Web standards

I have to admit I've never really thought about websites in great detail before this course. Ignorance is bliss! However after attending a lecture by Roisin Mulligan a lecturer in the college who is blind I sat up and realised the complexity of it all. Roisin showed us how she uses a computer and navigates around a website using specialised software called Jaws , it really got me thinking. Some websites were quite easy for her to navigate around but others such as Sky sports were virtually impossible. Even I who has all of my senses couldn't really make head or tail of their website. It was so busy, there was far too much information all on one screen. I truly think that Roisin is amazing, she hasn't let her disability stop her in any way. However, after witnessing how difficult it was for her to navigate around some sites, I really do think that web standards is an important issue. Whatever way you look at it, if a website can't be accessed by everybody it is a form of discrimination. It is not as if they can use the excuse that people with sight difficulties cant read a website anyway. That is actually not the case as proved by Roisin and the ability of jaws software. Therefore it is my opinion that it should be a legal requirement for all websites to be accessible to everybody regardless of their disabilities. I sincerely hope that all the students who are studying computers and website design in our college are taking note of these web standards as they are the future technicians and website designers of the world and the accessibility of websites for all including the disabled is in their hands. For the rest of us I hope that each and every one of us is grateful for everything we have and we realise how lucky we are not to have a disability such as blindness that could affect our every day life. Roisin is an inspiration to us all.