About Us And Our Accessible Site
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Second is showing Web designers how to do pages that are Bobby Approved and thus more accessible to the disabled. This site is an example of Web accessibility done in the practical, down-to-earth "Bobby" way.
For example, for those with a vision disability we make sure that all text is in readable fonts, that there are no color clashes, that ALT tags are properly done, and so on.
We've also worked hard at making the site easy to navigate and every page easy to read and understand. If you find anything that's not totally clear, please let us know via the Contact Us page.
So Who's Behind This Site?
Hello! Don Coggan here with a warm welcome to Accessible.org. This site is my own private charitable operation. Let me give you some of my background and the rationale for it.
Since 1981, I've been providing technical consulting services throughout the US, Canada and internationally to clients in the private and public sectors.
In early 1996, I left my consulting engineering practice cold turkey and began applying my previous experience to the development of Internet businesses throughout the US and Canada.
In the late 1990s, I worked on a lot of sites that needed to be accessible to people with disabilities. This site was initially a showcase of those Web development skills.
Then something amazing happened!
Increasingly, inquiries came from disabled people themselves. Most were looking for ways out of dire financial straits caused by medical expenses. It took me a couple of years, but I finally figured out a way that I could help.
Most of the inquiries I received were poorly written and hard to understand. As an experienced writer, I thought, "I could rewrite those stories to make them more readable and useful in getting the help they need!"
At about the same time, the Web services company I use for this site introduced an interactive feature (like a blog) to make this possible.
The result is summarized in the following sidebar that appears on many pages of the site.
The story-posting program automates everything except the editing, which I must do personally. It's still quite a bit of work. Many people have wondered why I do it. There must be a catch, right?
And What's The Catch?
Well, there is no catch. In fact there's a very logical explanation. it has to do with Abraham Maslow's famous hierarchy of needs, as depicted here.
According to Wikipedia...
"Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology, proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation."
"Maslow's theory suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met before the individual will strongly desire (or focus motivation upon) the secondary or higher level needs."
Fortunately, my basic needs are satisfied. This means I can focus on a higher level need, which in the case of this site is to help others by doing something I know how to do.
I like to write and I know how to do it, so that's what I do, nothing more, nothing less.
As mentioned throughout these pages, this editing service is free. In fact I'll I'll send you $100 by PayPal if you find anything on this site that asks you to pay money to Accessible.org. Just let me know via the Contact Us page with the evidence!
So there you go... background and rationale!
Go to the Accessible.org Home page from
this "Accessible About Us" page.
