- From: Shawn Henry <shawn@w3.org>
- Date: Thu, 27 May 2021 12:12:46 -0500
- To: Sheri Byrne Haber <sbyrnehaber@vmware.com>, "w3c-WAI-ig@w3.org" <w3c-WAI-ig@w3.org>
Hi Sheri, Here are pointers to the information you seek. W3C's Code of Ethics is: Positive Work Environment at W3C: Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct https://www.w3.org/Consortium/cepc/ "Membership in W3C is open to all types of organizations... Any entity that can sign the Membership Agreement can become a Member." (that is, W3C does not accept or reject Members) from: Membership FAQ https://www.w3.org/Consortium/membership-faq#who I think this is the latest Member Agreement, although I'd have to confirm if needed <https://www.w3.org/2009/12/Member-Agreement>. Feel free to contact me directly if you (or others) have additional questions. Best, ~Shawn <http://www.w3.org/People/Shawn/> On 27-May-21 11:50 AM, Sheri Byrne Haber wrote: > Accessibe announced yesterday that they are planning on joining (or have joined, I’m not sure which) W3C. > > Please refer to https://accessibe.com/company/roadmap <https://accessibe.com/company/roadmap> for details > > For those of you not familiar with AccessiBe, they are probably the largest and certainly the loudest of the “accessibility overlay” companies. They make claims about one line of code and a small monthly payment eliminating accessibility lawsuit risk. In reality, 10 % of lawsuits now being filed (including the lawsuit against ADP filed by Lighthouse) are against plaintiffs using these overlays because they can’t and don’t make a site WCAG compliant. There is a website called OverlayFactSheet.com started by Karl Groves, where over 400 accessibility professionals (including me) have signed a public commitment not to support solutions that take away user’s assistive technology and substitute another tool in its place. > > Clearly, I have significant reservations about W3C accepting any overlay/tool/widget company as a member. I’ve looked on the W3C website and do not see any membership code of ethics. We did spend quite a bit of time developing one for IAAP. > > Am I alone in this, or is this a general concern? > > Thanks, > > Sheri > > Sheri Byrne-Haber (She/Her/Hers) > > Staff II, Accessibility Architect >
Received on Thursday, 27 May 2021 17:12:50 UTC