WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

Newsletter Archives - July 2005

Note

This newsletter is maintained here for archival purposes. The content presented here may be outdated, may contain out-of-date links, and may not represent current best practices or represent the opinion and recommendations of WebAIM. For up-to-date information, please refer to the WebAIM web site.

Featured Article

Constructing a POUR Website, (POUR = Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust): Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
by Paul Bohman of WebAIM

Version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (not yet an official recommendation of the W3C at the time of this writing) focuses on the principles of accessibility. The four main guiding principles of accessibility in WCAG 2.0 are:

  • Perceivable
  • Operable
  • Understandable
  • Robust

Conveniently, these principles spell out an acronym that is relatively easy to remember: POUR. The idea is to create a POUR website, so to speak. The pun may be a bad one, but if it helps developers memorize the principles, then it has served its purpose.

Read the full article: Constructing a POUR Website, (POUR = Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust): Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

On Target Webcast: July 14

Constructing a POUR Web Site (POUR = Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust)

WebAIM is pleased to announce a free, audio webcast titled, "Constructing a POUR Web Site (POUR = Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust)" on Thursday, July 14, 2005. Join Paul Bohman, of WebAIM, for this one-hour live event. The topic is on the next generation of web accessibility work in which principles, rather than techniques, take the center stage. This webcast will overview the main accessibility principles that are presented in the WebAIM Guide to Web Accessibility, now available from WebAIM. See The WebAIM Guide to Web Accessibility.

The webcast will begin at 1PM Mountain Daylight Time (3PM Eastern). Questions can be submitted and registration can be completed prior to the webcast at webaim.org/events/2005/pour. You will be able to tune in to the broadcast free of charge beginning 10 minutes before the broadcast using either Windows Media Player or Quicktime. The broadcast will be simultaneously captioned for the Deaf and hard of hearing and archives will be available shortly after the conclusion of the broadcast.

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

Opportunity to Provide Feedback
by Cyndi Rowland of WebAIM

The U.S. Federal Government has announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) within the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA, Part B). It is an important opportunity to comment on proposed rules that will affect some aspects of accessibility for school-aged children with disabilities before the rules are codified. Public comments must be submitted by September 6, 2005 for language contained in Part B of IDEA and September 12, 2005 for language contained in the NIMAS technical standard.

On Target Tip

Communicating Error Messages Accessibly
by Peter Krantz, www.standards-schmandards.com

Based on a WebAIM forum discussion (see discussion), Peter Krantz shares tips on how to make application errors accessible and useable for individuals with and without disabilities. He provides an example of an accessible error message and the markup of the example.

On Target Resources

Web Standards Project (WaSP) Accessibility Task Force
by Andy Clarke on behalf of WaSP, webstandards.org

The Web Standards Project (WaSP) announced the formation of the WaSP Accessibility Task Force on June 23, 2005. The WaSP Accessibility Task Force (ATF) brings together accessibility specialists from across the world. The Accessibility Task Force will work with accessibility organizations, technology vendors and others to help promote web accessibility.

Already the ATF has been a hot topic among the web accessibility community. Read more about the ATF from the following:

The VIP Consumer
by vipconsumer.com

The VIP Consumer is a new website offering consumer reviews and discussion from a visually impaired perspective. The VIP online community offers the opportunity to write and read reviews on a wide range of products and services, and add comments to those reviews.

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