[Linux-aus] Browser/OS checks - smarthinking.com

[Adam Nielsen]

>> Unfortunately no.  And I say that as a web developer who works for an
>> Australian university.  They are serving their staff and students, not the
>> general public, so they aren't bound by the same guidelines.
>
> I'm not sure I understand this statement? The accessibility guidelines
> apply to all organisations, regardless of their audience. Universities
> are particularly exposed because they typically have a very broad user
> base, inclusive of many learning difficulties (vision impairment - but
> also dyslexia [not strictly a legal accessibility issue]). The most
> prominent case in accessibility law is an Australian organisation -
> SOCOG (the Sydney Olympic Games).

Well don't get me wrong, most universities do make quite a bit of effort to 
ensure their 'public' pages are accessible to as wide an audience as possible. 
  But there's generally no requirement for them to do this, they have just 
decided that it would be a good thing.  So the argument "but you have to" 
won't really work, because they don't have to.  And if you go down the 
anti-discrimination route, you may find they just print you a hard copy or 
supply the content to you in some other fashion, which meets their legal 
requirements but somewhat defeats the goal of getting the IE-only restriction 
lifted.

I'm not saying that all universities will refuse to make their pages 
accessible, I'm just saying that you should consider your arguments carefully.

Cheers,
Adam.