Re: How Far Can Web Accessibility Go?

keiko okada wrote:

>There are a lot of e-commerce sites where you
>can shop, but I wonder how many of them are designed with accessibility
>in mind? 
>
>  
>
I'm not too sure of the stats either, but I think that there are a lot 
more designed with accessibility in mind than we may actually think.  I 
know it is given a lot more consideration than would seem so at first 
glance.  The problem is in the implementation.  Sometimes the strategies 
of implementation just do not show that much real knowledge and optimume 
use to howtos and how greater benefit can be made for just a little 
effort in the right areas.  Just understanding how to "Fully Utilise 
Markup" is poorly lacking.

>Web is still fairly a "new" medium, especially when compared to the
>history of softwares/hardwares. Yet it has been catching up. We know its
>much easier to create an accessible site then making an existing site
>accessible. And that's the way it should be. More and more sites are
>created everyday. I hope more developers (and any other project members
>involved) willl have time and thoughtfulness (and money if necessary) to
>consider accessibility.  
>
>  
>

You know, I don't believe this myth at all, it's just a very lazy excuse 
for not understanding the foundations of this medium.  If you have a 
basic understanding of the publishing model in the print world, of 
software development and engineering, and understand markup as applied 
to a device independent network (the principles of SGML), also which any 
GUI operating system represents these days, then you tend not to get 
caught in that myth and it's hype.  But I will emphasis that one can now 
proclaim that because user agents do now better support enough of W3C 
recommendations to make them a feasible path of development based on 
ROI, whereas, in the very recent past, one needed to implement ones kit 
bag of tricks to be commercially viable.

Geoff Deering

Received on Wednesday, 24 December 2003 06:59:40 UTC