4 ms·

Just like we have laws against discrimination based on disability and measures like handicap parking spots, does anyone envision a future where there's some sor

Just like we have laws against discrimination based on disability and measures like handicap parking spots, does anyone envision a future where there's some sort of federal mandate that websites cater to the disabled?

eli 14y ago
You mean like Section 508? That already the law of the land for government agencies (and, generally speaking, their contractors)
Adrock 14y ago
When you say "we", I assume you mean the United States. There's already progress in that direction in other countries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_accessibility#Legally_required_web_accessibility http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_accessibility#Legally_requi... It's already a de facto requirement for anyone selling software to the government. When I was a PM at Microsoft working on Visio, I was surprised and amazed at how much time and energy went into accessibility of all the Office product. It's not easy to make a visual design program like Visio work well for the blind or visually impaired!
- antidoh 14y ago
  Please say more about that. I'm trying to think how a blind user could effectively use a visual design program or its output. Do you output text representation of diagrams? Does a blind user put the product to some use and purpose that's different from the average sighted user?
  - epascarello 14y ago
    If the visual representation can be described with data, you give them the option to view that data. Images have a longdesc attribute for this http://webaim.org/techniques/images/longdesc http://webaim.org/techniques/images/longdesc Not all visual applications can be made accessible.
dmethvin 14y ago
At least in the US, this already falls under Section 508 guidelines [1]. Most government web sites are already expected to follow this. I wouldn't call it "catering" though, because often it doesn't involve anything more than semantic markup and avoiding exclusively mouse-driven navigation. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_508_Amendment_to_the_Rehabilitation_Act_of_1973 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_508_Amendment_to_the_Re...
TinyBig 14y ago
This may happen in bits and pieces. Online media companies are adding subtitles to their videos in response to a one-off FCC ruling: http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/03/amazon-quietly-begins-the-long-road-to-closed-captioning-its-streaming-video-library/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/03/amazon-quietly-begins-the-l... Changes to the law seem unlikely given the dysfunction in Congress now and in the foreseeable future. Hence, we may end up with a regulatory patchwork quilt made up of rulings like this one.
arctangent 14y ago
UK government websites are required to achieve level "AA" WCAG compliance: http://coi.gov.uk/guidance.php?page=131 http://coi.gov.uk/guidance.php?page=131
columbo 14y ago
Sure, we've had it for awhile http://hr.cch.com/news/employment/033006a.asp http://hr.cch.com/news/employment/033006a.asp

eli 14y ago

You mean like Section 508? That already the law of the land for government agencies (and, generally speaking, their contractors)

Adrock 14y ago

When you say "we", I assume you mean the United States. There's already progress in that direction in other countries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_accessibility#Legally_required_web_accessibility http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_accessibility#Legally_requi... It's already a de facto requirement for anyone selling software to the government. When I was a PM at Microsoft working on Visio, I was surprised and amazed at how much time and energy went into accessibility of all the Office product. It's not easy to make a visual design program like Visio work well for the blind or visually impaired!

antidoh 14y ago
Please say more about that. I'm trying to think how a blind user could effectively use a visual design program or its output. Do you output text representation of diagrams? Does a blind user put the product to some use and purpose that's different from the average sighted user?
- epascarello 14y ago
  If the visual representation can be described with data, you give them the option to view that data. Images have a longdesc attribute for this http://webaim.org/techniques/images/longdesc http://webaim.org/techniques/images/longdesc Not all visual applications can be made accessible.

dmethvin 14y ago

At least in the US, this already falls under Section 508 guidelines [1]. Most government web sites are already expected to follow this. I wouldn't call it "catering" though, because often it doesn't involve anything more than semantic markup and avoiding exclusively mouse-driven navigation. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_508_Amendment_to_the_Rehabilitation_Act_of_1973 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_508_Amendment_to_the_Re...

TinyBig 14y ago

This may happen in bits and pieces. Online media companies are adding subtitles to their videos in response to a one-off FCC ruling: http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/03/amazon-quietly-begins-the-long-road-to-closed-captioning-its-streaming-video-library/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/03/amazon-quietly-begins-the-l... Changes to the law seem unlikely given the dysfunction in Congress now and in the foreseeable future. Hence, we may end up with a regulatory patchwork quilt made up of rulings like this one.

arctangent 14y ago

UK government websites are required to achieve level "AA" WCAG compliance: http://coi.gov.uk/guidance.php?page=131 http://coi.gov.uk/guidance.php?page=131

columbo 14y ago

Sure, we've had it for awhile http://hr.cch.com/news/employment/033006a.asp http://hr.cch.com/news/employment/033006a.asp