SouthernConnections Accessibility

This is the accessibility statement for Southern Connections.

Access keys

Most browsers support jumping to specific links by typing site-defined access keys.

For example, Windows users should press ALT + an access key.

Similarly, Macintosh users should press Control + an access key.

All pages on this site define the following access keys:

• Access key T - Home page (Top)
• Access key W - Web-Site Automation
• Access key M - Method
• Access key P - Promotion
• Access key A - Analysis
• Access key C - Contact
• Access key F - Frequently Asked Questions
• Access key B - Blog
• Access key H - Help

Standards compliance

• Our site is intended to be Bobby AAA approved, complying with all the Bobby guidelines. Whether we have succeeded is a matter of judgement. We have reviewed the guidelines and believe that our pages comply.
• Our site is intended to be WCAG AAA approved, complying wih all priority 1, 2, and 3 guidelines of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Whether we have succeeded is a matter of judgment. We have reviewed the guidelines and believe that our pages comply.
• Our site is intended to comply with U.S. Section 508 Guidelines. .
• All pages on this site validate as XHTML 1.0 Strict. You may use the links at the bottom of every page to test us.

Links

• Most links feature title attributes which describe the link in greater detail, unless the text of the link itself properly describes the target.
• We strive to make our links are intended to be self-documenting.

Image use

• All images used in this site include descriptive alt attributes. Even purely decorative graphics include descriptive alt attributes.
• Complex images feature longdesc attributes which explain the significance of those images to non-visual readers.

Visual design

• This site uses cascading style sheets for visual layout.
• We use relative font sizes, compatible with the user-specified "text size" option in visual browsers.
• Each page offers a javascript-based text-resizing utility -- actually a stylesheet switcher.
• For those whose browsers do not support CSS, the content of each pages is still readable.

Accessibility references

• W3 accessibility guidelines explained.
• W3 accessibility techniques: how to implement the guidelines.
• W3 accessibility checklist.
• U.S. Section 508 accessibility guidelines.

Accessibility software

• JAWS, a screen reader for Windows. A time-limited, downloadable demo is available.
• Home Page Reader, a screen reader for Windows. A downloadable demo is available.
• Lynx, a free text-only web browser for blind users with refreshable Braille displays.
• Links, a free text-only web browser for visual users with low bandwidth.

Accessibility services and software

• Bobby, a free service to analyze web pages for compliance to accessibility guidelines.
• HTML Validator, a free service for checking that web pages conform to published HTML standards.
• Web Page Backward Compatibility Viewer, a tool for viewing your web pages without a variety of modern browser features.
• Lynx Viewer, a free service for viewing what web pages as they would appear in the pure-text Web browser, Lynx.

Online accessibility materials and resources

• Building Accessible Websites. This is a comprehensive reference.
• Dive Into Accessibility: 30 days to a more accessible web site.
• Designing More Usable Web Sites, a useful list of resources.
• WebAIM, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving access to online learning.