Well Adjusted?
The Well Adjusted Campaign was, launched, in the UK, on 5th May, 2006 by 2080partners in conjunction with The British Dyslexia Association, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and a growing band of Champions of Inclusion.
The Well Adjusted Campaign aims to change all this, by coming up with simple and easy to understand Top Ten Reasonable Adjustments that should be made to websites and any marketing communication – for everyone’s benefit.
And the site does, indeed, include a page entitled “Top 10 Reasonable Adjustments”.
However, having read it, I’m not too keen on some of their “Top 10 Adjustments” and the welladjusted site itself does appear to have completely missed some user groups (try navigating through the site using a keyboard). I also noticed that the Textic Toolbar doesn’t work properly in Firefox on the www.2080partners.com site (which means you can’t resize the text at all). And don’t even get me started on using client-side scripting as an excuse to use fixed size text – especially when the design in question produces a horizontal scrollbar at 800 x 600!
But surely this toolbar satisfies accessiblity requirements?
Not according to PAS 78 – Guide to Good Practice in Commissioning Accessible Websites:
4.6 Additional Accessibility Provisions
Additional accessibility provisions are not essential and should never replace upholding W3C guidelines and specifications.
NOTE 1: It is more appropriate for website commissioners and developers to view these as a supplementary enhancement that users might choose to employ if a website upholds W3C guidelines and specifications:
NOTE 2: Additional Accessibility Provisions can be useful where the anticipated users of the website are prohibited from using the accessibility feaure in their browser operating systems due to local administration policies.
So maybe the site does support W3C guidelines and specifications and the toolbar is just an enhancement?
The site is only 12 pages and most pages validate just fine with the exception of the Legal TV Interview page and one other rather odd page (more about that later). So what about WAI compliance?
That’s not so good.
- WCAG Priority 1 Failure:
- Checkpoint 1.1
- WCAG Priority 2 Failures:
-
- Checkpoint 3.2
- Checkpoint 3.4
- Checkpoint 3.7
- Checkpoint 7.5
- Checkpoint 10.1
- Checkpoint 11.2
Checkpoint 13.1
And remember that odd page? Here it is in all its glory:
http://www.welladjusted.co.uk/vote.html
<html>
<head>
<!-- Send users to the new location. -->
<title>redirect</title>
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0;URL=http://www.texticweb.com/vote.php">
<script type="text/javascript">
function popup(url){
pop=window.open(url,'popup','width=650,height=450,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes');}
</script>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>
After seeing that, I wasn’t too suprised to learn that 2080 Limited (Company No. 05464595) – the company launching the Well Adjusted Campaign – is just Textic (SA) Limited (Company No. 05258819) under another name. Textic are listed by Companies House under Business Type 7221 – Software publishing and they produce – you guessed it – the Textic Toolbar.
So what we seem to have is a rather thinly disguised marketing campaign. And whilst I have nothing against effective ethical marketing, a site for a UK campaign that purports to support accessible web design could have, at least, ensured that was designed to comply with WCAG and PAS 78 guidelines. As it is, the campaign comes across as less than credible.
Hi
Textic are working on the accessiblity issues you’ve raised.
However I’ve got to say their site is more accessible in real terms than this, for many more people. As it has text to speech screen reading built in to the site.
So I’d say (and I’m certainly not trying to flame, just my humble, biased opinion), don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
I know because I’m also a dyslexic user who uses it every day, at home, at work, where ever I go. It gives me a freedom to roam that you just don’t get with other screen reading apps, because its web based, and install free.
But anyway, credible or otherwise, go have a look and see/hear for yourself. Talklets
Cheers
Phil
Why didn’t Textic work on the accessiblity issues before they launched the Well Adjusted Campaign? Some of the issues I raised are extremely basic and should not have been made by any experienced group that was promoting accessibilty for all.
I’m not denying that there are specific issues for dyslexic users. In fact, I’m usually the one promoting design that deals with these issues rather than just focussing on the needs of the visually-impaired.
However, the site for the Well Adjusted Campaign could not be described as ‘accessible’ nor are the campaign’s Top 10 Adjustments particularly well thought out in that they favour one specific user group to the distinct detriment of all others. Accessible means ‘accessible to all’ – not just sighted users who have problems reading. The site even fails it’s own Point 3 by failing to ensure that it’s pages are valid whilst the form that is supposed to allow people to send in a message of support fails WAI Level ‘A’!
The Talklets’ site also fails Level ‘A’ and the Textic toolbar is useless if you do not have javascript enabled.
I’d also like to be able to switch the damn thing off! Even with the screenreader switched off, I personally find the floating toolbar very annoying and I’m sure it could actively interfere with some people’s ability to read the pages.
Implementation of the Textic toolbar does not mean that site owners can stop there and forget any other accessibility issues whilst following the Well Adjusted Campaign’s “Top 10 Reasonable Adjustments” is likely to create more accessibility problems than they solve.
It’s an interesting tool and it may help some people but to base a whole web accessbility campaign on it?
Frankly, I think it does the accessible design community more harm than good.
Well we’re working on our site still. If you like to make more specific comments please send them to me and we’ll do what can be done.
“Why didn’t Textic work on the accessiblity issues before they launched the Well Adjusted Campaign? Some of the issues I raised are extremely basic and should not have been made by any experienced group that was promoting accessibilty for all.”
I can’t comment on desisions made before I joined Textic ltd. Sorry.
“However, the site for the Well Adjusted Campaign could not be described as ‘accessible’ nor are the campaign’s Top 10 Adjustments particularly well thought out in that they favour one specific user group to the distinct detriment of all others. Accessible means ‘accessible to all’ – not just sighted users who have problems reading. The site even fails it’s own Point 3 by failing to ensure that it’s pages are valid whilst the form that is supposed to allow people to send in a message of support fails WAI Level ‘A’!”
The Great Communication Guide, I hope you agree is a big improvement, and is being praised for its holitic approach to accessibility, which I’m glad to see from you excellent piece in Designing for dyslexia, is something close to your heart.
“The Talklets’ site also fails Level ‘A’ and the Textic toolbar is useless if you do not have javascript enabled.”
The site’s accessibility is pretty good.
And the Javascript issue is not an issue for the vast majority of users. I have never come across a machine, public or private, that has js switched off. Acessibility guidelines recommend that ‘content’ not ‘functionality’ be accessible without javascript eneabled.
“I’d also like to be able to switch the damn thing off! Even with the screenreader switched off, I personally find the floating toolbar very annoying and I’m sure it could actively interfere with some people’s ability to read the pages.”
Thanks for the feedback. I’ve made sure that this feature (hiding the bar) is in the dev cycle to be made live on this Friday. You’ll also be glad to here that the bar nolonger floats down when scrolling.
“Implementation of the Textic toolbar does not mean that site owners can stop there and forget any other accessibility issues whilst following the Well Adjusted Campaign’s “Top 10 Reasonable Adjustments†is likely to create more accessibility problems than they solve.”
I would dissagree with this, but the new Great Communications Guide, is certainly an improvement. I believe its andorsed by the RNIB, BDA, and many others…
“It’s an interesting tool and it may help some people but to base a whole web accessbility campaign on it? ”
I personaly think you’re right, that to base the campeign around it was wrong. But it is not the case with the new campeign I’ve mentioned.
Do these changes change your opinon?
I hope so as I work very hard, and as I’m severly dyslexic myslef, I know how useful the Talklets bar is. Which I grew out of the Readability bar (the one origionaly used on the Well Adjusted Campeign’s site). So although it was left wanting back then, it has help make something more useful.