a) because I'm a Usenaut and I didn't get around to learning HTML until years after I had a connection to the 'net, and it's easier to start simple and work on up.
b) because when I first went online, it was with a 28.8 modem on a metered dialup. You pay three pence a minute even at cheap rate, you learn to hate websites with bloated content. I have DSL at home now, but I still spend a month or two a year on the end of a metered wet string in the depths of rural wherever, cursing website designers who never bother to look at their sites from outside. Old habits die hard even without that sort of reinforcement.
c) because I surf with ActiveX turned off altogether, and Javascript severely curtailed. I don't have Flash installed on my computer, so I don't have to keep it turned off. It's amazing how unusable some sites are when looked at through a secure browser.
d) because I have RSI, and sometimes I have to use speech recognition software. It's made me aware of just how inaccessible many websites are.
e) I hang out with geeks, and I was brought up on DEC mainframes. I use Windows and Internet Explorer at home, but I'm well aware of the existence of other OSes and browsers. HTML should be platform independent, or at least degrade gracefully if you must use the proprietry bells and whistles.
(July 2004 - I don't use IE any more, not since the latest security hole, big enough to fly a generation ship through. But the point still stands.)
This site is constructed with software that checks for accessibility problems, but it can do only so much. If you have suggestions for improving accessibility, please email me at jules.jones@gmail.com
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