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Support Forum
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David Batten
Posts:3
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| 06/17/2008 7:41 AM |
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My business must be ADA 508 compliant with respect to items on the web. Is this tool (Ultra Media Gallery) ADA compliant out of the box or must something be done programmically on the buyer's end to enable that?
Thanks in Advance. |
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Pengtsen R
Posts:4581
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| 06/17/2008 7:16 PM |
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| is there a online tool to test if a web application is ADA 508 compliant? |
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Pengtsen R
http://www.bizmodules.net |
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David Batten
Posts:3
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| 06/17/2008 8:07 PM |
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There is at least one out there.
For applications I must thoroughly test, I use Rational Policy Tester and program in fields that the user must fill in during the application use. Rational Policy tester is $$$$$, but very thorough. Rational Policy tester used to be WebXM which used to be "Bobby", but is now gobbled up by IBM's Rational Division.
For other applications that are not "deep" I test page by page with a combination of HTML, CSS and TotalValidator (at totalvalidator.com). I only use this method when I know that the AJAX that was used was compliant upon implementation and I am assured that no one else has tinkered with it.
Neither of the above is a substitute for using a screen reader to go through page by page, but it reduces the workload and flags applications which might have issues.
I use the free tools located at the following sites:
www.totalvalidator.com
http://www.w3schools.com
http://validator.w3.org/
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/
http://validator.w3.org/checklink
http://www.accesskeys.org/tools/color-contrast.html
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Pengtsen R
Posts:4581
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| 06/17/2008 10:31 PM |
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| I have to say I'm not familiar with "ADA 508", however, the validation tools you posted are used for w3c validation, does "ada 508" equal to w3c? |
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Pengtsen R
http://www.bizmodules.net |
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David Batten
Posts:3
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| 06/17/2008 11:35 PM |
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It has been my experience that AAA and AA W3C compliance is more stringent than the Federal Government's Americans with Disabilities Act Section 508. They are parallel with respect to intent; ensuring that those with disablities can access information from an electronic source. They also stem, from what I learned in Grad School, from Usability and Human Factors/Ergonomics.
W3C is the World Wide Web Consortium, and international organization dealing with web standards; they have their own exacting standards for the international community.
ADA 508 is the US interpretation of electronic media accessibility (including web). ADA 508, as with any state accessibility rules, can change over time. The current trend, from what I've seen, is that ADA and state rules are converging upon W3C AA and AAA compliance with respect to the web.
The two often dovetail but they also deviate at certain points or emphasis shifts with respect to a rule.
So, to answer your question, they are not equal.
In the perfect world, I would hold all pages under my control to W3C AA or AAA.
My concern with ADA 508 compliance is due to ramifications if not followed or exceptions not filed; Federal Grants may be pulled, State monies may be withheld or lawsuits may ensue. All of which are costly in comparison to doing the job correctly the first time. Target was taken to court for having a non compliant coupon page on the web; the class action suit stated that Target was discriminating against the blind. Target petitioned to have the case thrown out, but the CA Supreme Court denied it. I do not know the outcome of that case. I do know that such a suit would cost my institution $$$ that would be better spent on running the place.
Case in point; the particular module which started this thread was used on a web page whose funding came from the National Endowment of the Arts. The Biz Module in question caused a failure of 508 compliance when run through totalvalidator. On checking the code generated, I did find 508 errors due to the module.
Will the NEA pull funding, refuse to deal with us in the future or make our lives miserable? Will the NEA even find the honest mistake? Who knows, but why risk it when there are compliant alternatives?
Compliance is easy if web developers, programmers, web masters and managers understand the state of the technology and its limitations with respect to compliance. "Cool, neat stuff" is 'fun' to use, 'flashy' for the customer and managers love the 'hype', but if all people can't access the information then we are shutting out our users.
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Pengtsen R
Posts:4581
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| 06/18/2008 2:06 AM |
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I remember, that maybe last year I checked UMG with w3c standards, and it doesn't comply, but I remember the DNN it self doesn't comply at that time so I leave it alone.
thank you. |
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Pengtsen R
http://www.bizmodules.net |
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