(unknown charset) Re: Concerns with Accessibe joining W3C

I echo this stance.
what perhaps members do not realize is the   way organizations like  this 
one  can claim credibility, and assumed following of w3c  guidelines, 
just by being able to say, we are a member of the w3c.
Speaking personally?  Perhaps the intersection  between  real, and 
self-promotional claims to inclusion is at a point something  should be 
done.  Much as with the email issue, changes impact  populations in 
critical ways, with a company being able to claim, often to the detriment 
of a person who cannot prove otherwise that they are accessible because a 
company like this says as much.
One of my favorites recent examples comes from a company claiming that 
their Captcha tool is fully accessible stating on twitter that 
accessibility does not extend to braille displays, or braille users on 
line.
Sadly the general public  remains too  ignorant of what accessibility 
means, and too rooted in well intention stereotypes for this to 
continue.
best,
Karen
t


On Thu, 27 May 2021, Lucy GRECO wrote:

> Sheri i also am concerned about how much we are herring about this daly its
> vary disruptive to the  progress we have made over the past few years.
>
> frankly there most  recent  announcement of a search  engen   scairs me
> more then any thing. after all its self  promotion because you can bet the
> search engen is only going to find sites they are installed on. we need to
> make a reel concerted efert to find a way for these toolbars to stop
> \lucy
> Lucia Greco
> Web Accessibility Evangelist
> IST - Architecture, Platforms, and Integration
> University of California, Berkeley
> (510) 289-6008 skype: lucia1-greco
> http://webaccess.berkeley.edu
> Follow me on twitter @accessaces
>
>
>
> On Thu, May 27, 2021 at 10:04 AM Chris O'Brien <chrobrien@olg.ca> wrote:
>
>> It would not be the first time an overlay company joined the ranks of the
>> W3C.
>>
>>
>>
>> Chris O’Brien
>>
>> Director of Accessibility
>>
>> Legal and Litigation
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> OLG Internal
>>
>> *From:* Sheri Byrne Haber <sbyrnehaber@vmware.com>
>> *Sent:* Thursday, May 27, 2021 12:51 PM
>> *To:* w3c-WAI-ig@w3.org
>> *Subject:* Concerns with Accessibe joining W3C
>>
>>
>>
>> This email originated outside of OLG. Do not open attachments or click
>> links unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
>>
>>
>>
>> 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://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Faccessibe.com%2Fcompany%2Froadmap&data=04%7C01%7Cchrobrien%40olg.ca%7Cc75b56c6c6fa4579fd2008d921303fbc%7Cf271d9b4e54c46e182bd25d50afa3779%7C0%7C0%7C637577314243080309%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=iNAWnDYwrnYr1RVac0dyOUjv9Yj73yfwr%2BOFme6gAKw%3D&reserved=0>
>> 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
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>