Email: mail@johnoxton.co.uk | Tel: +44 (0)20 8133 0443
Available for work from October 2007
Are you taking the pas?
- John Oxton
- Fri Mar 10, 11:52 am
The first time I read about the British Standards Institution (BSI) Publicly Available Specification 78 (PAS 78) was when Bruce Lawson blogged about its launch; the comment I left there was somewhat skeptical but I figured I would wait and read it before saying too much more.
Yesterday I read an article from the BBC announcing the launch of PAS 78, a set of guidelines for people commissioning and maintaining public-facing websites. Initially I thought this could only be a good thing for our cause, for people to see this news on a site like the BBC. So, I began looking for a link to a spot where I could download the document, but it was nowhere to be found.
A quick mail to my mailing list soon turned up the reason; an article on the Disability Rights Commission website revealed that it will cost £30 to buy a copy. Noting on that article that it was available as a PDF I phoned the BSI to ask them a few [obvious] questions.
As it turns out the document is not publicy available as a PDF at the moment, only in hard copy. And even if it was I would be breaking the law if I did redistribute any electronic copies I had.
Update
After being told on the phone that the document was not available as a PDF download I have since found that it can be purchased on the BSI website.
The discussion that followed on my mailing list got a bit heated, with some falling down on the side of they shouldn't be charging for it and others are happy with the charge.
My own feeling is that the charge will make widespread distribution more difficult and there should be no charge. Better to charge the web developer for some sort of BSI accreditation and to have the PAS 78 as a part of that accreditation scheme; I know I'd happily pay up to be involved in that sort of scheme.
Remember the document is not a law, it is only a set of guidelines, but the fact that it comes from an institute as powerful as the BSI means it could have a far reaching consequences for the industry in Britain. I say could, simply because I think the charge will slow its progress significantly.
There are an increasing amount of small and medium sized businesses in Britian offering online services, and a lot of them just do not care about accessibility, even though it is the law; or they are simply unaware of it. So often is this the case that unless specifically asked I don't even mention it in my discussions with clients: they brief me, I find a way to make it accessible. So asking them to spend £30 on a document they might not care about could be a bit like asking for £30 to buy some beer to ease the stress.
I don't want to go on about my own opinions too much, I am interested in hearing yours: those for and against, and how you think this document will impact our industry, if at all?