[thelist] targeting effectively

aardvark roselli at earthlink.net
Tue Mar 26 16:03:14 CST 2002


[concatenating all replies into one, trimming out trolling and abusive
remarks, which makes this much shorter]

> From: PB&J <pb-j at attbi.com>
[...]
> That may or may not be true (the lame excuse perspective you hold) but
> OTOH trying to make the WWW the ONE and ONLY area in the entire
> universe that is 'equitable' and 'fair' and 'universally accessible'
> by anyone and everyone may be YOUR goal/aspiration but it certainly
> isn't a goal of each and everyone who puts up a web site.

no, it isn't the goal of everyone (which is often sad), but when the
web is the *ideal* place, given all that we can do, to provide
accessible information to all, and when it costs nearly nothing to
do it (in most cases) then yes, it is a goal that should be
considered valid...

> This world, this life, this universe is full of inequities and access
> is 'limited' in many areas based on any number of factors. Because of
> visual impairment by some/few mean that everyone is to be regimented
> to reading books with 72 pt. type?

no, but the book doesn't prevent me from using a magnifying glass,
now does it?  too many web pages prevent me from scaling my
text, or even seeing it because it's all image-based...

> >Does anyone ever bother for two seconds to think about how others
> >might use
> what you create?
>
> Not in the least - in fact I don't even consider it for a single
> second. Would you ask this question to a sculptor? Illustrator? Auto
> designer?

not to a sculptor or illustrator -- they tend to create art -- visual
art... but for an auto maker, yes... they are engineers who have to
handle for these very issues... dashboards allow users to turn the
brightness up and down for a reason... most web sites are not art...
the ones that are, i don't consider to be an issue, since there is
already precedent in the real world for not making things like
sculptures exist as scripts for blind viewers...

[...]
> Not really - personally I have nothing against handicapped people as
> individuals but as a organized group they're fairly annoying. I mean
> they already get all the really good parking spaces - so what's the
> beef?

one thing i love about public archives is in the future, this kind of
discriminatory crap will be used against you...

> From: PB&J <pb-j at attbi.com>
[...]
> Accessibility standards set by an organization which is made of
> representatives from 504 companies/organizations of which
> ONLY 18 have re-created their own web sites to comply with
> these 'standards' - pure comedy.

accessibility standards set by an organization that understands
there is already accessibility law on the books in nearly every
country... no, they don't all follow it yet... does that mean nobody
else should until they do?

[...]
> Ethics? About coding a friggin' web site? Lucid and concrete
> thinking set aside this morning in your world?

ethics are a good thing... some of us have them and try to go
through life doing the right thing, not being short-sighted and
selfish..

> From: PB&J <pb-j at attbi.com>
[...]
> My 'own' space or anyone else's 'space' is what they as private
> individuals/corporations chose to do with their own private
> money. If the CSS-purists can effect how PUBLIC monies are
> spent on the WWW then that's the way it works in countries with
> an election process.

except private corporations are already told what they can and
can't do... think of architecture... you do know that the number of
bathrooms, elevators, placement of windows, electrical, etc., are all
mandated by local, state, and federal government in the US?  and
most other countries?

> But if your crowd thinks for a single minute that the US Congress
> or even some state legislatures are going to mandate the
> mediocrity you're promoting - good luck.

they have -- Section 508 of the Workforce Investment Act.

> From: PB&J <pb-j at attbi.com>
>
> > So what about TV? television provides basic aids for the
> > visually or hearing impaired, but is close-captioning really going
> > to help you when you're watching a music video, or an
> > experimental film on IFC, when there's barely
> >any dialogue? Some content just can't be made accessible for
> > all people at all times. Its a fact of life.
>
> We're trying to keep facts out of this discussion. We're talking
> about la-la-land! Pretty simple once you join in on the
> chorus..................

of course there are exceptions, and we've all acknowledged that...
only an idiot would apply a blanket statement like that... oh, wait...

anyway, let's not forget that when color tv came out, broadcasters
were required (and still are) to carry a black-and-white signal with
the color so that people weren't forced to 'upgrade' their
televisions... it also allowed for a lucrative market on cheap, small
appliance tvs that wouldn't have exisited otherwise...




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