> Far better to approach the problem by <em>suggesting<em/> that it's a
'good idea'
> to do x and y because the resulting site can be visually identical but
more accessible.
> Screaming and shouting and making money for lawyers is just fanaticism,
and
> considerably discouraging. The answer, like in so many cases, is in
education,
> not in applying a straight jacket!
Bob, on the surface your point is good. But in practice, in the "real world
out there", it doesn't work :( Don't get me wrong, I agree with you,
education is a key element, and really should be looked at as part of a
"whole package". That is, it should be *one* of the many steps and tools
used to reach the goal of "accessibility".
Having done advocacy for accessibility for over a decade, I can tell you
that there are situations (many more than I wish) where you just *know*
there's no amount of education or being nice that will work. You have to
try it, but you know that in the end, the *only* thing that the business
will understand is to hit them in the wallet, and hit them hard.
One of the problems here is that the Americans with Disabilities Act is
often perceived as a "brick & mortar" law. That is, a law that applies to
building and up to a point, services, which is rather tangible. In fact,
the ADA is a civil rights law, to ensure access. If you look at the ADA
under the one light, it's easy to assume that it can't possibly apply to the
internet. But if you look at it under the right light, it's obvious that it
does (or should in any case).
At which point does one's right to "do as one chooses" start stepping on
another one's right to access services? Would we even *have* this
discussion if people being refused access to websites were black and the
refusal was because they are black? (note, I'm using "black" in an
international context, not all blacks are African-American, and not with the
intent to offend).
I'll stop before I go on and on and ramble, this *is* a bit of a pet topic
of mine. Feel free to contact me in private to continue it if it's not
appropriate to this WSG list :)
Nic
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