Buzz Archives for October 2002
DHTML Done Right
Dynamic HTML, web standards and accessibility need not be mutually exclusive, as Dave Lindquist demonstrates with these cool DHTML menus. Both the dropdown and expandable tree variations are simple lists built with 100% valid XHTML Strict. CSS and DOM scripting provide the functionality, while ACCESSKEY attributes make parts of ...
By Scott Andrew LePera | Filed in HTML/XHTML
- Dreamweaver and standards
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At Macromedia dot com: “Five Steps to More Professional Pages with Dreamweaver MX,” by Drew McLellan of the WaSP’s Dreamweaver Task Force will help designers who use DMX work with web standards and save their visitors bandwidth and time. Short, sweet, and recommended for the DMX users in the house.
By Jeffrey Zeldman | Filed in Authoring Tools
- All-CSS Site Repository
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CSS boring? CSS too restrictive? No way. Look, here's a collection of nearly 800 table-free CSS designs, courtesy of Meryl who is thankfully mirroring the original archive from webnouveau.net, which has gone sadly AWOL. Admire, view source, learn.
By Scott Andrew LePera | Filed in CSS
- Juggernauts Inept, Little People Adept
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Author and accessibility maven Joe Clark wonders aloud why large corporations that have the money and resources to produce valid HTML pages so often do not, while the humble, unpaid hobbyist weblogger has no such difficulty.
By Scott Andrew LePera | Filed in Accessibility
- More On Banks and So-Called Alternative Browsers
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The Register published a list this week of banks who do, and do not, support so-called "alternative browsers", namely, "anything but IE and Netscape Navigator 4.*". It appears to be an abbreviated list, compared to other lists of banks that reject browsers on baseless grounds; perhaps, given the notorious conservatism ...
By Steven Champeon | Filed in Web Standards (general)
- Accessibility Guidelines for Web Devices
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User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 is a W3C proposed recommendation that provides guidelines for designing Web browsing devices that lower barriers to Web accessibility for people with disabilities (visual, hearing, physical, cognitive, and neurological). In addition, the Techniques for User Agent Accessibility Working Draft has been updated.
By Scott Andrew LePera | Filed in Accessibility
- New W3C HTML Validator
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The W3C has announced a beta version of their HTML Validator, with support for a long and varied list of XML and XHTML related markup, including SVG, MathML and the MIME type application/xhtml+xml. Go bang on it and let them know what you find wrong (or right!) with the new ...
By Steven Champeon | Filed in Validation
- Article: The Secret Life of Markup
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Webmonkey has published a new article by the WaSP's own Steven Champeon: The Secret Life of Markup. It's a must-read for any HTML author, and for anyone else who wants to better understand the craft of web development. And be sure to read to the end, or you'll miss what ...
By Eric Costello | Filed in HTML/XHTML, Web Standards (general)
- Wired Redesigns With CSS
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Wired has redesigned with an all-CSS design that looks fantastic. No tables for layout. Due to a few glitches in the markup, the page falls short of full validity as XHTML 1.0 Transitional. Seeing as how most of those glitches seem to come from tag soup-spewing ad servers, we'll go ...
By Scott Andrew LePera | Filed in CSS, Web Standards (general)
- W3C Rejects RAND
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The W3C Patent Policy Working Group has rejected the misguided RAND proposal that caused such a furor last year. More on what this means can be found on Slashdot, explained by Bruce Perens. Not a final victory, but a long step closer to a truly royalty-free Web.
By Steven Champeon | Filed in Web Standards (general)
- Danger! HipTop May Shred Your Design
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Reports are trickling in from the field that the long-awaited Danger T-Mobile Sidekick handheld Internet device happily mangles many web pages, including many built with valid XHTML and CSS to specifically cater to such devices. Sidekick owner Leonard Lin discovered that many sites are unreadable in the device. His workaround? ...
By Scott Andrew LePera | Filed in Web Standards (general)
- Microsoft: The Redesign
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Microsoft has redesigned. A review in two words. Invalid. Inaccessible [previously linked to Bobby]. Want more? Undecipherable in a text-only browser. One can only imagine how this site looks to a screen reader. You might think that Microsoft, an influential W3C member that drives the development of web ...
By Scott Andrew LePera | Filed in Web Standards (general)
The Web Standards Project is a grassroots coalition fighting for standards which ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all.
Recent Buzz
WCAG 2.0 is a W3C Recommendation
By Matt May | December 11th, 2008
After 9.5 years of work, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 have reached W3C Recommendation status. On behalf of the WaSP Accessibility Task Force, I’d like to welcome WCAG 2 officially into the pantheon of Web standards.
I think this tweet by caledoniaman sums up the level of anticipation:
WCAG 2.0 and a new Guns ‘n’ Roses album in the same year. What’s the world coming to.
Interesting comparison. They’ve each had about as many pre-releases. In any case, I can say, having spent over 8 years with it, that WCAG 2 is not as entertaining as Chinese Democracy. But I do think that it’s better equipped to stand the test of time.
If I had to pick one thing I’m most happy about, I’d say it’s that the HTML- and text-centrism in WCAG 1 is largely gone. In its place is a much more flexible (dare I say robust?) concept of accessibility-supported technology. So when newer technologies can show themselves to be directly accessible, they too can be used in WCAG 2-conformant content.
Over the years, many people have conflated “WCAG-conformant” with “accessible,” and that’s led to people making statements like: “Don’t use JavaScript–it’s inaccessible.” That’s bad for everyone, from users with disabilities who actually can work with JavaScript (which is to say, the vast majority), to Web designers and developers, to policymakers, to those developing new technologies.
With WCAG 2, “Don’t use x” is no longer valid. (Was it ever?) It is now up to you, the developer, to work on the direct accessibility of your content, no matter what technology you choose. I believe we’re about to experience a new wave of accessible design techniques, as a result.
But first, we need to flush “Don’t use x” out of our system. Some are accustomed to saying it about anything they’re not comfortable with. That’s only holding accessible design back. It’s time to learn what’s out there, today, and use it in everyday Web design. It’s time to make everyone’s Web more accessible. Have a look at the WCAG 2.0 Recommendation, and its supporting material. Then, start thinking about what a more accessible Web could be. We still have a lot of work to do.
Filed in Accessibility, Accessibility TF, W3C/Standards Documentation, Web Standards (general) | Comments (8)