[thelist] Flash, usability, accessibility

[Tara Cleveland]

I know I'm coming at this a bit late, but I've got a couple of things I'd
like to point out about this discussion.

1. If your sites are not US based, don't assume that the laws that govern
your site are similar to US laws. I did this for many years, and I had my
eyes opened when I went to research Canadian law (and then I wrote an
article about it for evolt!
http://www.evolt.org/article/Accessibility_Laws_In_Canada/4090/28074/index.h
tml (toot! toot!)). I also took a brief look at laws in other countries and
saw that they often don't follow the US model either, but are based on human
rights laws that cover every type of discrimination, not just disability. In
Canada, and in some other places, everyone (individuals, private companies,
government, non-profits) is covered by the law, not just companies with 15
or more people, or government agencies (however you want to interpret the US
law).

2. Public accommodation, at least in Canada, *has* been interpreted to mean
non-physical facilities, goods and services. Don't assume that the laws in
the US (or elsewhere) will never be interpreted to mean virtual places,
spaces and services. As people become more reliant on online communication,
shopping etc. there is a greater chance that these areas of life will be
interpreted to mean "public accommodations". And as Laurel pointed out, many
companies use online methods to provide accessible alternatives to real-life
goods and services.

3. If you are a designer/developer/etc. and work for a US company that has
offices elsewhere in the world, but only one site for the whole company (or
one intranet/extranet etc.), your site may well fall under the laws and
jurisdiction of these other countries, regardless of where the site is
hosted. It would behoove you and your clients to research accessibility laws
in the countries that your company operates.

I just want to say that this *discussion* seems to have become distorted.
I've never (to my recollection) heard anyone on this list say "you WILL be
sued" just that there is a *risk* that you will be sued. I've also heard
(Martin especially) say that there is a risk that designers/developers could
also be sued, so it's a good idea to cover your bum and do what you can to
make sites accessible, and to advise your clients that there is a
possibility that they could be sued. I just don't see why this is such a
contentious position. We can argue over what laws are and how they should be
interpreted and who interprets them until we are blue in the face.

But what does it mean to us as designers/developers/etc. here? We should be
aware of these issues, we should present them to our clients as issues and
we should advise our clients to seek counsel on them if they decide that
they want to go with an inaccessible site. I don't see what the problem is.

Tara
--
Tara Cleveland
Web Design and Consulting
http://www.taracleveland.com