Don_Hoagie - 12:33 am on Mar 23, 2006 (gmt 0)

I think in a way, we're all in agreement here... illustrated by iamlost's comment (quoted by DrDoc). Those of us with a seemingly firm grip on accessibility will continue to build great sites that work well for the impaired, the javascript-fearing, etc. Those who do not understand/regard accessibility will prove to be the thorn in the side of web progress, much like disregard of web standards is here in 2006.

But it is not the web designers i'm concerned about... it's the pundits, the lobbyists, the lawsuit-happy... can't you all see yourselves in a client meeting 8 months from now...

"And make sure this site works for deaf people who use Macs."

"But.. your site is a library for Windows event sounds..."

"Just make it happen geek. We don't want to get sued."

I just worry that if we all put "accessibility" on a pedestal, proclaiming to our clients how necessary it is and the like, we'll end up creating a monster that gets taken over by PC (politically correct, not personal computer) thugs who would rather see a website work acceptably for that one percent minority than have the website work wonderfully for the remaining 99%.

Granted, some of the latest "technology" is really the best of both worlds, which is why we have embraced it so. CSS, AJAX, etc... these new ideas (not new at all of course, but still somehow in their infancy) are usually win/win situations, and the ability to use them is indeed what separates the "future-proof" designers from the clueless ones.

Unfortunately, technologies that are win/win are few and far between. More often than not, there will be a trade-off between performance and accessibility. And @victor, I really don't care what Tim Berners-Lee has to say about that, because it's an age-old social dilemma that goes beyond the web: do you feed your healthiest cattle and let the weak die off, or do you divide the food amongst all so that none are starving and none are full? Do you challenge the smartest kids in the class, or do you nurture the struggling ones by dumbing-down the lesson plan? Do you spend your money on a website that blows away IE users, or spend it on a site that thrills no one but welcomes everyone? In some cases, you can have it all on the web... but in many scenarios, the time, knowledge, and money is simply not there. A choice has to be made. And i would not want some legislation or fear of legal action making that decision for me.

My idealistic goal would be for all of us to become wizards of accessibility design, without ever mentioning it to a client. Just design the site, and take pride in the knowledge that nearly everyone will be able to use it. But don't make it into the latest web-craze... don't make it a buzz-word at golf outings, or a claim to fame of an e-commerce juggernaut.