Like the Millenium Bug before it, accessibility has become a new opportunity for people to exploit fears of legal action and it is a practice which I abhore.

In October 2004, Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA 1995) came into force requiring businesses to “take reasonable steps to tackle physical features that act as a barrier to disabled people who want to access their services.” Now, this should be a great thing for disabled access. It should mean more ramps, better signage, wider walkways, and so on. What appears to have happened tho is that any shop, cafe, restaurant etc with a stepped entrance has a sign outside requesting that “Anyone requiring assistance to enter the property please attract the attention of a member of staff”. Hardly a great improvement.

Now, I understand that building things takes time (especially in public places) and I’m hoping that the situation in the ‘physical world’ will improve – but the ‘online world’ changes much faster and I’m worried that all that the increased ‘fear of legal action’ (however much of an abhorrent practice it may be, it’s out there) is going to produce is similar stopgaps (‘text only’ options anyone) when the people who need the changes really deserve something better.

Anyway…

This article on the unfathomability of various web-terms, by the british public(via Simon) got me thinking back to a conversation I had with a colleague about six months ago. He asked “What’s the difference between a chatroom and a blog?”. I can’t remember exactly what I said, but I’m fairly sure I gave a thoroughly unsatisfactory answer.

Let’s try the question another way.. In terms that you would use to a taxi driver, landlord or hairdresser…

A chatroom is a to a blog, what a [---] is to a [---]

debate is to a lecture?

conference call is to a letter?

free-for-all is to a committee?

The idea is to protect them from sex and drugs spam and other unsavoury aspects of the internet, while at the same time give them access to the web’s more useful and entertaining sides.

OK, so that’s all very nice but I’m wondering, If children are being taught to use a mouse, before they use a pen, taught to use a virtual paintbrush, before they learn to use a real one, how long will it be before computer literacy tests are usurped by ‘paper literacy’ tests….?

Anyway, I found this through Simon’s Blogmarks and all I can say is … ooooh.

Greasemonkey is the perfect tool for client-side accessibility enhancements, because any changes you make through the DOM will be exposed to assistive technologies. . . .Accessible Greasemonkey’ing is going to be huge.
Mark Pilgrim