Re: AOL against ADA?

[jn@tommy.demon.co.uk (John Nissen)]

Thanks Kelly,

The aol software is like a door that you have to be able to open in
order to be able to get at their services.  As such I would have
thought the ADA would apply - it is like the door into a shop 
having to be wide enough to take a wheelchair - a reasonable
accommodation.

Do I understand now that there are two different situations to
fight - the one for accessibility of client-run software such as AOL's,
and the one for accessibility of commercial sites?

I note that shopping sites often expect you to download software
to help you access the services on their (commercial) sites.
In this case both the software and the site content has to be
accessible.  To take my previous analogy - both the door into the
shop and the aisles inside the shop have to be wide enough.

Cheers,

John
--
In message <Pine.SV4.4.05.10002100641080.6176-100000@golden.ripco.com> 
Kelly Pierce writes:

>John,
>
>One of the reasons why there is a delicate dance about the aol lawsuit is
>that the ADA does not apply to manufactured goods.  This is why the ADA
>cannot be applied to Microsoft's Windows operating system:  it is a
>manufactured good (software) and is exempt from the ADA.  Another example
>would be books.  Publishers such as McGraw-Hill, do not have to publish
>books in an alternative format for the disabled to have access.  A clear
>argument that can be advanced in the AOL lawsuit is that the aol software
>is a manufactured good and as such is exempt from the ADA.  On the other
>hand aol produces this "good" itself and has complete control over its
>content and the good is necessary to use the service.  the issue of aol
>software makes this case somewhat different from an action against a
>commercial website.
>
>kelly 

-- 
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John Nissen                             Email to jn@tommy.demon.co.uk
Cloudworld Ltd., Chiswick, London, UK   http://www.tommy.demon.co.uk