Re: professionalism and wysiwyg

All,

there has been mention of the ADA.  I fully realize that it is a US Law, it
does however have international applicablitly.  And I might mention it was
elequently explained by someone from outside the US.  Mr. De Vries
 apolgies for any misspelling).  Below is the DOJ ruling.  Yes it has not
been enforced enough yet....That will change.  There are also indications
that the web will evolve towards other media than visual.

I will also add that using the attitude of one blind person is fine, but it
does not reflect the attitudes and needs of all people with disabilities.
That is a stereotype and is not necessarily valid for anyone but the person
who you are referring to.

The ADA says "where readily achievable"  I believe are the terms.  I would
say if a lawsuit was brought the attitude publically displayed here by some
would be relevant evidence for or against depending on the attitude
displayed.

The point is that people who have disablities are greatly discriminated
against by merchants and employers, the web is no exception.  If this was
not true there would be no need for the ADA.  There are about 50 million
people in this country with one type of disability in this country and about
750 million worldwide.

Having said that, the ADA does not apply to personal web sites.  It does
apply to commerical sites.  And what it really says is that the information
on the site has to be made available in an accessible format.  This could be
paper, sound etc.  It does not have to be through an accessible web site.  I
leave it to you to discover which is more cost effective.

Sincerely,

Mike Burks

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