RE: RE: Accessibility

> This was my primary concern.  I was thinking the browser should send
> something 
> so the front page could detect any access issues and redirect to the
> other 
> site, but now I realize that every page would need to have this
> logic, in case 
> they got there through internet search.  That would be better than
> having an "accessible version of this page" link on every page.

What would be best to just make the page accessible to begin with. 

The other main problem is that there is no way to 'detect' accessibility
needs (other than by asking the person).

> There are a lot of ideas and suggestions on this topic, but I can't
> find any 
> resources for actually implementing the standards and suggestions. 
> It seems 
> like an impossible quagmire.  Are there consultants that specialize
> in this 
> field? 

I believe someone already mentioned Joe Clark...who's the 'Jakob Nielson' of
usability (and I mean that in a good way ;o)

There are certainly consultants out there, but, again, most accessibility
issues aren't terribly complex and tend to revolve mainly around the
concepts of separation of content and structure, semantic markup, and
usability.

A good place to start:

http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/support/Training/Online/webdesign/accessibility.ht
ml

> I realize it's a minimal portion of our audience,

See, this is where I need to come over there with a bat and beat that way of
thinking out of you. (again, I mean that in a friday morning, just-kidding,
kind of way ;o)

You're not alone in thinking that. It, IMHO, is the single biggest hurdle
that folks need to get over in their understanding of accessibility.

There are great parallels to the building profession when talking in terms
of accessibility. Let's take wheel chair ramps:

The traditional way of thinking:
"Only 3% of our customers are in wheelchairs. I do not see any justification
in replacing our front steps from our architect's plans just to accomodate
that small subset of our audience"

The better way of thinking:
"Making sure our front door is accessible via a wheelchair will not only
accomodate those 3% in wheelchairs, but it's going to make it a lot easier
for the UPS man/woman to wheel in our packages. Also, mothers are going to
be very thankful that they can push their strollers in and not need to worry
about toddlers stumbling. My father, who walks with a cane, will also be
mightly pleased. Not to mention that if we go ahead and widen the doors, it
will be that much easier to move our furniture in and out. All customers
will be happier not having to navigate steps with the large packages. This
is clearly going to benefit all of our customers."

> and there
> don't seem 
> to be any legal requirements in the US market, 

NY State just settled out-of-court with Expedia (I think) and Priceline to
make sure both sites make their sites accessible to the blind. So, clearly,
it's getting to that point where we has web developers need to tackle the
issue (as we should) PRIOR to more nonsensical legislation. Also, if you are
or want to do work for a federal agency, you will need to adhere to section
508.

-Darrel