>From the tone of the many comments on this topic it appears there are a lot of people commenting who haven't been internal in a large company and expect that outsiders saying "should" will work to change internal organizational perceptions and direction. It won't.
Most people don't do something that other people think they "should" because A. They don't see why they "should" B. People hate to be told to do anything. Telling not selling never works. I suspect because it reminds people of their parents, "You should do this because I told you to". Telling someone a "should" when backed with a big stick like a law can appear to work but it's only superficial adherence, not a deep commitment. Standards and accessibility have a reputation, a perception, that they're expensive and, even more importantly, increase development time and that only a small, strident group of "standardistas" believe in the importance of adhering to standards and only a small group are affected by accessibility. Perceptions become reality to those that hold the perception. Add to that perception that most organizational decision makers do not buy their stuff on the web, or sometimes even buy that there "should" be a web. It was only several years ago that I was still hearing, "But then they'll see our prices if we put our products on the web!" Politicians also don't buy their stuff on the web, but they have little antennae that are reactive to the loudness of the vox populi. A small, loud group can be loud enough to get the attention of their antennae. Telling ain't selling and honey is more attractive than vinegar. If someone thinks that someone else "should" act, think, do in a different way and that someone doesn't respond how they "should", then where's the fault? Is the fault with the person shouting the message, or the person who is unable to hear the message? Good salespeople know that if someone's not hearing their message, it's their fault and they need to repackage the message. Instead of thinking about fault, think about how to change the perception so that businesses will buy standards and accessibility - without using the word "should". Pierce the perception. Christie Mason ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *******************************************************************
