Permanent Content

Accessibility Statement

AccessKey definitions

This website defines the following AccessKeys:

0
Accessibility statement
1
Home page
2
Skip to Search
3
Skip to News
4
Search box

AccessKey instructions

Most browsers support navigation using keyboard shortcuts called AccessKeys, defined by the website you're visiting. In Windows, you can press Alt + an AccessKey; on a Macintosh, you can press Control + an AccessKey. Please note that in Internet Explorer for Windows, if the AccessKey refers to another page, pressing Alt + an AccessKey will only shift focus to the link. You must then press Enter to follow the link. In Windows, Alt + some key is also used for menu shortcuts. If an AccessKey has the same number as a menu shortcut of yours, you can always access the menu shortcut by typing Alt then the key.

Navigation aids

  1. A search box is included on all pages (Access Key 4).
  2. This website has been designed to facilitate browsing without the use of a mouse or other pointing device. By pressing Tab the reader can step through the hyperlinks and form controls. Links will highlight in a contrasting color when they are in focus.
  3. Skip links have been implemented to ease navigation via the keyboard as well as for screen readers. The method used here was first suggested by Tom Gilder. It does not work in Opera.

Tabindexes have not been implemented due to their somewhat counterintuitive behavior and inconsistent browser support. A logical tab order is better ensured through a well thought-out layout, and by reducing the number of links (not an option here).

Standards compliance

The home page of this website:

  1. is Bobby AAA approved, complying with all priority 1, 2, and 3 guidelines of the W3 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, except for the following errors reported:
    1. Do not use the same link phrase more than once when the links point to different URIs: 1 instance (intranet usability)
    2. Include default, place-holding characters in edit boxes and text areas: 1 instance (search input)
    3. Separate adjacent links with more than whitespace (priority 3 accessibility error): 3 instances
  2. is Section 508 approved, complying with all guidelines of the U.S. Federal Government Section 508 Guidelines,
  3. validates as XHTML 1.0 Transitional,
  4. complies with CSS 2, and
  5. uses structured semantic markup.

Links

  1. Many links have title attributes which describe the link in greater detail, unless the text of the link already fully describes the target (such as the headline of an article).
  2. Whenever possible, links are written to make sense out of context. Many browsers (such as JAWS, Home Page Reader, Lynx, and Opera) can extract the list of links on a page and allow the user to browse the list, separately from the page.
  3. Link text is never duplicated; two links with the same link text always point to the same address (with one exception - see section on Standards Compliance).
  4. There are no "javascript:" pseudo-links. All links can be followed in any browser, even if scripting is turned off.
  5. There are no links that open new windows without warning.

Images

  1. All content images include descriptive ALT attributes. Purely decorative graphics include null ALT attributes.
  2. Complex images include LONGDESC attributes and links to text-only descriptions to explain each image to non-visual readers.

Acknowledgments

This text is based largely upon the accessibility statements of Mark Pilgrim and Jacques Distler.

News

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User Experience 2003 Conference

  • Chicago: September 21-25
  • London: October 6-10

28 full-day tutorials on all aspects of user experience, from information architecture and intranet usability to writing for the Web.

4.5 Mice

MacWorld magazine reviews our software package that checks whether designs follow the guidelines for making websites and intranets usable for users with disabilities. (Note that the software runs on both Mac and PC.) Summary: 4.5 mice out of 5, "thorough and useful testing tool [...] invaluable". (Product info)