Hello,

Re tables,
may I suggest that there is a simple test for tables that a web
page designer can apply: strip out the table tags and see if the
remaining text makes sense.  There is no harm in using table tags
purely for layout purposes so long as the tags are added to the
text stream, and chunks of text are not moved around.

Cheers from Chiswick,

John
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In message  <[log in to unmask]>
Paul Chapin via [log in to unmask] writes:

>If I may, I'd like to comment on why compliance is so low with online course
>material.  I'll ignore the two most common, apathy and ignorance although
>both can be important particular when looking at course level web pages.

[snip]

>I ran into the following problems.
>
>1) Lack of consistent target. One of the most frustrating experiences is
>trying to decide what I can get away with.  Variations in the software for
>such things reading screens make it difficult to come up with a single
>interface that works for all users.  The most obvious case is that some
>screen readers have gotten very smart at working with text within tables.
>But that's almost a useless feature since I can't take advantage of it
>without ignoring everybody who has a different package or even an earlier
>version. And the moment you give up tables as a formatting tool, creating
>attractive pages becomes a lot more difficult. One has to become an expert
>in accessibility software to really know what is and is not actually
>supported.
>
>2) Vague standards.  W3C is giving it the old college try, but their
>recommended standards are full of works like "should" and  "avoid".  The
>section on using tables is a masterpiece of fuzzy standards.
>
>3) Unsupported standards...
>
>4) Unhelpful tools...
>
>5) Lack of time.  Most college web pages are put together by people who have
>neither the expertise, the time to acquire the expertise, or the time to use
>the expertise if they had it...

>-----
>Paul Chapin
>Curricular Computing Specialist
>Amherst College
>413 542-2144

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