Internet is the largest sea of knowledge ever created by mankind, although it is not easy for everyone to navigate through its water. Sometimes, WebPages, instead of being windows to the world, are unsurpassable barriers for those suffering from some kind of handicap. But this should not be the case. Technology offers the possibility of making the contents of the Internet accessible to a wider range of persons. The similarities with the tangible world are clear. It is not more expensive or more difficult to build a ramp than stairs, but it is not always done.

EDITORIAL IBAIZABAL has taken on the firm commitment to make its website a meeting place for as many people as possible, without excluding anyone. And this involves every web having a version specially prepared so that it is easy to navigate for those people with some kind of handicap. This accessible version has identical content; the only thing that changes is the presentation.

The accessible version removes superfluous design elements. Basically only the text is presented without any colour or images. And the accessible version instead of being prepared for a specific group is a useful tool for different groups of people who can adapt it to their specific needs.

But how do the different groups of disabled people use the accessible version?

Visually impaired: Many old people, or those that simply have severe myopia or astigmatism have problems reading the screen. The letters on the monitor tend to be too small and they are not always designed to obtain the best contrast. Luckily most modern browsers allow for the size and colour of the font to be altered to make them more visible, but if these changes are applied to conventional websites the result may be a completely disarranged page where it is impossible to read any text. The accessible version, due to its simple configuration, allows for font size to be increased as much as necessary. If this help is not enough, there are programs that magnify a particular area of the screen. In this link the body that fixes the standards for the World Wide Web offers a series of applications that increase specific areas of the monitor just like a magnifying glass.
(http://www.w3.org/WAI/References/Browsing)

Blind people: This is the group that is most in need of the special version in order to avoid being left out of cyberspace. The web, from the beginning, is a visual medium in which the other senses like hearing have been left in the background. The vast majority of the information lies in texts and images and in the way they are presented are outside of the scope of blind people. With the aid of suitable systems these barriers can be overcome.

• Voice synthesiser: With specific applications any computer which is less than five years old is capable of reading the text on the screen out loud. This method, apart from for completely blind people, can be used together with the screen enlarger so that those people with slight vision can read the document.

• Brail line: This is a more expensive method than the previous one, as it is based on a device that translates the screen text into brail. Blind people only have to pass their fingers over the line which progressively changes its content.

People with motor disabilities: Moving the mouse requires motor control that is sometimes taken for granted. But it is not always the case. There are some disabilities that prevent the user from the using the keyboard and the mouse in order to surf. For these people voice recognition programs and special devices have been created that allow them to surf websites with relative ease helped by vocal orders or adapted keyboards. But in order for these systems to work it is important that the configuration of the page is simple and that it has a logical order. A complicated design as is usually seen in websites is the biggest impediment when it comes to these groups accessing the information.

Apart from being the point of entry for disabled people, the accessible version also serves an added purpose. In the ten years of the internet, the advance in the browsers has been spectacular. New specifications have been added to the previous ones and these changes have excluded a large proportion of users who can not or do not wish to move on to the more recent applications. Although the vast majority of users use a series of standard programmes when it comes to browsing, there is still a small proportion of users who use old programs like Lynx which only shows text. The accessible version of the EDITORIAL IBAIZABAL websites is therefore also a link with the oldest Internet technology that do not adapt to the latest standards.

This is why we ask that you, as an Internet user, let us know your opinions and suggestions so that the accessible version can become more so and we can reach widest and most diverse group of people.

For more information go to: www.w3.org/WAI