User:Hylaweb/Lightning Talk - Accessibility & MediaWiki
From Wikimania
What is accessibility?
We're talking about a specific type of accessibility -- one generally refering to the idea that a web site, web application (like a wiki!), or other resource is available to a variety of people accessing the resource through possibly different user agents, like:
- a "regular" browser (Firefox, IE, Safari...)
- a text-only type browser, or a limited browser (Lynx, browsers built into cellphones)
- a screen reader (JAWS, Window Eyes)
- a "braille monitor" device
Why is accessibility important?
Everyone, if they live long enough, will become disabled. This is a group which you can become a member of at any time.
See Wikipedia's page on disability for a good intro to the social model of disability.
Aside from these reasons, "It's the law." Section 508 of the US Rehab Act (related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA))
How do you test for accessibility within your MediaWiki installation?
Keep these questions in mind: Is the experience that different groups of users are having on your site equivalent? Is the information a sighted person has access to also available to a person with a visual impairment?
- check the site for standards-compliance (XHTML, CSS)
- run through the site with Bobby/Watchfire, Cynthia Says, other check tools
- do a manual, experiential check
Also:
- think about usability in general, set up some studies, make changes based on results, test again
- check your documentation
- make changes to your code and think about contributing to the MediaWiki codebase (you might be able to solve some of the problems regarding caption vs. alt attribute text, etc.!)
Links
Wikipedia's accessibility policy
(more to come...)
Add this page to your watchlist, for updates! -- Callie 18:12, 5 August 2006 (UTC)
Comments
Please email me at callie at cc dot gatech dot edu, or leave a message on my User_talk:Hylaweb page if you have a comment on the presentation.
