Since my "strange post" was killed by the almighty (Please forgive my arrogance oh mighty lord CRZ! )
I'll just do something a little more reality based...
I've been sitting here at work (I'm a web assistant [grunt] at the University of Montevallo.) and the big thing we're working on is "ADA Accessiblity." For those who don't know, this has to do with things like:
-Putting summaries and headers on tables
-Making sure every image has an "alt tag",
-Fixing color problems (Like dark text on a black background.)
And basically doing everthing possible to make the page easier to access for people with disabilities.
So what I want to know is... anyone else in the Wiener community doomed to the toil of hunting through lines and lines of HTML trying to make sure you have a summary on all your tables, the color works right, etc.?
Or am I the only one to be doomed to the maddness?
Nothing is better than X-pac! It's all in the inflection...
A ways past Parts Unknown and to the left of Dudleyville... right on the outskirts of Blue Hell!
Actually it's a little collge right smack dab in the middle of Alabama. (Literally there's a star in front of the buildings to indicate the exact middle of the state.) It's a nice little place, nowhere special. Hence why they have me of all people fixing their ADA stuff.
Nothing is better than X-pac! It's all in the inflection...
At work, when I'm delveloping, I try to keep that stuff in mind if I can.
It's really hard to do when there is no reason for any of my stuff to be accessible at this time... but its easier than fixing it later after a lawsuit I guess.
Personal stuff, though, eh. I think this page would work for text to speech for most of it, but some stuff wouldn't.
Allowing HTML in posts pretty much guarantees that users will make it unreadable
Yeah and then you have to ask...would they really want to read what we put on this board anyway?
Just out of curiosity, what kind of stuff do you develope? I pretty much just make sure everything looks right and fix whatever errors the teachers may put in their pages (and at this time make sure things slowly move toward ADA.) Nothing really code intensive, though I've really been interested in learning more (CGI, Java, PHP, [insert your competing language here] etc.)
Of course my classes (Mass Comm Major) have had to come first... the web thing was kind of a hobby that I ended up in.
Nothing is better than X-pac! It's all in the inflection...
Pardon my technical ignorance and my butting in, but I saw this thread, and I'm fascinated by it.
Let me make sure I understand this correctly - there have been no lawsuits threatened against or pending against any ISP, online provider, website, etc., under the ADA, yet we already have the management of certain companies already trying to make web/Net content ADA-accessible? I'm not sure whether this is good foresight or typical management cluelessness.
Please pardon my ignorance, but this is really fascinating to the law student/lawyer in me.
"One day, we will be reunited. But until then, my spirit will always be with you." - "Mortal Kombat," 1995. "HOLY CRAP! A wuvluv is in my house." - Dean Rasmussen
It's not really that fascinating actually. Talk to anyone who is in HR about workers comp or disability... they get a scared look in their eyes as they smile blandly at you when you mention lawsuits...
Yeah, I don't think anyone is going to sue over this either. But it is the law, and in UM's case I think it's more of a Foresight thing. I work at a Univesity and I know of several people on campus who have disabilites, so it makes sense for us to keep things accessable to as many poeple as possible.
It's just so dern tedious!
Anyways, I think it's a good thing for bigger sites to have. Ya know, reach as many people as possible. But sites like [Slash] or personal pages, it's not really an issue.
Nothing is better than X-pac! It's all in the inflection...
Signed into law on July 26 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act is a wide-ranging legislation intended to make American Society more accessible to people with disabilities.
It is divided into five titles:
Employment (Title I) Business must provide reasonable accommodations to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in all aspects of employment. Possible changes may include restructuring jobs, altering the layout of workstations, or modifying equipment. Employment aspects may include the application process, hiring, wages, benefits, and all other aspects of employment. Medical examinations are highly regulated. Public Services (Title II) Public services, which include state and local government instrumentalities, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, and other commuter authorities, cannot deny services to people with disabilities participation in programs or activities which are available to people without disabilities. In addition, public transportation systems, such as public transit buses, must be accessible to individuals with disabilities. Public Accommodations (Title III) All new construction and modifications must be accessible to individuals with disabilities. For existing facilities, barriers to services must be removed if readily achievable. Public accommodations include facilities such as restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, retail stores, etc., as well as privately owned transportation systems. Telecommunications (Title IV) Telecommunications companies offering telephone service to the general public must have telephone relay service to individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TTYs) or similar devices. Miscellaneous (Title V) Includes a provision prohibiting either (a) coercing or threatening or (b) retaliating against the disabled or those attempting to aid people with disabilities in asserting their rights under the ADA. The ADA's protection applies primarily, but not exclusively, to "disabled" individuals. An individual is "disabled" if he or she meets at least any one of the following tests:
He or she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his/her major life activities; He or she has a record of such an impairment He or she is regarded as having such an impairment. Other individuals who are protected in certain circumstances include 1) those, such as parents, who have an association with an individual known to have a disability, and 2) those who are coerced or subjected to retaliation for assisting people with disabilities in asserting their rights under the ADA.
While the employment provisions of the ADA apply to employers of fifteen employees or more, its public accommodations provisions apply to all sizes of business, regardless of number of employees. State and local governments are covered regardless of size.
A corporate intranet could probably fall under the employer statute. I do everything I can to make sure that my stuff works for disabled people as far as I can... We always design for 800 x 600 max resolution even though 17" monitors are the standard at work. We try to always use high contrast for text, and alt tags on pictures.
Unfortunately, I can't see how a blind person would be able to work our billing system. I don't know how businesses are supposed to get around problems like this. It's part of the reason that the ADA will probably not result in many lawsuits - just threats of lawsuits.
Private individuals are not required under the ADA to make their sites compliant I don't think. The University would fall under the public institutions bit, I would think.
My old place used to be a prime location for Regina's fireworks (across the street from the urban park where the fireworks were set off from); now we'd have to move into or across from a local parking lot. I'm thinking we'll be too lazy to bother.