyed used frames but didn't
introduce the same barriers.

As the report points out, delimiting what a site is is a tricky business.
However the use of description and keywords metadata as a key requirement was
an interesting choice. Do you have any data (or know of any) on what
proportion of sites, and what type of sites, don't have these? (I imagine it
is low, but it is certainly not zero, and I find myself wondering...).

Thanks (also to the students who worked with you) - I found this a
well-thought out and interesting read on a Sunday morning.

cheers

Chares McCathieNevile

On Thu, 21 Nov 2002, Barry McMullin wrote:

>
>Hi Folks -
>
>I have been responsible for a project, which has just been
>completed, attempting to get a "macroscopic" view of the state of
>accessibility of web sites operated by Irish organistations; or,
>more precisely, the state of engagement with WCAG 1.0 guidelines.
>
>The project was carried out with generous sponsorship from AIB
>Bank PLC.
>
>The results of our initial work are being formally launched this
>evening (Dublin, 18.00 UTC). You can find the official press
>release here:
>
>  http://eaccess.rince.ie/press/21-Nov-2002.html
>
>In brief - and I guess to the surprise of few on these lists - 94%
>of the sample showed at least one WCAG-A failure; 100% showed at
>least one WCAG-AA failure.
>
>What we have done is extremely crude, and subject to many
>limitations and qualifications; notwithstanding that I believe it
>may provide a benchmark which will be useful in developing public
>policy (in Ireland, and perhaps elsewhere).
>
>A summary report is available at this URL:
>
>  http://eaccess.rince.ie/white-papers/2002/warp-2002-01/warp-2002-01.html
>
>The detailed explanation of the project runs to 81 printed pages,
>or 350 KBytes of download; but is available to enthusiasts at
>this URL:
>
>  http://eaccess.rince.ie/white-papers/2002/warp-2002-01/warp-2002-01.html
>
>I would, of course, be greatful for any comment - whether
>positive or critical - on this work.  On a subsidiary point, I'd
>also, of course, like to hear if anyone has accessibility
>problems or comments about the overall site hosting our work, at
>this root URL:
>
>  http://eaccess.rince.ie/
>
>Best wishes,
>
>- Barry.
>
>

-- 
Charles McCathieNevile  http://www.w3.org/People/Charles  tel: +61 409 134 136
SWAD-E http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/Europe ------------ WAI http://www.w3.org/WAI
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Received on Saturday, 21 December 2002 17:14:12 UTC