RE: AOL drops e-mail address for accessibility

> I feel a certain amount of empathy for you as you have 
> grabbed a tiger by the tail and I do acknowledge it is not 
> your tiger!!

Quite all right - I enjoy the debate and think that lots of interesting
information gets out there this way.

> So why close the feedback/email link if their own agreed 
> settlement was being followed ? I quote.

The email worked when I tried it.  Did you try it?

> "AOL product group managers will consult and refer to the 
> Accessibility Checklist when developing new products and 
> services and consider that their decisions regarding 
> accessibility reflect both intended applications and relevant 
> business demands."
> 
> I believe the last three words in that clause says it all. 
> Prosecution rests.......for the moment anyway.

Compromises are made for every software product made anywhere.  Some are
related to usability, others to desired features, and others to
accessibility.  It is fair to say that functionality from the keyboard was
probably not part of the specification for the embedded media player Kelly
used, but I can't say why not - this one fell through the cracks somehow.
Telling companies that they are wrong to consider accessibility and the
project budget at the same time is going to be a tough sell.  I believe that
the way to get good decisions made regularly is to work with the companies
and the people who are making decisions about whether to implement feature X
or feature Y.  The threat of a big lawsuit can be motivating, but working
with the people on the ground is the real key.

AWK

Received on Saturday, 27 March 2004 14:34:16 UTC