Comments on: Businesses Agree to Make Websites Accessible http://www.alttags.org/accessibility/businesses-agree-to-make-websites-accessible/ Accessibility, Usability and Web Standards Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:00:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: Miguel from Ottawa, Canada http://www.alttags.org/accessibility/businesses-agree-to-make-websites-accessible/#comment-7569 Miguel from Ottawa, Canada Thu, 23 Feb 2006 19:00:52 +0000 http://www.alttags.org/accessibility/businesses-agree-to-make-websites-accessible/#comment-7569 Red Baron, you make me nervous. I hope you made your comments because you are merely ignorant and don't understand what is being discussed. Because, if you think for a second that someone other than the owner of a website should be responsible for the barriers it creates, it's time to grow up and learn to take some responsibility for your actions (and inactions). Although I haven't experienced any barriers because of my disability (mobility impaired, but highly functional) I still have a lot of sympathy for those who find web sites impossible to use. For those who don't seem to get it, I wish I could show you a video of a visually impaired individual, spending quite a while filling out a form, only to find, in the end, he can't click the submit button becuase the web designer used an image whcih captures XY coordinates instead. It's exasperating, to say the least. There are too many myths about refitting a website to make it more accessible. Of course refitting would take considerable more resources than accommodating accessibility at design stage, but the task can be done in chunks. Break it down into areas of effort and return on investment. First do the low effort/high return work. Then, bit by bit, the site becomes more accessible. There are several reasons other than accomodating disabled persons as well. Consider the increased readability and better indexing by search engines. But, I would like to think one would be doing it out of kindness, compassion and a desire to not exclude someone. Certainly, if the site is for a limited audience of friends, that's one thing, but if it's for a larger group or the public at large, it should be accessible. You wouldn't keep a person of a certain race out of a site, why would you keep a disabled person out? Or are they less deserving? My $0.02, Miguel Sanchez Red Baron, you make me nervous. I hope you made your comments because you are merely ignorant and don’t understand what is being discussed. Because, if you think for a second that someone other than the owner of a website should be responsible for the barriers it creates, it’s time to grow up and learn to take some responsibility for your actions (and inactions).

Although I haven’t experienced any barriers because of my disability (mobility impaired, but highly functional) I still have a lot of sympathy for those who find web sites impossible to use. For those who don’t seem to get it, I wish I could show you a video of a visually impaired individual, spending quite a while filling out a form, only to find, in the end, he can’t click the submit button becuase the web designer used an image whcih captures XY coordinates instead. It’s exasperating, to say the least.

There are too many myths about refitting a website to make it more accessible. Of course refitting would take considerable more resources than accommodating accessibility at design stage, but the task can be done in chunks. Break it down into areas of effort and return on investment. First do the low effort/high return work. Then, bit by bit, the site becomes more accessible.

There are several reasons other than accomodating disabled persons as well. Consider the increased readability and better indexing by search engines.

But, I would like to think one would be doing it out of kindness, compassion and a desire to not exclude someone. Certainly, if the site is for a limited audience of friends, that’s one thing, but if it’s for a larger group or the public at large, it should be accessible. You wouldn’t keep a person of a certain race out of a site, why would you keep a disabled person out? Or are they less deserving?

My $0.02,
Miguel Sanchez

]]> By: Mike http://www.alttags.org/accessibility/businesses-agree-to-make-websites-accessible/#comment-893 Mike Mon, 31 Jan 2005 20:27:27 +0000 http://www.alttags.org/accessibility/businesses-agree-to-make-websites-accessible/#comment-893 Who is responsible for making building and private workplaces accessible ?? The carpenter, The builder, The land owner, The architect... of course it is the business owner !! The same principle would apply to a website.. that would be the owner/proprietor of the website .... Who is responsible for making building and private workplaces accessible ?? The carpenter, The builder, The land owner, The architect… of course it is the business owner !! The same principle would apply to a website.. that would be the owner/proprietor of the website ….

]]> By: Red Baron http://www.alttags.org/accessibility/businesses-agree-to-make-websites-accessible/#comment-784 Red Baron Wed, 19 Jan 2005 05:01:52 +0000 http://www.alttags.org/accessibility/businesses-agree-to-make-websites-accessible/#comment-784 It makes me nervous, the idea that all websites interpreted to be places of public accomodation, must now become accessible to people living with disabilities. You know, many websites are non-commercial. That's not to say that I don't believe in constructing the internet so it is accessible to everyone. Even Snoopy utilizes sign language...But I'm left wondering who is responsible, and who is the most appropriate entity to see this out...Is it the proprietor and webmasters of the internet...Or is it the parties responsible for the web itself...It's technologies, it's code, it's browsers, it's software... It makes me nervous, the idea that all websites interpreted to be places of public accomodation, must now become accessible to people living with disabilities. You know, many websites are non-commercial. That’s not to say that I don’t believe in constructing the internet so it is accessible to everyone. Even Snoopy utilizes sign language…But I’m left wondering who is responsible, and who is the most appropriate entity to see this out…Is it the proprietor and webmasters of the internet…Or is it the parties responsible for the web itself…It’s technologies, it’s code, it’s browsers, it’s software…

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