So far in earlier post I have been talking about HCI / UX, suddenly now I am talking about Legal topics. Surprise! Don’t be, I am not diverting focus. We are in Information Technology, we develop web sites, applications, we test and we think that we deliver the best product in market. We always think that our users are “Happy” with our product and you made this world Better Living Place.
But fact is that,
Around 15 per cent of the world's population, or estimated 1 billion people, live with disabilities. This figure is increasing through population growth, medical advances and the ageing process, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
So many countries are coming up with laws to protect people rights. “Section 508” is one of them.
While Section 508 is legally binding only for United States federal agencies or those funded federally, often an organization that provides public services will request a website or software that meets the requirements for Section 508.
That means many projects now require compliance with “Section 508 and other accessibility Standards”. This is very serious stuff and Graphic Designers, Web Developers and Programmers in the technology industry need to understand this quickly.




What is Section 508?
In 1998, United States lawmakers signed into law the new Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which improved the original Section 508 Amendment that was added to the Rehabilitation Act in 1986. In 2001, even more changes were made. The Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Standards was published along with amendments to the Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR). History and legal logistics aside, these rules and regulations require federal and federally funded agencies to provide people with disabilities easy access to electronic and information technology. Basically, a law was put into place to provide equal opportunities for people with disabilities. Federal employees with disabilities or members of the public using Federal information and technology now have the same access as others.
Does it Affect Designers and Developers?
Yes, Designer and Developers have to take this seriously and need to modify coding. They need to understand whole concept and importance of this.
Since Section 508 applies to United States Federal software, hardware, downloads, websites, documents, etc., a designer or developer may come across projects requiring Section 508 Compliance in the brief. Some non-Federal agencies, while not legally required to be 508 compliant, may also request that a project meet these outlines, especially if the agency provides public services or their target market includes a high amount of people with disabilities.
Some important points below

§ 1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications.

(a) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided (e.g., via “”, “”, or in element content).
(b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.
(c) Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup.
(d) Documents shall be organized so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet.
(e) Redundant text links shall be provided for each active region of a server-side image map.
(f) Client-side image maps shall be provided instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape.
(g) Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables.
(h) Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers.
(i) Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation.
(j) Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.
(k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a web site comply with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.
(l) When pages utilize scripting languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the information provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology.
(m) When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with §1194.21(a) through (l).
(n) When electronic forms are designed to be completed on-line, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.
(o) A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links.
(p) When a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required.
To read entire Section 508 click here
Conclusion:
We always want to make this world a better place for mankind. India’s major IT business is from USA. Accessibility is important and so far it was ignored, but now there is awareness about it. Many countries will follow USA. In India people are not even thinking about it. I am sure many people did not even know section 508. They are still in their “Dream World” out lined in my first article “Ux What is that”.
Frankly, there should not be need for such law, it is our social and moral responsibility as a IT Professional. Every design I make, every piece of code I write should be for all kind of users. It is high time now we should take this seriously and start working on accessibility standards and HCI (Human Computer Interactions).
In Previous article one of the accessibility topic we touch "Different “eye” on colors"
Stay tuned for more detail article on Accessibility.

Further reading
http://www.sitepoint.com/designing-disabilities-section-508-international-accessibility-compliance-beginners/
http://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/section-508-standards