Very clearly argued, Chris - and this is too often forgotten! " > Following current best practices (starting with content, then adding > style and behavior on top of that) goes a long way toward > accessibility. > > (Also, keep in mind that accessibility isn't only for the benefit of > people with disabilities: Having an accessible site is one of the most > robust search engine optimization strategies.) > "
At the other end of the scale from your don't-give-a-darn merchants, you find people agonising about what to do if a user has javascript *and* images are turned off - the answer is nothing, IMO, because they're essentially using a text browser and your page structure will provide all the information flow they need (won't it?). It will also be text-to-voice optimised that way, so you don't have to worry about all those extra CSS bits for sound projection (thank goodness). It's quite funny to switch your computer's native voice reader on, then visit a site with a jumbled layout and/or styles & javascript all over the place ;) And, hey, that's what the Googlebot's reading, too! It is noticeable, in this thread, that the most vocal accessibility advocates are those with some personal experience. A Flash developer friend of mine experienced a Damascene conversion to accessible navigation after he broke his wrist! It just would be nice to see a little more thought given to the issue overall (especially in the Javascript world). Incidentally, websites already fall within the Disability Discrimination Act, here in the UK. Nobody's brought a test case, yet - I hoped my friend would make an official complaint about that bank, but we'll have to wait for someone else to do it. It should wake a few clients up, at least ;) On Feb 15, 9:41 pm, Chris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Feb 15, 11:46 am, "Rick Faircloth" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > > The Internet, even as many forms of media as it employs, simply cannot > > be for everyone, as the radio cannot accommodate the deaf and TV cannot > > accommodate the blind. > > The problem is that because it is at its base a stream of text, and > because it is a breeding ground for new technologies, the World Wide > Web _can_ be accessible to just about everyone. Without special > accommodations.
