Matthias: blog
Das Logfile über mein Leben im Netz.

Freitag, 25. Oktober 2002, 01:04:01

Everybody and his dog has been discussing the recent ruling Disabilities Act doesn't cover Web. As usual, everybody tries to twist it for his/her own personal views. And so some people claim the ruling is a blow to CSS advocacy.

But CSS, unlike HTML, has almost no impact on accessibility - unless the author makes the site less accessible with tiny fixed font-sizes or bad text/background contrast, for example.

CSS is not an accessibility tool, it's a presentational tool. Its main benefit is that the author can make make his fully accessible, screen-reader, keyboard-navigation, javascript-independent and well-structured HTML document also visually pleasing.

Visually pleasing websites are kinda nice, I admit, and we all put a great effort into making ours as beautiful as we possibly can (some obviously more than others). But in the greater scheme of things, they're not nearly as essential as accessible websites. So if we had to choose between an accessible website and a visually pleasing website, we should always choose the accessible one.

But the ruling isn't final, there's always a chance for appeal. So hold yer horses and keep on truckin'. It ain't over 'til it's over.