Reaching out to the W3C working group

Dear Everyone-

As some of you may know, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) has
issued a request for comments on a proposed regulation that will cover the
websites of foreign air carriers and US airport kiosks.

In response, a research project out of Cornell University has created an
online environment for accessible web developers to easily participate in
this comment period.  This online environment is not being offered by DOT
but is a way for you to easily understand and participate in the rulemaking
process and make a contribution on how you think accessible web design
and/or accessible kiosks should be approached.

 

I am forwarding to you an email from Dmitry Epstein at Cornell University
who is seeking input from the W3C interest group on the DOT rules for
websites of foreign air carriers.  His project has set up an online website
for your participation that is viewed by some as a more friendly and easier
way to comment on the proposed rules for websites of foreign air carriers.

 

If you have never participated in the US government process of rulemaking, I
strongly encourage you to try out the Regulation Room at
www.Regulationroom.org as discussed below.  It really is critical that
policymakers hear from developers about what you think about the rules for
implementing accessible websites for foreign air carriers.

 

It is my understanding that the deadline is November 17, so please respond
as soon as possible so that all the comments from the web developers can be
consolidated and submitted before that date.

 

Best regards,

Cynthia Waddell

CynthiaSays.com 

 

--------------------------------------------------

Cynthia D. Waddell, JD

Executive Director and

Law, Policy and Technology Consultant

International Center for Disability Resources

   on the Internet (ICDRI) Phone:  (408) 691-6921

 <http://www.icdri.org/CynthiaW/cynthia_d.htm>
http://www.icdri.org/CynthiaW/cynthia_d.htm

 

ICT Accessibility & Government Services Expert

United Nations Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs

www.g3ict.com <http://www.g3ict.com/>  

 

Vice-President, Global Alliance on  Accessible Technologies 

   and Environments (GAATES) 

 

 

 

 

 

From: Dmitry Epstein [mailto:de56@cornell.edu] 
Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2011 10:40 AM
To: cynthia.waddell@icdri.org
Subject: reaching out to the W3C working group

 

Hello again!

 

Here is a brief message introducing the project. Will that be good enough to
forward to the W3C working group?

 

Thank you again for your help!!!

 

Dima

 

 

=========

 

Hello!

 

I am writing to interest you in our ongoing initiative in the area of new
media and open government that helps the public to participate in federal
policymaking. 

 

"We" are the Cornell E-Rulemaking Initiative (CeRI) - a multidisciplinary
research project that brings together Cornell University faculty and
students from Computing and Information Science, Law, and the Scheinman
Institute on Conflict Resolution. We also work with legal informatics
professionals at the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School and
we are a recent recipient of a National Science Foundation grant for
research on the notice-and-comment process used by federal agencies during
the creation of new regulations. 

 

We developed the Regulation Room (www.regulationroom.org), an online
environment for people and groups to learn about, discuss, and react to
selected rules proposed by federal agencies.  It uses WordPress and
DigressIt to create a constantly evolving platform that, together with our
facilitation practices, enable more effective participation from
individuals, who have typically been left out of federal policymaking
processes (although affected by it). Regulation Room has worked on 3 "live"
rulemakings with the Department of Transportation (DOT). 

 

Right now, we are hosting discussion on a DOT proposed supplemental rule
that would require US and foreign airlines to make their websites and
airport check-in kiosks accessible to travelers with disabilities.  DOT has
proposed that air travel websites meet the accessibility standard WCAG 2.0
conformance level "AA." (Our team is working hard to meet that standard for
all Regulation Room pages involved in this rule.)  If you have any
experience in web accessibility, we encourage you to visit Regulation Room
to learn about these proposals and discuss them with others. Contributions
will become part of a formal public comment that DOT will consider as part
of making a final decision.

 

Our goal is to provide a platform for individuals who might not normally
comment on a proposed rule to have their voice heard. We hope that the
project, as well as currently discussed rule, will be of interest to you and
your community. We will appreciate any help with spreading the word either
through your website, e-mail communications or social media. We will also
appreciate any feedback you may have about our project, which you can
address directly to us at regulationroom@cornell.edu

 

Regulation Room on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/regulationroom

Regulation Room on Twitter: http://twitter.com/regulationroom

 

 

=========

 

-------

Dmitry Epstein

Cornell eRulemaking Initiative

Law and Public Policy Program

Cornell Law School

158 Myron Taylor Hall

Ithaca, NY 14853

 

de56@cornell.edu

www.thinkmacro.org

www.regulationroom.org

www.h-network.org