it's the equivalent of not having a disabled access ramp to your building, only some steep stairs. anyone in a wheelchair or with limited mobility is going to find it difficult or impossible to enter. if it's somewhere that they need to go, then it's unacceptable.
it should be the same for websites - if you're a .gov.uk site, or providing a service that presumably anyone with a disability might access (which i think is most of us), then you've really got to make it accessible to them. not because it's the law, or loss of a potential customer, but because to not do so is exclusionary.
| "Taz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
16/04/2004 13:04
|
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> cc: Subject: Re: [ cf-dev ] Website accessibility in the UK |
> well, the DRC _is_ the enforcenment body, and if you read the foreword of
> the report Bert Massie, the (disabled) Chair, states quite clearly that
they
> will be launching actions against companies, or supporting disabled people
> who want to do so. They have the power to close web sites down if, after
> advising about the issues, the site takes no notice/action.
I'll apologise in advance for being politically incorrect, but I can't
fathom why it should be illegal for a site not to be accessible to every
user.
Effectively it's more of a problem for the company involved, who may be
losing a potential revenue stream, but essentially it's up to them who they
target their advertising and services at.
Okay, so you could call it discrimination, but then by the same token you
could argue that book publishers are being discriminatory by not making all
of their books available in Braille or audio. In fact, why aren't we getting
sued for not translating sites into 60 different languages? Hey, that's
xenophobia isn't it? Chinese sites for all! 2 billion people can't all be
wrong.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for accessibility for all. And since nearly all
of my work has to conform to RNIB guidelines (among others), I tend to build
in accessibility from the start. But I get the feeling that all this
political correctness is getting just a little out of hand.
I agree that sites should be accessible to as many people as possible. But
if the Government want to get the electronic UK on the map as the best in
the world, why don't they offer incentives to businesses to implement these
things, instead of the draconian attitude of biting off the hand that's
paying taxes.
Oh crap! I've gone all serious again.
Nob Giblets!
Taz
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