[thelist] Flash, usability, accessibility

[the head lemur]

The ADA applies to Physical Structures and Access to Buildings that are open
to the public in the United States.

Section 508 does only apply to US Government websites and agencies regarding
purchases of equipment and accommodations for the disabled.

The Harkin Letter is the smoking gun that adds ammunition to the theory that
if your business has wide doorways and grabbars your website should as well.

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/foia/cltr204.txt
============================================<snip>
September 9, 1996

The Honorable Tom Harkin
United States Senate
Washington, D.C.  20510-1502

Dear Senator Harkin:

     I am responding to your letter on behalf of your
constituent,               , regarding accessibility of "web
pages" on the Internet to people with visual disabilities.

     The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires State and
local governments and places of public accommodation to furnish
appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure
effective communication with individuals with disabilities,
unless doing so would result in a fundamental alteration to the
program or service or in an undue burden.  28 C.F.R.  36.303; 28
C.F.R.  35.160.  Auxiliary aids include taped texts, Brailled
materials, large print materials, and other methods of making
visually delivered material available to people with visual
impairments.

     Covered entities under the ADA are required to provide
effective communication, regardless of whether they generally
communicate through print media, audio media, or computerized
media such as the Internet.  Covered entities that use the
Internet for communications regarding their programs, goods, or
services must be prepared to offer those communications through
accessible means as well.

     Mr.          suggests compatibility with the Lynx browser as
a means of assuring accessibility of the Internet.  Lynx is,
however, only one of many available options.  Other examples
include providing the web page information in text format, rather
than exclusively in graphic format.  Such text is accessible to
screen reading devices used by people with visual impairments.
Instead of providing full accessibility through the Internet
directly, covered entities may also offer other alternate
accessible formats, such as Braille, large print, and/or audio
materials, to communicate the information contained in web pages
to people with visual impairments.  The availability of such
materials should be noted in a text (i.e., screen-readable)
format on the web page, along with instructions for obtaining the
materials, so that people with disabilities using the Internet
will know how to obtain the accessible formats.

     The Internet is an excellent source of information and, of
course, people with disabilities should have access to it as
effectively as people without disabilities.  A number of web
sites provide information about accessibility of web pages,
including information about new developments and guidelines for
development of accessible web pages.  Examples include:

     http://www.gsa.gov/coca/wwwcode.htm
          Center for Information Technology Accommodation
          General Services Administration

     http://www.trace.wisc.edu/text/guidelns
          Trace Center, University of Wisconsin

     http://www.webable.com/index.html

     http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/dmd/access/welcom1.htm

     These sites may be useful to you or your constituent in
exploring the accessibility options on the Internet.  In
addition, the Department of Justice has established an ADA home
page to educate people about their rights and responsibilities
under the ADA and about the Department's efforts to implement the
ADA.  The address of the ADA home page is
http://www.us-doj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm.

     I hope this information is helpful to you in responding to
your constituent.

                            Sincerely,

                         Deval L. Patrick
                   Assistant Attorney General
                     Civil Rights Division

===================================================</snip>

The problem here is that even though this letter is a pretty clear
indication that you should build accessible sites, the rule of law as Chris
points out has not resulted in a ruling that we can point to and say this is
why.

The nearest miss was the lawsuit by the National Federation of the Blind
Against AOL.
NFB Sues AOL
http://204.245.133.32/bm/bm99/bm991201.htm

It was settled out of court:
National Federation of the Blind/America Online Accessibility Agreement
http://204.245.133.32/Tech/accessibility.htm

This lawsuit put forth the theory that AOL was a Public Accommodation and
therefore subject to the ADA.

The question of public accommodations remains.

There really is no reason especially with the latest version of Flash that
Usability, and Accessibility need to be mutually exclusive.
An article at Poytner.Org
INTERACTIVE PRESENTATIONS GIVE THE INTERNET A VOICE OF ITS OWN
http://www.poynter.org/centerpiece/immerse/immersive.htm

suggests that HTML and Flash can enhance each other rather than being an
eithwer/or situation.

the head lemur
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