Re: proposing Section 508 compliance as requirement for 2.x

[John Locke <..hidden..>]

Hi,

Christopher Murtagh wrote:
> On Wednesday 25 April 2007, Chris Travers wrote:
>   
>>> As I rework the code, you should be able to use validate it at the
>>> xhtml validation site.  Yesterday, the login page didn't even
>>> validate.  Today, it does (with my changes).  I don't plan to change
>>> the overall layout, I personally like the menu on the left and work
>>> area on the right.  Without CSS, that will fall vertically with the
>>> menu first and the work area below.
>>>       
>> Would it be better to reverse this?  I.e. since most of the work is
>> done in the work area, would it not be better to make that default to
>> the top? 
>>     
>
>  Actually, this is the standard way of doing it: navigation first, and then 
> content afterward. The way around it is with a skip anchor that lets you 
> bypass the navigation. Go to http://www.mcgill.ca/ and disable styles. We 
> spent a lot of time on accessiblity and 508 compliance (as much as reasonably 
> possible). You should see skip to... links.
>
>   
I tend to agree with the reversed approach, for another reason: handheld
devices. I'd like to see the display work effectively in a tiny text
browser with CSS turned off, and not have to scroll/jump down to the
meat of the page, but with a link to jump down to the full menu. I'm
thinking of an OpenMoko device used for reconciling inventory in a
warehouse...

Cheers,

-- 
John Locke
"Open Source Solutions for Small Business Problems"
published by Charles River Media, June 2004
http://www.freelock.com