Re: is javascript considered good wacg 2.0 practice?

As we're now moving to the inadequate comparisons part of any such 
discussion...

On 14/12/2012 14:20, Harry Loots wrote:
> If we adopted the viewpoint that it is up to the user to provide the
> necessary means to access the service then we may as well extend this to
> public buildings and tell wheelchair users that they have to bring their
> own stair lifts if they want to use facilities located at the top of the
> stairs.

In my view, it would be more akin to expecting every building to also 
provide a supply of wheelchairs, as some people may not have a 
wheelchair but need it. (same way people can use readily-available 
browsers that work well with properly coded JavaScript, and instead 
choose to use Lynx etc).

> But what if I was, due to
> personal circumstances,  unable to install free software? Asking a
> sighted neighbour to come and install software that will enable me to
> access this service is demeaning to me and makes me reliant on others,
> whereas what I as a user with special needs want is independence and
> self-reliance.

Taken to the extreme, what if the user was partially sighted almost to 
the point of practically being blind, but couldn't install a screenreader?

At some point, accessibility is a shared responsibility between users 
bringing the right tools (UAAG), developers building accessible 
resources (WCAG) and authoring tools allowing accessible content to be 
created (ATAG). The blame/responsibility can't be solely shifted to any 
one of those three parties. IMHO, of course.

P
-- 
Patrick H. Lauke
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Received on Friday, 14 December 2012 13:33:17 UTC