RE: Focus

>One of the themes of accessibility is making document device
> independent[4].  I've seen texts put it like the mobile device is a
> disabled view of the web. Which is a little sad.

I've used this example myself, but mainly to sell accessibility
to clients, to make them understand that the concept of accessibility
is not just about "the blind guy in the corner". It's a very imperfect
simplification, admittedly, of a concept which deserves to be discussed
in its own right, of course.

>*So is device independence a subset of accessibility?*

Possibly...on the other hand, one could also say that device independence
has a positive, collateral effect on accessibility.

> I drew up a little diagram [5] today at the suggestion of w3-di
> participant, but are there must be better ones out there? :)
> [5] http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/hendry/work/thesis/pictures/accessibility.png

I have to admit, I haven't thought about the "bigger picture" like this
before...but just coming at this fresh: personally, I think that - as good
as the diagram is, there are a few areas which should really overlap.
Unicode and Interoperability Standards, for instance. Not sure what
"special needs" would be exactly, so that may need a bit of clarification.
And usability, rather than just being a segregated little section, would probably
encompass (or at least intersect with) a few of the other areas.

Anyway, sorry for not really coming up with any substantial (or substantiated,
as the case may be) answers...just thinking out loud.

Food for thought, nonetheless.

Patrick
________________________________
Patrick H. Lauke
Webmaster / University of Salford
http://www.salford.ac.uk

Received on Wednesday, 9 June 2004 11:20:08 UTC