On Mar 8, 2007, at 7:48 AM, Bob Schwartz wrote:
First a disclaimer:
This post does not reflect my personal views on web accessibility
or handicapped persons, it is merely a collection of "academic"
thoughts triggered by various posts of the past few days.
How and why did the web get singled out from among all of the other
"publishing" mediums to be "by law" accessible?
Why aren't book, magazine, and newspaper publishers "required" to
produce an audio or braille version of everything they publish?
Why aren't TV broadcasters and movie production companies
"required" to sub-title all of their broadcasts or films, or have
an "off screen reader" describing the scenes?
Isn't saying one can't (shouldn't) use, for example, a popup window
on a web site because screen readers have trouble with them, like
telling Hollywood they can't (shouldn't) use certain special
effects because the "off screen reader" would have trouble
explaining them to a blind person?
I'm no lawyer, but I believe that in US the argument is based on the
Americans with Disabilities Act being applicable to any "public
space" and that there has been a test case (or cases?) in which a web
site was found to be a "public space".
If I was a lawyer, with time on my hands, I guess I might make an
argument that though the internet as a whole may be a public space,
analogous to a bookstore, cinema or video store (all of which must
comply with ADA), an individual web site is more akin to the wares
available in those venues, and hence the level of compliance should
be a matter of the provider's choice.
But why argue? Providing accessibility is so obviously the "right
thing" both morally and economically (maximise customer base) for
large commercial sites. And the chances of a small niche site
selling, say, optical gear is not likely to be prosecuted for not
being fully accessible to the blind.
Andrew
109B SE 4th Av
Gainesville
FL 32601
Cell: 352-870-6661
http://www.andrewmaben.com
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"In a well designed user interface, the user should not need
instructions."
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