On reflection, I've overreacted a bit. I saw this site linked from the Smashing Magazine article:
http://www.melkadel.com/ ... and it set me off. It's just not accessible *at all* to screen readers, text-only browsers, PDAs, cellphones ... which in this case is marginally OK, because the site is all about visual art anyway -- except that this kind of design is also not accessible to people with impaired vision who are not entirely blind, and may appreciate the content. I've said it before here, and I'll say it again: This is a rapidly increasing percentage of people in the industrialized world, because of the aging 'baby boomers' and because of the way we've abused our eyes by sitting in front of cathode ray tubes most of our lives. In the next 20 years, experts predict a huge increase in the number of people with retinopathy and other vision impairments. Those people are likely to control a fairly large share of the disposable income that ends up in the pockets of retailers, and those retailers are using the Web for marketing and sales. It's great to think expansively, but I'm fairly sure we'll regret it if we break the rules without considering why those rules are important. You can always break any rule if you're willing and able to pay the price for doing so. In this case, the price may be losing paying customers if you don't do this thoughtfully. Progressive enhancement serves everyone. As Todd wisely notes, "it depends." I agree with Todd completely that my strident objection to the use of handwriting were too harsh and absolute. It can have a limited role, but I'm disappointed that the linked article failed to hint at any drawbacks. Thanks, Todd, for converting the heat into light. I'll try to react less, or at least to write less when I do react. Can 117 million people be wrong? Sure! Was the German population right to back Hitler in the 1930s and '40s? Everything looks much clearer in hindsight. The same is true of any social or technological movement. I've lived long enough to perceive that MySpace/Facebook/Twitter are an unsustainable fad, enjoyable enough for now, and when those 117 million people find they need to be productive to get ahead in the world, or when they start having babies, they will just as quickly abandon this for more profitable and urgent uses of their time. In the meantime, somebody's profiting and I think that's just great. MySpace isn't right or wrong; they make choices and they experience consequences. All that said, only time will tell whether my opinions about this have merit. My life experience suggests they do, and your mileage certainly will vary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=29152 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
