[opencms-dev] Status of OpenCms accessibility

[Jonathan Woods]

I add my vote to Alessandro's call, especially re work on accessibility for
content authors.  It's increasingly a deciding factor in CMS package
selection exercises.
 
Maybe this could be factored into the work which Alexander Kandzior
described on giving the OpenCms back-end an AJAX flavour.  I look forward to
hearing more about that because it concerns both accessibility and general
useability.  I'd love to see an even more powerful XML content editing
framework, and I'd be happy to contribute in this area.  Functionality I'm
thinking would be useful includes (i) a more full-blown approach to defining
schema validity (so XSD for structural definitions supplemented with
something like RelaxNG or a home-grown rules-based approach); (ii) validity
checking at the client without requiring a round trip (with page refresh
problems) just to be told that an element far down the page isn't valid;
(iii) more support in OpenCms for defining and managing standing/reference
data; (iv) richer controls as value editors, e.g. sliders, spinners, ...
Oops!  I'm going off-topic.
 
Jon

  _____  

From: opencms-dev-bounces at opencms.org
[mailto:opencms-dev-bounces at opencms.org] On Behalf Of Keith Davey
Sent: 29 May 2006 17:32
To: The OpenCms mailing list
Subject: Re: [opencms-dev] Status of OpenCms accessibility


I second this. 

We are working on the accessibility of an OpenCMS site we have built right
now.
http://www.dublinairport.com

Its going to be a major problem trying to ensure that content entered by
editors is
accessible.

I am happy to have a look at integrating XStandard is anyone can point me in
the 
right direction.

Keith


On 5/29/06, Alessandro Magnolo <alessandro.magnolo at gmail.com> wrote: 

Dear All,
and dear Alkacon representatives in particular,

I wrote many times about the need of assuring the accessibility of
content generated by the CMS users (authors). This is especially true
for Italy, where accessibility is a law requirement for public 
administration sites, and will soon be for all EU countries.

In my opinion OpenCms is a great tool for generating
standard-compliant websites, especially since the introduction of
FCKEditor as the default editor (it can produce XHTML Strict code if 
used in Firefox - not in IE, unfortunately).

The next step would be to improve the back-end interface
accessibility. I know this is a very hard task, but it could start by
creating a separate accessible interface, to be used initially for the 
simplest tasks, and then growing to become a complete alternative (if
not "the" interface).
For example, a first release of the "accessible backend" could show
the users the list of files in the VFS and allow them to edit and 
publish content (leaving more complex administrative tasks, like user
management, to the improved/standard interface).
What do you think about this? What is your experience? Have you
perceived an interest in backend accessibility in the community of 
OpenCms users?


Another step, more oriented towards front-end accessibility, would be
the integration of an editor explicitly designed with accessibility in
mind (this means not only valid code, but also checks for 
accessibility tags and attributes enforced in the editor).
The only one I know is XStandard, that recently announced the
availability of a freely distributable version of the editor for open
source CMS developers. 
I attach part of their press release at the end of this message.


Again, I'd like to know if this is of interest to the community, and
what are Alkacon plans for accessibility, in particular regarding
their stance on accessibility laws for EU countries.

Best regards,
Alessandro Magnolo

-----
XStandard is the leading standards-compliant plug-in WYSIWYG editor
for Windows desktop applications and browser-based content management 
systems (IE/Mozilla/Firefox/Netscape).

The editor generates clean XHTML Strict or 1.1, uses CSS for
formatting, and ensures the clean separation of content from
presentation. Markup generated by XStandard meets the most demanding 
accessibility requirements. The editor's cool features include drag &
drop file upload, spell checking and an image library that integrates
tightly with your CMS.

We are making XStandard Lite with some Pro features available to 
established vendors of open source CMS who wish to offer XStandard as
an optional (freeware) editor in their applications.
Details of the program can be found at
http://www.xstandard.com/xstandard-lite-for-partner-cms/
-----

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