What is the object element for And what's it got to do with accessibility- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Currently we add images to our pages using the img element, we tend to add fancy bits of video or wizzy and exciting flash using the applet element. So why do we need the object element The object element introduced as part of HTML 4, and is designed to be used for all instances when we want to embed a generic object - such as a flash movie, or a video or an image - into a web page. That's all very well but what's it got to do with accessibility Well the fantastic thing about the Object.http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=83 How to get your XHTML pages to validate when using blockquote.- (Found June 24, 2008 ) This is a tip for those on the bleeding edge of web page markup, i.e. those marking up their web pages using XHTML strict. If you are the sort of person using XHTML it is likely that you will want to ensure your pages validate when tested with the World Wide Web Consortiums markup validator. Would it surprise you if I said the following code doesn't validate, Blah, blah, blah and so on.. It looks simple enough - what could be wrong with that I came across this very problem - and...http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=82 Don't rely on automated tools for checking web accessibility- (Found June 24, 2008 ) The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) released a report this week highlighting the poor accessibility of UK public websites. Among other things, the report highlighted issues related to accessibility testing, "It is very significant that the majority of those Checkpoints that this investigation found to be the most important are qualitative, in the sense that they require the exercise of human judgement. Automatic testing tools alone cannot, therefore, verify effective compliance."...http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=69 Formal accreditation in UK for accessible Web Designers- (Found June 24, 2008 ) The Disability Rights Commissions report on the accessibility of UK websites calls for the development of an accreditation for Web Designers, "The Government should facilitate the development of best practice guidance for accessible website development and ongoing maintenance and thereafter promote a formal accreditation process" The Guild of Accessible Web Designers would be the natural home for such an accreditation process.http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=70 Don't rely on automated tools for checking accessibility - part 2.- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Thanks to Maurice Franceschi of Civic Computing for his reply to last weeks tip about the dangers of relying on automated tools to check accessibility: "Just to follow on from the over-reliance on Automated Tools, a point I fully endorse, by making one further observation on the use of automated tools, in this case Bobby. One great problem we are having with Bobby is that I have found that - like any software - it does have small bugs in it. To Watchfire's credit, I was able to get past...http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=71 DRC report - more feedback- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Maurice Franceschi has e-mailed me his response to the recent Disability Rights Report on Web Accessibility. "However, given that the vast majority of sites cannot even achieve the basic issues I cannot see any clear way forward to getting sites to address the more advanced and broader issues above as long as the DRC takes a softly, softly approach - I mean, they do not even list the 1000 websites tested in the report. In the accompanying webcast there was an obvious reluctance to go to...http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=72 Did the DRC report help promote accessible web design- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Pat Byrne of ScotConnect has published a response to the Disability Rights Commission Web Accessibility Report. The DRC report emphasizes the need to include disabled people at every level in the development of websites. Though this is a good approach, Pat questions whether it will be possible for all web developers, the logistics of identifying and recruiting disabled people with a range of impairments. the perception that such evaluators are a resource would they be seen as altruistic...http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=73 Why the 'statistics defence' doesn't stand up- (Found June 24, 2008 ) I was recently involved in a discussion about whether website designers should be expected to accommodate Netscape 4 users. The case against accommodating Netscape 4 users is invariably backed up with statistics about how few people now use this, admittedly flawed, browser. I've heard 'the statistics defence' (as I will call it) so often over the years that this latest evocation prompted me to think about why I don't agree with this approach. My thoughts and arguments against the statistics.http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=74 When a link falls at the end of a sentence always put the full stop outside the anchor tag- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Consider the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), Checkpoint 10.5: "Until user agents (including assistive technologies) render adjacent links distinctly, include non-link, printable characters (surrounded by spaces) between adjacent links. " Generally when trying to ensure that my web pages meet this particular requirement I'm thinking about navigation bars; I'm either marking them up as lists, or putting printable characters between adjacent links (if.http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=75 Guild of Accessible Web Designers Launch- (Found June 24, 2008 ) A new organisation called the Guild of Accessible Web Designers (GAWDS) launched today. It is a an organisation designed to promote accessible web design standards and promote designers and developers who put those standards into practice. By seeking to give those organisations and individuals who practice accessible web design a comptetitive edge - accessible web design skills will become more desirable within the 'web design industry' - and therefore be adopted more widely. The Guild also...http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=76 |