Transcript of Section 508 Audio Explanation
Section 508, as it pertains to the web, is a standard specifying the requirements to make a site accessible to all people, regardless of any disabilities they may have. It currently only applies to the government and those doing business with the government, but it is considered good practice to follow the standard.
Section 508 is very detailed, but there are a few main guidelines that demonstrate its spirit. Making the web accessible to those with impaired vision is a large portion of Section 508. All non-text elements must have text equivalents. Alternatives to multimedia must be in sync with the presentation. Additionally, colored elements must be available in black and white and pages must be functional without style sheets.
Sufficient navigation of the presented information must be provided. For example, frames should have descriptive labels and data in tables should be associated with the table header. Also, users must be allowed to use the input device of their choice. For this reason, scripts relying on mouse movements cannot be used. Other scripts must provide a description of their function.
If the conditions of Section 508 cannot be met, a text-only equivalent page must be presented. While we have not covered all points of Section 508, these are sufficient points to describe its intent.
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