A client today asked a very valid question to me about web standards, SPAM and accessibility - I had to think on it and said I'd get back to him on it.
Let's look at this issue by issue, but first let me set the stage so to speak. This is a US Company based in Oregon and has clients across the world. He has a current web presence and while acceptable in IE and Moz, he'd like the site design updated to reflect the new technologies available. First we have standards - pretty easy sell - build the site right and it will display as intended. Does this mean that his staff webmaster HAS to learn XHTML or CSS or is there a way to be standards compliant and use html only with the PROPER use of tags? Next we have SPAM - sore subject for everyone I know - however there are legitimate reasons to send an UNSOLICITED e-mail: Perhaps due to a referral from an existing client for example. Additionally, under current US Law which pre-empts the existing state laws which in some cases were stricter than the New Federal CAN-SPAM law that went into effect on Jan.1, 2004, which merely requires that the e-mail be truthful in its content and be honest in its presentation and header information - must be from the person it claims to be and contact information must be valid - for a legitimate business, this is not an issue - but the question is - How should one state that at the foot of an e-mail message? Lastly, accessibility - while it would be optimal to be able to provide level of quality presentation to ALL, browser limitations prevent that. So the question arises - how far should one really go in a business site? Does one really need to use all the tools needed to attain WAI AAA certification for the average small business? Being a US-based business with Federal contracts, the client has no problem attaining Section 508 conformance but is confused regarding the more stringent and demanding rules regarding the WAI as well as EU/UK/Australian laws. To be honest, I couldn't answer everything via research and so that is the reason for the post. And relating to the previous subject being active, yes this in on-topic but perhaps waver on the edge in regards to the SPAM issue if one does not consider the new laws in effect as a sort of web standard for communication. I apologize in advance for this. Sincerely, Brian Grimmer theGrafixGuy http://www.thegrafixguy.com 503-887-4943 925-226-4085 (fax) ***************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list & getting help *****************************************************
