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Re: Well formed verses Valid code

for

From: Andrew Kirkpatrick
Date: Feb 26, 2007 8:40AM

> >It's fairly rare because they tend to cause browser issues
> first, but
> >depending on the browser I do come across things occasionally:
> >http://alastairc.ac/2006/06/invalid-html-interfering-with-acc
essibility
>
> Hi Alastair - thanks for that link, and yes, I'm asking
> people to publish anything that they find because the issues
> are rare.

Alastair, How do you differentiate between invalid html interfering with
accessibility and interfering with proper functioning? The example you
show is interpreted in different browsers differently, but not just when
assistive technology is in operation. This issue affects potentially
all users with javascript off, not just disabled users.

I'll agree that the invalid code shown makes consistent rendering less
likely in this instance, but I'm not sure that I'd call it an
accessibility issue - just an issue.

Valid code is worth doing for many reasons, but I'm still waiting for an
example that shows me that invalid code creates problems that
discriminates singularly against disabled users. For this reason, I'm in
favor of accessibility standards that address issues that affect users,
but not for a standard requiring valid code.

AWK