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Re: Welcome to the WebAIM Discussion List

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From: Robinson, Norman B - Washington, DC
Date: Feb 4, 2005 6:39AM


Message



I personally use <A
href="http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Mozilla (for the
email client) and <A
href="http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Firefox&nbsp;(<A
href="http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/<;FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>) on multiple platforms, with add-ons such as <A
href="https://addons.update.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?application=firefox&amp;version=1.0&amp;os=Linux&amp;category=Miscellaneous&amp;numpg=10&amp;id=10"><FONT
face=Arial size=2>AdBlock<FONT color=#0000ff
size=2>&nbsp;(<A
href="https://addons.update.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?application=firefox&amp;version=1.0&amp;os=Linux&amp;category=Miscellaneous&amp;numpg=10&amp;id=10"><FONT
size=2>https://addons.update.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?application=firefox&amp;version=1.0&amp;os=Linux&amp;category=Miscellaneous&amp;numpg=10&amp;id=10<FONT
color=#0000ff size=2>). I wish I had it available at work. Once you begin
reading the site with the extra images turned off and then see the site with
them, you wonder how you were before ever able to read the
articles.
The site owner/manager doesn't need to 'allow' the user. We already
have the tools necessary to switch it off. Most of them can't be detected either
- so the site owner will never know. And before the thread goes into taking food
out of the mouth of babes, I'll ring in with a note that when adverts flash,
pop-up, pop-under, emit bells &amp; whistles, then they are probably trying too
hard. Just an opinion worth the paper it is written on.
To keep the subject on accessibility, I'd say
this is also an example of how the web *standards* allow accessibility to grow
in ways unforeseen by the content creators. Proper HTML coding allows for better
accessibility, as the tools that function and assist us rely on those standards
to be present to manipulate content. Immediate uses (beyond just making me
happy) for the technology includes 1) Removing animation images (gifs, flash,
embedded 'movies') that have extreme flashing or screen changes known to
contribute to epileptic seizures, and 2) Assisting people with learning
disabilities to focus on the information they want to receive. (This is a
concern voiced, but not necessarily addressed by the US Rehabilitation Act,
Section 508).
&nbsp;
<FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>Regards,
Norman-----Original
Message-----From: michael.brockington [<A
href="mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> "><FONT
face=Arial>mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> <FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>]Sent: Friday, February 04, 2005 4:53 AMTo: WebAIM
Discussion ListSubject: Re: [WebAIM] Welcome to the WebAIM Discussion
ListI can't tell you whether this is common or not, but I can
tell you that I do it as well, and I have no vision problems. However this is
probably a big pointer AGAINST using print versions - as a site owner/manager
the advertising is important. Allowing the user to 'switch off' advertising is
going to hurt your income - print stylesheets don't.Mike>