I'm not sure why this was downvoted. While his remark about lawyering up may be overkill (unless you work for a federal agency and have to abide by Section 508 rules), his point about excluding those who rely on screen readers is dead on.
I've found that one of the major complaints that blind users have is that it's a total bitch to work with dynamically updating pages. If more developers paid attention to web accessibility, a lot of the major problems to disabled folks would be greatly alleviated.
I have built many sites with the specific criteria that it work with JAWS. I do not use Server Side web frameworks and my UI logic is implemented entirely in JavaScript. I am an authority in the usability and accessibility field and am hired as such by many of the big boys. JavaScript has nothing to do with accessibility and in fact can be used to increase usability for the disabled. People confuse JavaScript with bad UX design that hinders accessibility.
You'll forgive me if I listen to a combination of common sense, and the guy who said "I say this as a visually impaired developer with several blind friends and family" instead of the guy with a vested interest.
Sure I will forgive you, but I will also note that again this is a case of blaming Javascript for bad UX design. The evidence is in his post. I just highlighted it.
I've found that one of the major complaints that blind users have is that it's a total bitch to work with dynamically updating pages. If more developers paid attention to web accessibility, a lot of the major problems to disabled folks would be greatly alleviated.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Accessibility_Initiative http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Content_Accessibility_Guide... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_508_Amendment_to_the_Re...
I say this as a visually impaired developer with several blind friends and family. To me, web accessibility is serious business.