Fwd: Contact Organizations about Inaccessible Websites

Hello EO editors,

I like this new page! Here are some suggestions for it:

- Consider your Approach: "Keep in mind that there are different reasons why
websites are not accessible. Some organizations don't know about
accessibility and don’t know how to make their websites accessible. Some are
just learning about accessibility and trying to make their website
accessible, although they may not be doing it well yet. And there are some
organizations that choose not to make their websites accessible."

Other reasons may be that the organization is accessible up to a particular
level of conformance to a guideline/standard which is not adequate for their
(the user's) requirement; or that despite full conformance to
guidelines/standards there are some usability impacts that are not accounted
for in the guideline/standard.

- Encouraging Accessible Websites:

Strengthen the message for encouraging accessible websites. Many
organizations have no idea if their accessibility efforts are worth it from
the perspective of persons with disabilities. A very common question is "Are
any persons with disabilities actually using our site?". It is impossible to
programmatically detect this and it raises privacy concerns to try and
collect this information. It would help organizations to hear from persons
with disabilities even when they are doing a good job. Positive feedback
works at an organization level just as well as it does at a personal level.

- Describe the Problem, "To help the organization diagnose and fix
accessibility barriers, clearly describe where the problem occurred, what
the problem is, and what computer and software you're using.":

Include "what you were trying to do". This is included in the sample emails
and is helpful for organizations.

- Keep Records for Further Follow-up, "Keep copies of the website when you
first encounter the problem and any time the website changes, for example
print the pages or make electronic screen grabs or captures that show the
problem":

Perhaps expand this to explain that the format of the copy needs to be
appropriate for the type of problem. A screen grab or print out is
appropriate for visual issues, such as altered color display, but not for
screen reader issues, where saving the page is more appropriate.

- Sample Email 1:

Consider removing "I encountered some accessibility barriers for people with
disabilities and older people using your website." to keep the email
personal. I think it has greater impact.

- Sample Email 3:

Editorial "I can't [use] a mouse very much because my arms don’t work well."



I would really like to see a similar page for web applications - encouraging
employees to make requests of their procurement managers, making sure
accessibility is part of any requirements document, etc.

Well done!

Sofia Celic-Li








---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Shawn Henry <shawn@w3.org>
Date: Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 5:59 AM
Subject: Contact Organizations about Inaccessible Websites
To: WAI Interest Group <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>


Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

W3C WAI invites feedback on a new resource published today:
 Contacting Organizations about Inaccessible Websites
 http://www.w3.org/WAI/users/inaccessible

This new document provides guidance on identifying key contacts, describing
the problem, and following up as needed. It includes tips and sample
e-mails.

WAI encourages you to use this draft document, and let us know how it works
for you and how we can improve it. Please send comments to the
publicly-archived e-mail list:
 wai-eo-editors@w3.org
 by 3 February 2010

You can also share your experiences and ideas as comments on the blog post:
 *Take a few minutes to encourage web accessibility. Your voice counts.*
 http://www.w3.org/QA/2010/01/encourage_accessibility_make_a_difference

This document was developed by Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG)
as part of the WAI-AGE Project. WAI-AGE is a European Commission IST
Specific Support Action, with the goal of increasing accessibility of the
Web for older people as well as for people with disabilities. See:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/WAI-AGE/
Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your
comments.

Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid
cross-postings where possible.

Regards,
~Shawn Henry, EOWG Chair
On behalf of the document editors: Andrew Arch, Shawn Lawton Henry, Shadi
Abou-Zahra



-----
Shawn Lawton Henry
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
e-mail: shawn@w3.org
phone: +1.617.395.7664
about: http://www.w3.org/People/Shawn/