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Re: Me again

for

From: Mark Magennis
Date: Jan 21, 2005 9:53AM

> Bobby's criteria and results are well understood,
> and it's the recognised standard.

Bobby is not a standard, despite the fact that a number of people
wrongly "recognise" it as such. Bobby is a software tool that helps
accessibility auditors check a site's compliance with a standard. The
standards it helps with are WCAG 1.0 and 508.

The reason people think Bobby is itself a standard is because it
provides a cheery little logo with the words "Bobby Approved" and a
picture of a British policeman who looks about 6 years old. The fact is,
Bobby is not capable of "approving" anything. It may help a human
approve something, but that is as far as it goes.

This misunderstanding of the nature of Bobby and "bobby Approved" is one
of the major accessibility barriers on the Web today.

Mark

Dr. Mark Magennis
Director, Centre for Inclusive Technology (CFIT)
National Council for the Blind of Ireland
Whitworth Road, Dublin 9, Republic of Ireland

<EMAIL REMOVED> tel: +353 (0)71 914 7464