CLF for the Internet - Accessibility

Rationale

Neither the CLF standards nor the W3C's Web Content Accessibility guidelines even suggest that a content provider cannot provide information in alternative formats. What they do suggest is that the first format encountered by a browser should be the most accessible version (usually, accessible HTML), and that if other formats are available, the content provider clearly indicates what those formats are and, if possible, include a link to a site where the visitor can download an appropriate viewer or "plug-in" application. If an accessible version of a plug-in is also known to be available, then a note and a link to that product should also be included.

1.3 Best Practices

The following is an example of one way to indicate the format of non-HTML documents on your site. Included is an example of explanatory text you might use to meet Standard 1.3.

Example links:

• The following documents are available for downloading or viewing:
  • Sustainable Development Bulletin, June 2001, vol2, no.5 (PDF Version)
  • Sustainable Development Bulletin, June 2001, vol2, no.5 (RTF Version)

Example explanatory text:

• Note: to read the PDF version you need Adobe Acrobat Reader on your system. If the Adobe download site is not accessible to you, you can download Acrobat Reader from an accessible page at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html. If you choose not to use Acrobat Reader you can have the PDF file converted to HTML or ASCII text by using one of the conversion services offered by Adobe at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/access_onlinetools.html.
• To view the RTF version, use the document conversion features available in most modern word processing software, or use a file viewer capable of reading RTF.