Re: What can I say?

Granted, the W3C 'rules' are a necessity. Not following code will more than
like cause your site to not function, which would make this discussion a
moot issue.

John - I agree with you totally. I was so impressed with Marsha's comments
on accessibility the other day. It brought home how deeply we sometimes get
into where we are and what we're doing that we forget the complexities of
what we have to offer. In this respect, it's a challenge to offer both
accessibility and usability. Perhaps the word I meant to use in the first
place was "fundamentals" rather than "rules". To be able to define a market
and design for that market may be elitist, but it's always worked in the
real consumerist world. To be able to have the time and money to see beyond
that and expand to offer alternative sites for others may be a luxury for
some budgets, but it's a real concern.

BTW - Kehvan! The webTV viewer was an eye-opener! yikes! Now you've got me
off to find out how many people actually use this (I know a few people who
have lost their shirts trading stocks on webTV - is this a market niche?
LOL!)

regards,
Linda

----- Original Message -----
From: John Allred <webmaster(at)mscounties.com>
To: <hwg-techniques(at)mail.hwg.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2000 3:25 PM
Subject: Re: What can I say?


> Perhaps I should have been clearer. The rules I thought we were speaking
> about were "usability" rules. The WAI site (which I study and recommend
> often to others) deals with "accessibility." Accessibility is
> quantifiable. Not so with usability, although Nielsen has conducted
> numerous studies and generated lots of data which form the basis of his
> "opinions." The rest of us swim in a much more subjective world where
> each person's opinion is as valid as anyone else's.
>
> It might be worth noting, in passing, that web designers make poor
> judges of usability, especially regarding their own projects. We can't
> comprehend not understanding a web site, not knowing how to find what
> we're looking for. The average web user, on the other hand, is unlikely
> to have much more than the functional equivalent of a tenth grade
> education. But they do have credit cards. We ignore their needs, tastes,
> preferences, and whims at our own peril.
>
> Regards,
> --John
>

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