The recent discussion about the merits of putting code into "hidden" parts of the document brings up the accessibility issue. Accessibility is not just about totally blind or deaf people. It's also about the person who is color-blind, has limited motor skills, or just prefers using a keyboard. Accessibility comes in handy, for example, when you're on a PC with a crummy pointing device like a touchpad that makes it hard to drag-and-drop.
For a real eye opener, unplug your mouse for a day and try to use some of the Web 2.0 pages people are building. The W3C guidelines do a good job of summarizing accessibility goals. http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/guidelines.html WCAG 2.0 Guidelines * Principle 1: Content must be perceivable. - 1.1 Provide text alternatives for all non-text content - 1.2 Provide synchronized alternatives for multimedia - 1.3 Ensure that information and structure can be separated from presentation - 1.4 Make it easy to distinguish foreground information from its background * Principle 2: Interface components in the content must be operable - 2.1 Make all functionality operable via a keyboard interface - 2.2 Allow users to control time limits on their reading or interaction - 2.3 Allow users to avoid content that could cause seizures due to photosensitivity - 2.4 Provide mechanisms to help users find content, orient themselves within it, and navigate through it - 2.5 Help users avoid mistakes and make it easy to correct mistakes that do occur * Principle 3: Content and controls must be understandable - 3.1 Make text content readable and understandable. - 3.2 Make the placement and functionality of content predictable. * Principle 4: Content should be robust enough to work with current and future user agents (including assistive technologies) - 4.1 Support compatibility with current and future user agents (including assistive technologies) - 4.2 Ensure that content is accessible or provide an accessible alternative _______________________________________________ jQuery mailing list [email protected] http://jquery.com/discuss/
